4 forgotten footballers we can’t believe are now playing in Malaysia
Former Real Madrid, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City stars are among the forgotten footballers who are currently playing in Malaysia.
Known for its iconic landmarks and natural landscapes, we can understand why Malaysia would be an attractive place for footballers to wind down their careers.
We’ve taken a closer look at the Malaysia Super League and have found four forgotten ballers who are currently playing there.
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 as he’s played for five different clubs over the last five years.
He briefly played for Brazilian side Coritiba and then following 10 months without a club, he recently joined Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Fernando Forestieri
The diminutive Italian forward 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 Forestieri 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 34-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.
Interestingly, he recently trained with former side Watford as he’s currently in the process of recovering from an injury. A move back to England seems unlikely at this stage though as he signed a new deal with Johor Darul Ta’zim earlier this year.
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club in La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga & Ligue 1 in 2024-25?
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 alongside Forestieri and Rodriguez at Johor Darul Ta’zim.
Having joined the club back in 2022, Amat has won six trophies with the club and now captains them too.
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 over the summer and joined – you guessed it – table-topping side Johor Darul Ta’zim.