ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Very few Bulgarians play in elite football leagues

Petko Hristov
Photo: BGNES - archive

In the report of CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland, Bulgaria ranks an unimpressive 62nd place out of 80 countries, as the number of Bulgarian football players in foreign clubs has decreased by 9 places in the last 5 years, a drop of 15%. 

Bulgaria currently has only 50 players playing in foreign leagues and almost no Bulgarians in the elite Top 5 leagues, according to the CIES Observatory's weekly report. At the moment, only defender Petko Hristov plays in the Italian elite Spetzia, while Ilia Gruev Jr. is about to return with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. 

The leading country in terms of player exports is Brazil with 1,219 players, followed by France with 978 players and Argentina with 815 players abroad. 

Last in the ranking are Peru, Zambia and Uzbekistan.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria Sport    Bulgaria CIES Football Observatory football ranking

More from category

Bulgaria's Ivan Ivanov and Alexander Vasilev join the Davis Cup team

US Open junior champion Ivan Ivanov and his runner-up Alexander Vasilev are part of Bulgaria's Davis Cup team for the match against Finland in World Group I, BTA reports. The Bulgarian tennis players will host the Scandinavians in the match of the..

published on 9/13/25 7:05 AM

Tennis: Ivan Ivanov and Alexander Vasilev to play in Junior Masters top 8 tournament

Ivan Ivanov and Alexander Vasilev have officially qualified for the Junior Masters tournament for the world’s top 8 under 18 tennis players. The tournament will take place 22-26 October in Chengdu, China. The champion could win USD 23,000. The players..

published on 9/9/25 4:07 PM
Ilian Iliev

National football coach Ilian Iliev files resignation following two losses in World Cup qualifiers

The coach of Bulgaria's national football team Ilian Iliev has announced that he is leaving the national football team. The decision comes after two defeats by Spain and Georgia . The national team lost 0:3 in their first two World Cup qualifiers from..

published on 9/9/25 9:46 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 25
Clear
Min: 13 | Max: 24
Clear
Min: 13 | Max: 24
Clear
Min: 7 | Max: 27
Clear
Min: 10 | Max: 26
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 25
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 24
Clear
Min: 7 | Max: 23
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 25
Clear
Min: 6 | Max: 26
Clear
Min: 12 | Max: 26
Clear
Min: 11 | Max: 27
Clear
Min: 11 | Max: 27
Clear
Min: 6 | Max: 24
Clear
Min: 10 | Max: 26
Clear
Min: 10 | Max: 28
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 23
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 26
Clear
Min: 11 | Max: 25
Clear
Min: 12 | Max: 25
Clear
Min: 4 | Max: 21
Clear
Min: 6 | Max: 24
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 27
Clear
Min: 8 | Max: 24
Clear
Min: 11 | Max: 26
Clear
Min: 7 | Max: 25
Clear
Min: 9 | Max: 26
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

National volleyball team will play versus Portugal in 8th finals of World Volleyball Championship in Manila

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has announced the schedule for the upcoming elimination matches at the World Championship in the..

published on 9/18/25 1:25 PM

Yuliana Yaneva wins a silver medal at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb

Yuliana Yaneva won a silver medal in the 68 kg category at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. In the final, she lost 2:4 to..

published on 9/19/25 9:04 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"