David Beckham will not be the first Brit to try his luck abroad when he arrives at Real Madrid next month.

Not everyone has found life away from home to their taste but others have prospered in foreign climes and gone on to achieve great success.

Here, Northern Echo SPORT looks at some of the best and worst British exports.

HITS

Kevin Keegan

Liverpool fans were sad to see the back of Keegan in 1977, and puzzled, as he was leaving the European champions for Hamburg.

The move proved personally successful, however, with Keegan going on to be named European Footballer of the Year twice.

Graeme Souness

A three-times European Cup winner with Liverpool, Scotland skipper Souness moved to Sampdoria in 1985 and enjoyed two successful seasons. He and Trevor Francis provided the experience while the likes of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini were developing. They won the Italian Cup in his first season.

Chris Waddle

Enjoyed a highly-successful spell in the south of France when he joined Marseille from Spurs in 1989 for £4.5m.

During the former Newcastle winger's four-year spell at Marseille the club won the French league three times.

John Charles

Charles was the first big British export when he moved to Juventus in 1957.

The Welshman is a legend in Turin, after scoring 93 goals in 155 games and helping the club to win three Serie A titles.

Gary Lineker

Lineker scored goals for every team he played for and enjoyed a profitable spell with Barcelona.

He moved to the Nou Camp in 1986 and went on to score 44 goals in 99 games, winning the Spanish Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup along the way.

David Platt

Caught the eye of the Italians during the 1990 World Cup and after continuing his good form for Aston Villa was soon on his way back. Commanded a total of £22m in transfer fees after moving between Bari, Sampdoria and Juventus before joining Arsenal.

Trevor Francis

Britain's first £1m player enjoyed a rich and varied playing career which included a stint at Sampdoria where he played alongside Souness and also won an Italian Cup winners' medal. Also played at Atalanta.

MISSES

Ian Rush

Liverpool legend Rush's one season at Juventus was not quite a disaster, but it was not much better. Rush moved to Juve in 1987 but was back at Anfield a year later after scoring just seven goals.

He made little attempt to adapt to Italian life and became homesick.

''It was a foreign country,'' he said.

Luther Blissett

The story goes that an AC Milan scout was so impressed by John Barnes that he urged the club to buy him from Watford immediately.

Unfortunately he could not remember his name and Milan signed up Blissett by mistake.

That may not quite be the truth, but Milan were certainly disappointed by Blissett after signing him in 1983 that they let him go after a single season.

Jimmy Greaves

After making his name at Chelsea, Greaves left for AC Milan in search of fame and fortune in 1961.

He scored nine goals in ten games, including his debut, but the Italian way of life was not for him.

He left after just four months to join Spurs. He did not look back.

Denis Law

Law made a big-money move from Manchester City to Torino but failed to hit it off in Italy. He fell out with club officials and returned to Manchester with United. The rest is history.

MAYBES

Steve McManaman

Former Liverpool star McManaman has been brilliant at times for Real Madrid and has twice won the European Cup.

McManaman has the respect of the fans, but cannot command a regular first-team place in a midfield dominated by superstars.

Seems to be on the periphery of events at present.

Paul Ince

Ince was not an immediate success at Inter Milan but eventually emerged as one of the club's key players.

It took time to settle but once he found his feet the fouling stopped and the tackling got better. Still, he was keen to return to England and joined Liverpool after just two seasons.

Des Walker

Moved to Sampdoria from Nottingham Forest for £1.5m in 1993.

Performed solidly enough but never really settled and moved to Sheffield Wednesday after just one season in Italy.

Paul Gascoigne

The transfer of Gascoigne to Lazio, when it finally happened, was a huge event and the player lapped up the adulation.

He impressed in flashes on the pitch and became a big crowd favourite but injuries limited his involvement.

He also struggled to adapt off the field, infamously belching into an interviewer's microphone.

He moved to Rangers after three years in Rome