Football
Kevin Palmer 9y

Steve McManaman urges more English players to play abroad

With a lack English players playing for Europe's top clubs in recent years, Steve McManaman believes the success of the Premier League has encouraged many homegrown Premier League stars to resist the lure of a move to foreign shores, but has urged his countrymen to reconsider.

McManaman won the Champions League twice in his time with Real Madrid and scored a crucial goal in the 2000 final against Valencia, with the Liverpool-born midfielders experience of playing in Spain giving him the high points of his career.

"Sometime the league is too good here, the money is good here as well so there is no desire to move abroad," said the former Liverpool star, speaking to ESPN. "Players get looked after well in England, the wives and kids are in good schools and when all that is part of the mix, you want to stay if you can.

"For me, joining Real Madrid was the best thing I ever did. Your career is all about winning things. It is important for me to look back and say I won the Champions League and I scored in the final.

"You don't want to get to the end of your career and say; look at me, I finished fourth in the Premier League 15 times and I'm a wealthy man. That is not success. You want to succeed as a sportsman, not just in your bank account.

"When you can say you are a member of the best team in the world, which I was on the two occasions I won in 2000 and 2002, that is something pretty special. Playing for a club like Real Madrid was an incredible experience and I would encourage any English player to play abroad if they get the chance."

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