Croatia makes world’s Top 10 for footballer exports
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Lovro Majer plies his trade in Germany
ZAGREB, 10 Jan (Hina) – Croatia ranks tenth in the world for the number of footballers exported abroad over the past five years, and among countries of its size, it is among the top ones, according to the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES).
Between 2020 and 2025, 855 Croatian-born players competed abroad, including 345 in Slovenia, 171 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 63 in Italy, according to the CIES Football Observatory.
Croatian players are also found in more distant countries.
Defender Toni Datković returned from Spain to his hometown of Pag in 2024 after receiving an offer from Singapore’s Lion City Sailors.
Initially unfamiliar with the club, he joined after learning that his former youth teammate Mirko Šugić also played there.
Datković has since won the Singapore league, cup, and super cup, been named in the league’s best XI, and reached the final of the AFC Champions League 2, losing 1-2 to Sharjah from the UAE, which included fellow Croatians Darko Nejašmić and Maro Katinić.
Datković jokes that people doubt Croatia has only 3.8 million people because its players are “everywhere.”
Besnik Hasi, coach of Brussels’ Anderlecht, praises Croatia’s talent, noting the recent performances of Luka Vušković and Franjo Ivanović, who moved to Germany and Portugal.
He adds that while Anderlecht is interested in many Croatian players, financial constraints make transfers difficult.
In absolute numbers, Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of footballers, with 3,020 playing abroad over the past five years, followed by France (2,293), Argentina (2,171), England (1,151), Spain (1,106), Germany (1,095), Colombia (1,077), Nigeria (926), Serbia (915), and Croatia.
Croatian players began moving abroad in larger numbers in the 1990s after independence, including defender Nikola Jerkan, who transferred from Hajduk Split to Real Oviedo.
“Back then, we went abroad as experienced players, in our prime, after competing in a strong Yugoslav league,” says the 61-year-old Jerkan, whose generation achieved notable success.
He remains the foreign player with the most appearances for Oviedo, having played 218 matches.
