9 fantastic footballers you totally forgot are still playing in Europe’s major leagues

You’ll be surprised at how many completely forgotten yet once high-profile footballers are still flying under the radar in Europe’s top five leagues.

It’s the promised land of club football. To have a career in the game is one thing, but to hang in the elite bracket is a different beast, which is why so many head away to less competitive leagues when they’re past their peak or have faded into obscurity.

Not these nine, though. Believe it or not, the following players are still knocking about in Europe’s top five and you likely had no idea.

James Rodriguez

The last few years have been a bit of a fever dream for Rodriguez. Bursting onto the scene at the 2014 World Cup and becoming a galactic, he found himself signing for Everton in 2020 – what a world we live in.

It’s all been a little skewiff ever since that spell with the Toffees. A season in Qatar, a short stint with Olympiacos and even a spell in Brazil with Sao Paulo. Somehow, though, he’s found himself back in Europe’s top five leagues with Rayo Vallecano.

Rodriguez signed for the Spanish side and returned to La Liga this summer. The 33-year-old has failed to score or assist in any of his first six appearances.

Lewis Holtby

While not the biggest name in this list, English football fans will no doubt remember Holtby for his time with Tottenham, Fulham and later Blackburn.

It never quite happened for the midfielder in the Premier League despite arriving with plenty of hype, but, now 34, he rebuilt his career successfully and captains Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga. Unfortunately, they’ve won once all season so far.

Mario Gotze

Scorer of the winning goal at the 2014 World Cup final, Gotze’s career didn’t quite pan out as we might’ve expected, but it’s been a strong one and continues to finish well after a tough spell with injury and illness.

After rebuilding his stock outside the top five in the Eredivisie with PSV, Gotze returned to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 and has remained there ever since. They reached the final of the DfB-Pokal in 2023.

Andre Ayew

While his brother Jordan is still at it in the Premier League with Leicester, Andre’s Barclays-themed ship has sailed as he now finds himself in the land of Ligue 1 McDonald’s (yes, they found one worse than Uber Eats) with Le Havre.

Ayew joined the club in November 2023 and left at the end of last season, but wound up re-signing with the club shortly after. We’re not ruling out another spell in English football.

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Ander Herrera

Having collected a likely eye-watering paycheque for a few years in the French capital with Paris Saint-Germain, Herrera made a romantic return to where it all started, signing for Athletic Club on loan in 2022 and permanently in 2023.

The romantic return was always going to be worth it no matter what, but undoubtedly the icing on the cake was winning the Copa Del Rey in 2024.

Reece Oxford

While nowhere near the biggest name in this list, many will remember Oxford becoming the youngest player to appear for West Ham as a 16-year-old back in July 2015 in the Europa League. A Premier League debut followed, starting in a 2-0 win over Arsenal.

Somehow, it never happened for the English defender after that, with a series of loans stunting his progress more than encouraging it. Now 25, he’s been in Germany since 2017 and at Augsburg since 2019.

Unfortunately, a string of long-term injuries have meant that he hasn’t played for their first-team since March 2023. Here’s hoping he finds a way back onto the pitch soon.

Nemanja Matic

It’s been a difficult few years for Matic since leaving Manchester United. Reuniting with Jose Mourinho at Roma ended in tears and he was shipped off to Rennes after just one season.

He endured a nightmare spell with the French side and left them after just a season and a half, following a string of poor performances.

Matic then joined Lyon in January 2024 as they scrambled to bolster their squad to avoid an unheard of relegation, which worked in the short-term, but their form has now stagnated once again and the club is in financial turmoil. We can’t imagine the Serbian midfielder is a particularly cost-effective option.

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Dante

We’d love to know what Dante has for breakfast every morning, because whatever it is seems to be making him immortal.

The Brazilian defender has just turned 41 and is in his ninth season at OGC Nice, having now made 294 appearances for the club at the time of writing. That’s an incredible innings at a top side in Europe.

To say not much was thought of him after his departure from Bayern Munich back in 2015, it’s an even more impressive achievement.

Nicolas Pepe

Arguably Arsenal’s worst ever signing, £72million for Pepe will haunt everyone involved in that transfer until the end of time.

The nightmare is now over, however, and after an inevitable stint in the Turkish Super Lig, the Ivory Coast winger is now back in Europe’s top five with Villarreal, who took a punt on him after an impressive season with Trabzonspor.

Still only 29, he’s played 11 times so far this season, scoring once and assisting twice. A modest start for a player with plenty left in the tank.