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Ashley Cole has signed on the dotted line at Serie A side Roma.
The former England and Chelsea left back is the latest in a long line of British players to try test their skills in Serie A.
The 33-year-old will become the first ever Englishman to play in Roma colours and the first since David Beckham went on loan to AC Milan for his second spell in 2010.
Some of Britain's greatest players have tried their luck in Serie A, but how did they fare?
Will Cole become a club legend like John Charles did at Juventus, or will he suffer from home sickness and return after just eight months like Jimmy Greaves?
Cole might find that living in Italy is 'like living in a foreign country' and he may struggle to find a bowl of Rice Krispies.
Here are some of the British to have plied their trade in Serie A.
Show all 18 1 /18British players to play in Serie A British players to play in Serie A John Charles Arguably British football’s greatest ever export, Il Gigante Buono – The Gentle Giant – was equally comfortable at centre forward or centre back and has become a Juventus club legend. In five years in Turin he scored 105 goals in 182 matches, winning three league titles and two Italian Cups as well as being named Italian Player of the Year in 1958. He was voted in 1997 as the best-ever foreign player to play for the Old Lady.
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British players to play in Serie A Jimmy Greaves After a prolific start to his career at Chelsea, Greaves moved to Italian giants Milan but tried to cancel the deal before it went through. Unhappy with Nereo Rocco’s strict training regime, the unhappy striker was eventually transfer listed, despite an excellent goal record of nine in 14 matches, including one in the Milan derby.
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British players to play in Serie A Denis Law Joined Torino in 1961 but things did not work out well for the Scottish striker (pictured playing with Manchester United). He did score 10 goals for the club, but the ultra-defensive catenaccio style of play did not suit him. Law was almost killed in a car crash in February and by April he handed in a transfer request, which was ignored. His manager Beniamino Santos also told a referee to send him off for taking a throw-in. He was then to be sold to Juventus but refused and instead flew home to Aberdeen and was sold to Manchester United.
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British players to play in Serie A Joe Jordan (AC Milan) The Scottish striker moved from Manchester United to struggling AC Milan in 1981. Jordan (pictured playing for Southampton) failed to find his form in Italy, scoring just twice in 22 matches as the Rossoneri were relegated from Serie A. In Serie B he was better, scoring 10 league goals Milan bounced straight back – he then moved to Hellas Verona where he also struggled for goals, scoring just twice.
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British players to play in Serie A Luther Blissett (AC Milan) He lasted just a season in Italy after a £1m move and was sold to Watford a year later for a £450,000 loss. Blissett scored only five goals in Serie A, and famously complained that you “can’t seem to get Rice Krispies”, no matter how much money you have.
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British players to play in Serie A Ray Wilkins (AC Milan) Wilkins (pictured playing for England) joined Milan for £1.5m in 1984 but it was an unsuccessful period of the club’s history and in three seasons Wilkins only reached the final of the Copa Italia once, where they were beaten by a Sampdoria side containing Graeme Souness and Trevor Francis.
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British players to play in Serie A Mark Hateley (AC Milan) Newly-promoted AC Milan spent £1m on the England striker in 1984. He performed reasonably in his first two seasons, scoring 15 goals in 43 Serie A matches, but dropped off badly in his third, netting just twice in 23 matches. He was then sold to Monaco where he was rejuvenated.
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British players to play in Serie A Paul Rideout (Bari) Moved with Gordon Cowans from Villa, Rideout (pictured winning the FA Cup with Everton) scored at a rate of one in four for the Italian club, as they were relegated and promoted again. Eventually sold back to Southampton.
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British players to play in Serie A Gordon Cowans (Bari) After winning the European Cup with Aston Villa, Cowans was eventually moved on to Bari, along with Paul Rideout. However, Cowans, who was in and around the England squad at the time, was relegated with the club and failed to make Bobby Robson’s World Cup 1986 squad. He moved back to Aston Villa after three years and says he has “mixed feelings” over his time in Italy.
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British players to play in Serie A Graeme Souness (Sampdoria) After a trophy-laden spell at Liverpool came to an end, Souness joined Trevor Francis in Sampdoria. The tough-tackling Scot played alongside talented young forwards Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli, helping Sampdoria lift the Coppa Italia for the first time in the club’s history. After a pretty successful two seasons, he left to become player-manager of Rangers.
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British players to play in Serie A Trevor Francis (Sampdoria) Considered by Fabio Capello to be the best ever Englishman to play in Italy, Francis spent five years in Italy with Sampdoria and Atalanta, winning the Coppa Italia, Sampdoria’s first ever major trophy, in a team that contained Graham Souness.
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British players to play in Serie A Ian Rush (Juventus) Moved to Italian giants Juventus for a British record fee of £3.2m, but was not as successful as fellow Welshman John Charles. After scoring 30 goals for Liverpool in the 1986-87 season, Rush failed to hit those heights in the famously tight defences of Serie A, netting 14 times in 39 matches. Rush failed to settle in Italy and famously said living in Italy was “like living in a foreign country”. He sold back to the Reds for an English record £2.7m after just a season.
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British players to play in Serie A Des Walker (Sampdoria) Spent just a season with Sampdoria but struggled to fit in and was sold to Sheffield Wednesday after making 30 appearances.
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British players to play in Serie A Paul Gascoigne (Lazio) He may have been loved by Lazio fans but managers, press and the club’s ownership all fell out with him. His form was inconsistent in his first season but after arriving for pre-season two stone overweight he found himself out of the team. However, he lost the weight and regained his place before breaking his leg in training. In three seasons he played just 42 Serie A games.
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British players to play in Serie A Paul Ince (Inter Milan) In two years with Inter, Ince became a firm favourite for his work rate and quality in the centre of midfield. He started slowly but performances picked up although Inter only finished seventh. The next season he was even better as Inter finished third in the table and reached the final of the Uefa Cup – though they were beaten. He was offered an improved contract to stay in Italy but decided to return to England so his son, Thomas, could attend English school.
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British players to play in Serie A David Platt (Sampdoria) On the recommendation of Gordan Cowans, Platt joined Bari and played so well in Italy he earned a £6.5m move to Juventus after just a season. Though he won a Uefa Cup winners medal, he failed to win a first team place in Turin and after constant pressing from Roberto Mancini, Platt joined his future boss at Sampdoria. He helped the club win the Coppa Italia before a move back to Arsenal, where he won the Double.
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British players to play in Serie A Jay Bothroyd (Perugia) One of the strangest moves in modern times, Bothroyd moved on a free transfer from Coventry to Perugia, where he befriended Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s third son, Al-Saadi. Bothroyd scored five goals in Serie A.
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British players to play in Serie A David Beckham (AC Milan) Originally considered to be solely a marketing move, Beckham nevertheless impressed in the red and black of AC Milan in two loan spells while with the LA Galaxy. AC Milan tried to sign the former England captain permanently during his first loan spell but did not match the valuation of the MLS club. He returned for a second period such was his impact on the club.
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Good luck, Ashley.
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