The five major domestic football leagues in Europe are the Premier League in England, La Liga in Spain, the Bundesliga in Germany, Serie A in Italy and Ligue 1 in France – tough leagues that attract the best talents in the world with players from China, Japan and South Korea among those taking their place among the game's elite.
The following are the players from the three Asian countries that have made over 100 appearances in the five leagues.
Premier League
From left, China's Sun Jinhai (Manchester City), South Korea's Park Ji-sung (Manchester United), Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and Japan's Shinji Okazaki (Leicester City) have all appeared in the English Premier League.
Sun Jihai from China played 123 games for Manchester City and he should be seen as the most accomplished Chinese player who has played overseas.
Park Ji-sung from South Korea played 133 games for Manchester United and 20 games for Queens Park Rangers (QPR). Having won four Premier League titles, four FA Community Shield championships, one UEFA Champions League title and one FIFA Club World Cup with the Red Devils, Park is the most decorated Asian football player.
Son Heung-min from South Korea has so far made 145 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur and has grown to become a world-class striker. According to the latest evaluation by German website Transfermarkt.com, Sun's market value is as high as 80 million euros (about 88.67 million U.S. dollars).
Shinji Okazaki from Japan played 114 times for Leicester City. In his last stop in top European leagues, the veteran strike scored 19 goals for the club and helped to create the greatest underdog story by winning the Premier League title in 2016.
Other players who have made more than 100 appearances in Premier League:
• Maya Yoshida, Japan/Southampton, 154
• Ki Sung-yueng, South Korea/Swansea, Sunderland, Newcastle United, 187
• Lee Chung-yong, South Korea/Bolton Wanderers, Crystal Palace, 105
La Liga
China's Wu Lei (L) of RCD Espanyol and Japan's Takashi Inui of Eibar in La Liga.
Wu Lei from China is making history at Espanyol by scoring four goals in 31 games. However, the most successful player from the three countries is Takashi Inui from Japan. He has played a total of 121 games for three Spanish clubs: Eibar, Real Betis and Alaves.
Bundesliga
South Korea's Cha Bum-kun (L), China's Yang Chen (C) of Eintracht Frankfurt, Japan's Makoto Hasebe of VfL Wolfsburg in Bundesliga
The German football league used to be the most popular destination for Chinese players. Shao Jiayi and Yang Chen both made over 60 appearances in this league and scored four and 16 goals respectively.
There are 11 Japanese players who have played more than 100 games in the Bundesliga and Makoto Hasebe tops them all after playing 300 games for three clubs: VfL Wolfsburg, 1. FC Nürnberg and Eintracht Frankfurt.
By contrast, South Korea has five and one of their names used to echo through Asia – Cha Bum-kun who made 308 appearances for three teams – Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen – and won two UEFA Cup championships.
Other players who made more than 100 appearances in the Bundesliga:
• Yasuhiko Okudera, Japan/Cologne, Werder Bremen, 234
• Gōtoku Sakai, Japan/Stuttgart, Hamburg, 170
• Shinji Kagawa, Japan/Borussia Dortmund, 148
• Yuya Osako, Japan/Cologne, Werder Bremen, 140
• Naohiro Takahara, Japan/Hamburg, Eintracht Frankfurt, 135
• Shinji Okazaki, Japan/Stuttgart, Mainz, 128
• Genki Haraguchi, Japan/Hertha Berlin, Hannover 96, 119
• Hiroshi Kiyotake, Japan/Nuremberg, Hannover 96, 117
• Atsuto Uchida, Japan/Schalke 04, 104
• Hajime Hosogai, Japan/Augsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin, 102
• Koo Ja-cheol, South Korea/Wolfsburg, Augsburg, Mainz, 211
• Son Heung-min, South Korea/Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, 135
• Cha Du-ri, South Korea/Arminia Bielefeld, Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz, Freiburg, Fortuna Düsseldorf, 125
• Ji Dong-won, South Korea/Augsburg, 113
Serie A
Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata of Perugia in Serie A.
Japanese players are more popular in the Italian league compared with their Chinese and South Korea counterparts. Hidetoshi Nakata must be their poster player having played 182 games for five different clubs: Perugia, Roma, Parma, Bologna and Fiorentina. Though Keisuke Honda and Shunsuke Nakamura did not reach 100, they left their imprints on AC Milan and Reggina respectively.
Other players who made more than 100 appearances in Serie A:
• Yuto Nagatomo, Japan/Cesena, Inter Milan, 186
• Takayuki Morimoto, Japan/Catania, Novara, 104
Ligue 1
Japan's Hiroki Sakai (L) of Olympique de Marseille, Daisuke Matsui of Le Mans in Ligue 1.
Li Jinyu from China played six times for AS Nancy in the French League. South Korea have sent in total 11 players to Ligue 1 but few of them were able to settle down. Park Chu-young made the most 91 appearances for Monaco.
Asian players who made more than 100 appearances in Ligue 1:
• Daisuke Matsui, Japan/Le Mans, AS Saint-Étienne, Grenoble Foot 38, Dijon FCO, 148
• Hiroki Sakai, Japan/Olympique de Marseille, 110