# List of Spain international footballers born outside Spain

A number of the male footballers who have reached international status with Spain were not born in the country. Some were born overseas and moved there at a young age (as far as this list is concerned, more often they were the children of Spanish migrants who decided to return, rather than migrant newcomers from other parts of the world) while others became naturalised citizens of Spain after living there for the required period and never being selected by their homeland – for some countries, including those of Latin America, this process requires only a few years of residency, which has allowed several Brazil-born players to play for Spain having only moved there in the course of their professional careers. Prior to the 1960s, players were not tied to a single national team having appeared for them, and some of the leading foreign players in the Spanish league in the 1950s thus were selected on residency grounds.
This list does not include players born in non-peninsular Spain (the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, all of which have provided at least one player for the national team), nor any internationals of other heritage who were born in Spain.

## List of players

| Name | Spain caps | Years active | Nation of birth |
| Eduardo Arbide | 1 | 1921 | Argentina |
| Paulino Alcántara | 5 | 1921–1923 | Philippines |
| Juan Errazquin | 6 | 1925–1928 | Argentina |
| Emilio Sagi Liñán | 1 | 1926 | Argentina |
| Marcelino Gálatas | 1 | 1927 | Philippines |
| Ramón Zabalo | 11 | 1931–1936 | England |
| Jesús Alonso Fernández | 3 | 1942 | Cuba |
| Francisco Martin Arencibia (es) | 1 | 1942 | Cuba |
| László Kubala | 19 | 1953–1961 | Hungary |
| Héctor Rial | 5 | 1955–1958 | Argentina |
| Heriberto Herrera | 1 | 1957 | Paraguay |
| Alfredo Di Stéfano | 31 | 1957–1961 | Argentina |
| José Santamaría | 16 | 1958–1962 | Uruguay |
| Eulogio Martinez | 8 | 1959–1962 | Paraguay |
| Ferenc Puskás | 4 | 1961–1962 | Hungary |
| Vicente Anastasio Jara (es) | 1 | 1966 | Paraguay |
| José Eulogio Gárate | 18 | 1967–1975 | Argentina |
| Juan Carlos Touriño | 1 | 1972 | Argentina |
| José Luis López Peinado | 4 | 1972–1973 | Morocco |
| Rubén Óscar Valdez | 9 | 1972–1974 | Argentina |
| Heraldo Bezerra | 1 | 1973 | Brazil |
| Roberto Juan Martínez | 5 | 1973–1974 | Argentina |
| José Antonio Ramos Huete | 4 | 1975–1977 | Morocco |
| Rubén Cano | 12 | 1977–1979 | Argentina |
| Roberto López Ufarte | 15 | 1977–1982 | Morocco |
| Juan Carlos Heredia | 3 | 1978–1979 | Argentina |
| Gerardo Miranda | 9 | 1981–1985 | Mauritania |
| Álvaro Cervera | 4 | 1991–1992 | Equatorial Guinea |
| Thomas Christiansen | 2 | 1993 | Denmark |
| Pier Luigi Cherubino | 1 | 1994 | Italy |
| Donato Gama da Silva | 12 | 1994–1996 | Brazil |
| Juan Antonio Pizzi | 22 | 1994–1998 | Argentina |
| Armando Álvarez | 2 | 1996–1997 | France |
| Catanha | 3 | 2000 | Brazil |
| Luis Cembranos | 1 | 2000 | Switzerland |
| Curro Torres | 5 | 2001–2002 | Germany |
| Mariano Pernía | 11 | 2006–2007 | Argentina |
| Marcos Senna | 28 | 2006–2010 | Brazil |
| Thiago Alcântara | 37 | 2011–2021 | Italy |
| Diego Costa | 24 | 2014–2018 | Brazil |
| Rodrigo | 28 | 2014–2023 | Brazil |
| Ansu Fati | 4 | 2020– | Guinea-Bissau |
| Aymeric Laporte | 32 | 2021– | France |
| Joselu | 3 | 2023– | Germany |
| Robin Le Normand | 15 | 2023– | France |

## List by country of birth

| Country | Total |
| Argentina | 13 |
| Brazil | 6 |
| France | 3 |
| Morocco | 3 |
| Paraguay | 3 |
| Cuba | 2 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Hungary | 2 |
| Italy | 2 |
| Philippines | 2 |
| Denmark | 1 |
| England | 1 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1 |
| Mauritania | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 |
| Uruguay | 1 |