V-League 2025-2026: Many foreign players, overseas Vietnamese players...

Before the new season, a series of new players have joined the V-League. Among them, many foreign players who have played in European, Asian, African leagues... are considered to have high professional qualifications. However, the difference in climate, time zone... will be a big challenge for these players.

Waiting for the rookies to debut

After changing its name, Ho Chi Minh City Police Club became the 4th most "expensive" team in V-League 2025-2026. This club has successfully recruited 2 famous foreign players, including 26-year-old Brazilian center-back Matheus Felipe and 28-year-old Belgian midfielder Samuel Bastien.

According to Transfermarkt, Matheus Felipe is valued at 1 million euros, becoming the most expensive player in the V-League 2025-2026. Before joining the Thong Nhat Stadium team to compete in the V-League, this 1.86 m tall center back played for top Brazilian teams.

V-League 2025-2026: Nhiều ngoại binh, cầu thủ Việt kiều góp mặt - Ảnh 1. — Many famous foreign players are gathering at the V-League 2025-2026 playground. (Photo: CAHN Club)

Meanwhile, Samuel Bastien has a transfer fee of 650,000 euros, equal to striker Nguyen Xuan Son of Nam Dinh Club. He has played for the U19, U21 Belgium teams and the Congo national team. Before coming to the V-League, Bastien had experienced top European tournaments such as Belgium, Italy, England, Turkey and the Netherlands.

Similarly, Nam Dinh FC also brought in two famous new players: English striker Kyle Hudlin (2.01 m tall) and South African midfielder Njabulo Blom. Both have never played in the V-League but are highly regarded by experts for their skills thanks to their experience playing in top football countries in Europe, Africa and the US. Of these, Njabulo Blom has played for the U20 and South African national teams.

During the recent training and friendly matches with clubs in Korea, Nam Dinh's foreign players quickly demonstrated their abilities, bringing impressive victories to the reigning V-League champions. With these two quality new players, Nam Dinh not only increased their ball control and attack capabilities but also demonstrated their ambition to win the 3rd consecutive V-League championship.

Hanoi FC also successfully recruited central defender Willian Maranhao. This foreign player born in 1995 of Brazilian origin is 1.79 m tall, plays well in the positions of defensive midfielder and central defender. Maranhao is valued at 900,000 euros, and has played for more than 10 famous teams in Brazil such as: Vasco da Gama, America-MG, EC Bahia, Santos, Avai FC...

Players participating in the most prestigious playground in Vietnam for the first time this time also include: Milan Makaric, David Henen ( Da Nang Club), Stefan Mauk (Hanoi Police), Mahmoud Eid (Nam Dinh Club), Hugo Alves, Miloš Zlatković (Becamex TP HCM Club), Adriel Silva, Victor Morales, Alfredo Pedraza, Daniel Dos Anjos (Ninh Binh Club)...

Welcoming the "wave" of overseas Vietnamese players

In recent seasons, especially from V-League 2024-2025, Vietnamese football has witnessed a "wave" of overseas Vietnamese players returning to play in the country. After the impressive performances of Jason Pendant (Hanoi Police), Kyle Colonna (Hanoi FC), Viktor Le, Adou Minh (Ha Tinh) or Kevin Pham Ba (Nam Dinh)..., experts have had a more objective view on utilizing overseas Vietnamese players in domestic tournaments.

Many overseas Vietnamese players quickly asserted their value thanks to their ideal physique, modern tactical thinking and professional playing skills. After returning home, some of them were called up or took the main position in the Vietnam national team such as: Mac Hong Quan, Adriano Schmidt, Dang Van Lam, Martin Lo, Nguyen Filip, Patrik Le Giang or Pendant Quang Vinh...

Before the 2025-2026 season, many young talents in Europe such as Chung Nguyen Do, Brandon Ly, Vadim Nguyen... also decided to return to contribute to domestic football. Among them, Brandon Ly was born in 2006, graduated from Burnley Football Academy (England) and has just joined Hanoi Police Club with a 5-year contract. He is one of the young talents expected to make a breakthrough.

Meanwhile, versatile midfielder Chung Nguyen Do (20 years old), who grew up in Slavia Sofia (Bulgaria), was signed by Ninh Binh FC for a 5-year contract with a transfer fee of up to 15 billion VND. Vadim Nguyen is also 20 years old, a Vietnamese-Russian, 1.75 m tall and was trained at the football academy of FK Rostov - one of the outstanding youth football training "furnaces" in the land of the White Birch.

Vadim was once on the list of 50 U23 Vietnam players called up to prepare for the 2024 U23 Asian Cup but was absent due to being busy playing for his home club. At the 2025 Thien Long Cup, he attracted attention with his confident playing style, flexible movement and ability to coordinate well with teammates. Thanks to that, he was named by coach Le Duc Tuan to the list of players registered to play for Da Nang Club in the new season.

Many V-League clubs are actively looking for players of Vietnamese origin who have been trained abroad to supplement their squads. This is to improve the professional quality of the team, opening up new directions for Vietnamese football.

Many overseas Vietnamese players are in the sights of national teams, opening up opportunities to improve the level and competitiveness of the Vietnamese team in the near future.

With the current development momentum, the "wave" of overseas Vietnamese players returning to the V-League is expected to be even stronger in the coming seasons, becoming an indispensable part of the development strategy of modern Vietnamese football.