Top 10 Asian footballers
Kewell’s life at Anfield never quite reached the heights he would have hoped, with injuries a constant companion. He was part of the magical night in Istanbul when Liverpool pulled off an unbelievable comeback and beat AC Milan in the UCL final in 2005, but he limped off before half-time after being handed a start by Rafael Benitez.
After that his career took him to Galatasaray, Qatar and two stops in Australia’s A-League before announcing his retirement at the age of 35.
8. Mat Ryan: Club Brugge to Valencia, 2015 – €6.3 million
Ryan played in Europe for the first time with Club Brugge in Belgium following an impressive spell with Central Coast Mariners in his home country.
Brugge have enjoyed Ryan's best form to date
He emerged as one of the best goalkeepers in Belgium’s top-flight, winning back-to-back keeper of the year awards and the 2015 Belgium Cup. Pursued by Valencia in La Liga, he signed a six-year contract to shift over to Spain.
But injury troubles and the form of fellow Valencia keeper Diego Alves meant Ryan was largely used only for cup games. The decision was then made to loan him out to Genk in Belgium, hoping the 25-year-old can gain some more game time and experience.
7. Ki Sung-yueng: Glasgow Celtic to Swansea, 2012 – €8.2 million
In his first year in England in 2012/13, he helped Swansea win their first ever trophy after beating Bradford City 5-0 at Wembley in the League Cup final.
Ki already has a long list of achievements
With such an impressive season, Swansea called him back up to play for them and he remains one of the core players today, helping them narrowly avoid relegation this season.
6. Mark Viduka: Celtic to Leeds United, 2000 – €8.5 million
If this deal had happened in more recent times, surely the price of this goal-scoring machine would have been significantly higher, although it was still a decent amount back in 2000.
Viduka really announced himself on the European stage in Scottish football with Celtic, taking out that league’s player of the year award in his first full season, and Leeds boss David O'Leary quickly came calling to strengthen their offensive power.
At times 'Big Dukes' was unplayable
His time at Leeds United was probably the most productive of his career, combining well with the likes of Alan Smith and Socceroo teammate Harry Kewell. His most memorable game was when he famously netted all four goals in a 4-3 victory over Liverpool.
Leeds emerged as one of the best teams in England and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2001, but the club soon found financial trouble and one by one key players were sold to cover its debt.
A key player for his national team, playing a starring role in Australia’s breakthrough appearance at the 2006 World Cup, Viduka would play for Middlesbrough – helping them to a UEFA Cup final – and Newcastle before retiring at the age of 34.
