Álvaro Negredo is the latest Spaniard to follow in the footsteps of Thiago Alcántara and José Gómez Campaña in going abroad. And before them went Jesús Navas, Joaquín and Fernando Llorente. Leaving for foreign shores is now all the rage in Spanish football whereas once upon a time it was the exception.
A total of 212 Spanish players were playing abroad last season and another 18 have joined their ranks so far this summer. At least nine out of the 23 players in the national squad that competed in the last edition of the Confederations Cup – and you could add a few more names to that list – will play on foreign soil next season. This trend is also having an impact of the lower categories as well.
This talent drain is threatening to undermine the competitiveness of the Spanish League in comparison with its main European rivals and has come about for two main reasons: the depth of the economic crisis that grips Spain, which is feeling the pinch far more than the UK and Germany, coupled with the impact the Spanish Squad is having on the world footballing stage.
Ginés Carvajal, the agent of former Barça winger Gerard Deulofeu, now on loan to Everton, believes: "Spanish football is revered all over the world, because everywhere they want to play like Spain does."
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