Football is largely dominated by clubs from five leagues – historically, the Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A have been the top divisions in the sport.
Today, however, we’d like to take a trip outside of the box. We’ll look at the five best players in the world outside of those five leagues – including former Napoli, Barcelona and West Ham United stars.
Ivan Toney
Ivan Toney has been a smash hit in the Saudi Pro League – this season alone, the former Brentford striker has scored 23 goals and have notched up five assists over the course of 22 league games.
His performances have thrusted Al-Ahli up to second in the league table – they are above the likes of Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, two of the division’s most lucrative outfits.
Toney is far too good to be playing in the Saudi Pro League – previously, outside of Brentford, he has also turned out for clubs such as Northampton Town, Peterborough United and Newcastle United.
Lucas Paqueta
Lucas Paqueta only moved back to his boyhood club, Flamengo, very recently. Citing homesickness, he put in a transfer request at West Ham and made the jump back to Brazil in the January transfer window.
An adaptable attacking player, Paqueta is most suited to playing as an attacking midfielder – however, he is also comfortable playing on the wing or as an out-and-out striker.
He has played in two of the other top five leagues over the course of his career, having previously represented AC Milan in Serie A and Lyon in Ligue 1.
Francisco Trincao
Francisco Trincao’s time at Barcelona might have been somewhat underwhelming, but he is making up for lost time at Sporting CP in the Primeira Liga.
He has been a top star for the Portuguese giants both domestically and in continental competitions this season. He has scored five goals and has registered 11 assists in the league, while he has also scored four goals in seven games in the Champions League.
Trincao’s efforts have led Sporting to the top eight of the Champions League table – will he make it into Portugal’s star-studded XI at the 2026 World Cup?
Vangelis Pavlidis
Vangelis Pavlidis’ goalscoring record this season is almost peerless. The Greek international has taken the Primeira Liga by storm since his arrival at Benfica – while they are only third in the league table, it isn’t for lack of trying on Pavlidis’ behalf.
So far this season, the 27-year-old has scored 20 goals and has notched up three assists over the course of 23 league games.
He has also scored a couple of goals in the Champions League in 2025/26 – with form like this, Europe’s top clubs will surely be taking a close look at him ahead of the summer.
Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen is one of the best strikers in the world – it was seen as a major surprise when he opted to join Galatasaray, as opposed to one of Europe’s biggest teams.
Let’s not be disrespectful – Galatasaray are a massive football club. However, the Turkish Super Lig lacks the pedigree of Europe’s top five leagues, leaving Osimhen somewhat marooned.
Nevertheless, Osimhen hasn’t let this get in the way of his success. The Nigerian international has scored nine goals in 16 Turkish Super Lig games, as well as seven goals in eight Champions League games.