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This former Real Madrid star is now out in Malaysia.

4 brilliant players who are simply too good to be playing in Malaysia

Former Real Madrid, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea stars are among the brilliant footballers who are simply too good to be playing in Malaysia.

Known for its iconic landmarks, natural landscapes and gorgeous food, we can understand why Malaysia is such an enticing place for footballers to wind down their careers.

We’ve taken a closer look at the Malaysian Super League and have found four forgotten names who are currently playing there.

Jordi Amat

The former Swansea City defender racked up 52 Premier League appearances during his time in south Wales.

He’s also enjoyed stints in Belgium and Spain, but now aged 32 he plays for Johor Darul Ta’zim alongside two further entries on this list.

Having joined the club back in 2022, Amat has won six trophies with the club and now captains them too. He also plays for the rapidly improving Indonesia national team.

Jese Rodriguez

Once tipped to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s successor at Real Madrid, it seemed like the sky was the limit for the Spanish winger in his formative years.

After progressing through the Real Madrid academy, he went on to make 94 appearances for the club before he ultimately left in 2016 to join PSG.

Since being let go by the French giants, the 31-year-old has struggled to settle down anywhere, having played for five different clubs over the last five years.

He briefly played for Brazilian side Coritiba before joining Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim after 10 months without a club.


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Iker Undabarrena

The Spanish holding midfielder joined the Athletic Bilbao academy at the age of 10 and after spending seven years developing, he made his senior debut for the club back in 2012 during a Europa League clash against Kiryat Shmona.

Undabarrena never quite kicked on at Bilbao after that point as he spent the following years bouncing between clubs in Portugal and Spain.

Having most recently played for Leganes, the 29-year-old made the switch to Malaysia last summer and joined – you guessed it – apparent behemoths Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Fernando Forestieri

Forestieri reaped havoc in Championship defences during his heyday with Sheffield Wednesday and Watford.

From his magical technical skills to his mastery of sh*thouse antics, there was rarely a dull moment when the diminutive Italian forward was around.

After spending his peak years in England, he briefly returned to Italy before then joining Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim back in 2022.

Since moving to Malaysia, the 35-year-old boasts a ridiculously good record, having produced 75 goals and assists in just 72 appearances. With that sort of record, he must be loving life out there.