From Manchester to Milan, and from Istanbul to São Paulo, foreign players are shaping the make-up of domestic leagues in markedly different proportions. Brazil remains well below Europe’s most internationalised competitions, even as the Brazilian Football Confederation has approved a reduction in the number of overseas players clubs may register from 2027.
The Brasileirão has 168 foreign footballers among 669 registered players, equivalent to 25 per cent of the division. That places Brazil ninth in a comparison of ten major leagues, ahead only of Argentina’s top flight, where 145 of 894 players are foreign, or 16 per cent.
England sits at the other end of the scale. The Premier League has 391 foreign players from a registered pool of 543, a share of 72 per cent. Its regulations, however, are not defined simply by a player’s passport: clubs may name no more than 17 players per season who were not developed within the national system.
A continental picture of squad composition
Italy’s Serie A is close behind the Premier League, with 398 foreign players in a total of 580, a 69 per cent share. Major League Soccer ranks third, counting 526 overseas players among 869 registered footballers, while France’s Ligue 1 has 285 from 474, or 60 per cent.
Germany’s Bundesliga records 281 foreign players out of 509, giving it 56 per cent, and Turkey’s Süper Lig follows with 270 of 527, or 52 per cent. LaLiga’s figure is 216 from 513, 42 per cent, while the Saudi League has 196 foreign players in a 511-man total, representing 39 per cent.
The figures underline Brazil’s comparatively domestic player base at a moment when the CBF is preparing to tighten its foreign-player limit. While the country continues to attract talent from across South America and beyond, its leading competition remains far less dependent on overseas recruitment than the principal leagues in England, Italy, France and Germany.
