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Diego Costa, Michel Platini to Ferenc Puskas - Ten players who played for multiple national teams

Switching clubs for better opportunities and offers is a very common phenomenon for professional footballers during their playing career.

But switching national teams is not a very common practice for players yet some of the biggest names in world football have played for two or more national teams.

The practice of changing national teams have always been encouraged by FIFA yet there are certain guidelines which need to be followed in order to switch one's loyalty in international football.

While the rules were more lenient in the earlier days when players were allowed to represent more than two national teams, it has now become a lot more strict.

In 2020, FIFA announced at its 70th annual congress that the eligibility rules had been updated, in what administrators have described as the "first wholesale modernisation" of the rules, with added codification and clarification.

From Alfredo Di Stefano to Ferenc Puskas, Michel Platini and Diego Costa, here are some of the top players who represented two or more national teams.

  • Diego Costa Spain Brazil Debate FEATUREHPGoal.com

    Diego Costa

    Brazil: 2013

    Spain: 2014-present

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  • Alfredo Di StefanoGetty

    Alfredo Di Stefano

    Argentina: 1947

    Colombia: 1949

    Spain: 1957-1962

  • Ferenc Puskas Hungary 1950Getty Images

    Ferenc Puskas

    Hungary: 1945-1956

    Spain: 1961-1962

  • Michel Platini France Brazil 1986Getty Images

    Michel Platini

    France: 1976-1987

    Kuwait: 1988

  • Florent Malouda, France, French GuianaGetty Images

    Florent Malouda

    France: 2004-2012

    French Guiana: 2017

  • Declan Rice, England, Republic of IrelandGetty Images

    Declan Rice

    Republic of Ireland: 2018

    England: 2019-present

  • Thiago Motta, Brazil, ItalyGetty Images

    Thiago Motta

    Brazil: 2003

    Italy: 2011-2016

  • Wilfried Zaha, England, Ivory CoastGetty Images

    Wilfried Zaha

    England: 2012-2013

    Ivory Coast: 2017-present

  • Jermaine Jones, Germany, USAGetty Images

    Jermaine Jones

    Germany: 2008

    USA: 2010-2017

  • Munir El Haddai, Spain, MoroccoGetty Images

    Munir El Haddadi

    Spain: 2014

    Morocco: 2021-present