Which Australians are in the top five football leagues in Europe? Aussie players in England, Germany and Italy | Sporting News Australia

It is a dream for all Australian footballers to play in one of the biggest leagues in Europe, coming up against the biggest names in world football and playing in big games in front of big crowds.

Several Aussies have become legends or cult heroes at clubs in England, Italy and Spain, though the number of players in such leagues has declined in recent years.

That said, there is still a good selection of talent set to lineup in the big leagues, with some new and exciting additions to the list.

The Sporting News charts all the Aussies who are playing in the top five European leagues this season.

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Which Australians are playing in top five European leagues?

As it stands, there are 13 Australians who are under contract at clubs in the ‘big five’ leagues in Europe.

Premier League – England

There has been an increase of the Aussie contingent in the Premier League, with two new additions thanks to Ipswich Town being promoted to the top flight.

Massimo Luongo and Cameron Burgess were crucial in their promotion campaign and will be playing in the Premier League for the first time ever.

They will be joined by Joe Gauci at Aston Villa, Cameron Peupion at Brighton and Garang Kuol at Newcastle, though the latter will most likely be loaned out.

Legendary Aussie Ange Postecoglou is also set to begin his second season as Tottenham manager.

Bundesliga – Germany

There are three Aussies in the Bundesliga this season, including exciting wonderkid Nestory Irankunda, who has had a strong start to life at giants Bayern Munich.

He has scored and assisted in friendlies, and it will be interesting to see if he can break into a talented Bayern team with a strong attack.

Anthony Pavlesic, a young and promising goalkeeper, is also on the books at Bayern, but will most likely be involved with their academy side this season.

He will be joined by Hamburg-based duo Jackson Irvine and Conor Metcalfe, with both being promoted with St Pauli last season; Irvine is currently captain of the club.

Serie A – Italy

There will be three Aussies plying their trade in Italy’s Serie A this season, including Socceroos captain Maty Ryan after the goalkeeper joined Roma in the offseason.

Alessandro Circati will be lining up for Parma after they achieved promotion, whilst Ajdin Hrustic is still with Hellas Verona, though he may depart the club in the transfer window.

Ligue 1 – France

There is currently only one player in France’s top flight, with Denis Genreau set to feature once again for Toulouse in Ligue 1.

It will be his fourth season at the club, though the 25-year-old midfielder struggled for gametime last season and may look to move after losing his place in the Socceroos side.

La Liga – Spain

There are currently no Australian players in the Spanish top flight.

The last Aussie to play on the sunny shores of Spain in La Liga was Awer Mabil during a short stint with Cadiz in 2022.

List of Australians in ‘top five’ European leagues