This season a British footballer win the UEFA Champions League with an overseas club for just the fifth time.
Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens have reached the Wembley decider, where either Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich or Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid will be in opposition.
It’s the latest example of a recent trend that has seen British footballers impress abroad and we’ve looked at the four previous players to win the Champions League with an overseas club.
Paul Lambert (Borussia Dortmund)
Paul Lambert became the first British player to win the Champions League with a foreign club after forming part of Borussia Dortmund’s successful side in 1997.
Having signed for Dortmund from Motherwell on a free transfer the previous summer, Lambert was an integral part of the club’s run to European glory. After helping eliminate Manchester United in the semi-finals, Lambert produced a shutdown performance on Zinedine Zidane in the final win over Juventus.
He set up Dortmund’s opening goal on the night and remains the only Scottish player to have won the Champions League with a non-British club.
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— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) August 7, 2018
Lambert spent just one season at Dortmund before returning to Scotland to sign for Celtic amid personal reasons but remains a firm fans’ favourite at the Westfalenstadion.
Paul Lambert: Exclusive interview with the Celtic and Dortmund icon
Steve McManaman (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid took ‘El Macca’ to their hearts after the midfielder arrived from Liverpool on a free transfer, with the Englishman an important part of European triumphs in 2000 and 2002.
McManaman scored a sensational scissor-kick as Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to win the Champions League final in his debut campaign, as Los Blancos won the first same-country showpiece in Paris.
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Two-time winner ????????#UCL final goalscorer ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/JfWk81aGsL— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 11, 2019
Two years later, a semi-final chip against Barcelona helped Real Madrid into the final, where Zinedine Zidane’s stunning volley earned the Spaniards another European crown.
He became the first Englishman to win the Champions League with an overseas club and the first to win the competition twice in the Champions League era.
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Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich)
Owen Hargreaves broke into the Bayern Munich team during the 2000/01 season, a campaign that ended with Champions League success.
The 20-year-old was named in the starting side for the final win over Valencia at the San Siro, as the Germans triumphed 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Hargreaves, who was born in Canada before moving to Germany to pursue his football career, later became the first player to make their England debut despite never having lived in England at that time, in August 2001.
He went on to win 42 caps for the Three Lions.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Gareth Bale is the most decorated British footballer to have played overseas, following a trophy-laden, if up-and-down, time at Real Madrid.
The Welshman signed for Real Madrid in an £86m world record deal from Tottenham in 2013 and ended his first season clutching the Champions League, having scored the decisive goal in the 4-1 extra-time win over Atletico Madrid.
Bale went on to win further Champions League trophies in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, though he was an unused substitute for the latter final. His most memorable contribution came in 2018, when Bale came off the bench to score twice in the 3-1 win against Liverpool, including a jaw-dropping overhead kick.
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— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 26, 2023
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (4) has ever scored more Champions League final goals than Bale (3).
Read – Champions League: The record scorers as Mbappe enters top 10
See more – Five of the best Champions League semi-finals ever
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