Juninho Paulista

After spending two years playing for Sao Paulo of Brazil, he signed for Middlesbrough during the 1995-96 season and became an instant favourite with the Boro fans, seen as one of the most fasted and most skilful players in the premier league. His brilliance at the club could not stop the club from being relegated by the end of the 96-97 season. He also made his Brazil debut while playing for Boro in 1995. During his long spell playing for Athletico Madrid, Juninho moved back to England to play for Middlesbrough on loan in the 1999-2000 season, enjoying more time playing for the club.
After playing for Spanish clubs, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo he came back to play for Middlesbrough for the third time, this time permanent. He was outstanding for Boro once again and helped them win the Carling Cup final in February 2004 as they defeated Bolton in the final. He later on had a spell playing for Celtic and is currently at Brazilian club, Palmeiras.

Fabrizio Ravanelli

Ravanelli was well known as the ‘White feather’ during his time playing football. He started his career off playing for Perugia for three seasons before moving on to play for Casertana, Reggiana and then most notably, Juventus. He helped the club win the champions league and Italian league title during his stay and moved to Middlesbrough at the start of the 1996-97 season, helping the club immediately, however he and his team-mates could not stop Boro from suffering relegation by the end of the season. He left Boro in 1998 before moving on to play for French club, Marseille. In the summer of 2001, Ravanelli signed for Derby County and went on to spend two years at the club before enjoying a short period playing for Scottish outfit, Dundee.

Nick Barmby

After several very successful years playing for Spurs, Barmby moved to the Riverside for £5.75 million and did not disappoint. At Middlesboro he spent on season and made 42 appearances for the club, arguably their best player. The 1996-97 season saw Barmby move to Everton and he immediately became an important player for the club. He scored 21 goals in 133 matches and moved onto to play for local club, Liverpool, for £6 million in July 2000. At Liverpool he won the UEFA Cup and League cup. He later on had spells playing for Leeds United and Nottingham Forest and is currently playing for Hull City.

Paul Merson

Merson started his career off at Arsenal in 1985 and went on to spend 12 seasons with the club, being honoured as the ‘PFA Young player of the year’ in 1989 was a great honour. He was an integral member of the side that won the league title in 1988 and 1991. Merson was outstanding up front for Arsenal during his career at the club, making over 425 appearances and scoring over 100 goals. In 1997 he moved to Middlesbrough for £5 million, which in turn at that point made him the most expensive player to sign for a club that was not in the top flight. He put on some great performances in his first season at the club, helping the side gain promotion back into the top flight. After one fantastic season at the Riverside, he moved to Aston Villa, signing for £6.75 million. After three years at Villa he went on to play for Portsmouth and then Walsall. To this date, he is the last outfield player to have played for England who had not been playing for a top flight club at that time, during the 1998 world cup finals.