Background and career
Hidetoshi Nakata, OSSI (中田 英寿, Nakata Hidetoshi; born 22 January 1977) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered as one of the greatest Asian football players of all time and coming from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became the first ever AFC player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or. Nakata began his professional career in 1995 and won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year award in 1997 and 1998, the Scudetto with Roma in 2001, played for Japan in three World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002 and 2006) and competed in the Olympics twice (1996 and 2000). In 2005, he was made the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, one of Italy's highest honors, for improving the country's image overseas. Nakata has also been involved in fashion, regularly attending runway shows and wearing designer clothing. Nakata announced his retirement at the age of 29 on 3 July 2006, after a ten-year career that included seven seasons in the Italian Serie A and a season in the English Premier League. In March 2004, Pelé named Nakata in his FIFA 100, a list of the top living footballers at the time. Nakata was one of only two Asian footballers on the list.
Nakata began his professional career at the age of 18 in 1995, with J1 League side Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare). He played many matches as an attacking midfielder in his first season and the club won the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the first Asian title in the club's history. In the final against Al-Talaba, he scored the winning goal in the 81st minute. From 1996, he was a regular player and he was selected for the J.League Best XI in 1997.
After the 1998 World Cup in France, Nakata was signed by Perugia in Italy's Serie A for 4 million U.S. dollars, becoming the second Japanese player ever to appear in the Italian top league after Kazuyoshi Miura had done it for Genoa four years earlier. Scepticism initially surrounded his arrival, but Nakata quickly established himself as a sensation in Italian football, scoring a brace on his debut against Juventus in a 3–4 defeat. Operating primarily as an attacking midfielder, Nakata was known for his vision, passing range, and ability to contribute offensively with late runs and shots from distance. His technical skill was demonstrated early in his spell at the club by a notable acrobatic volley in a 2–0 win over Piacenza. Beyond his performances on the pitch, his transfer generated widespread attention, leading thousands of Japanese fans and specialized tour operators to travel to Umbria to watch matches at the Stadio Renato Curi, while also resulting in significant merchandise sales in Japan. In his first season with the *Grifoni*, he played 32 matches and scored 10 goals—his single-season highest total—helping the club secure safety in Serie A. He continued to feature prominently into the following campaign, making 15 league appearances and scoring 2 goals before transferring midway through the season.
In January 2000, Nakata moved to Roma for 42 billion lire, helping the team win the scudetto. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came on 6 May 2001 in a Serie A match against Juventus at Stadio Delle Alpi. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0–2, Nakata netted with a 30-yard goal beyond Juventus goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's reach, with 11 minutes left in the match. He then helped Roma score the equalizer when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried by Van der Sar into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who scored for Roma in the last minute. The match ended with a 2–2 draw and Roma maintained a six-point margin at the top of the league table.
In the summer of 2001, Nakata penned a four-year deal with Parma for a transfer fee of 55 billion lire, a world record payment for an Asian player which would not be broken for 14 years. He made his club debut on 8 August 2001 in their 0–2 defeat at Stadio Ennio Tardini against Lille in the first leg of the third round of the Champions League. More than one month later, on 23 September, Nakata scored his first goal for Parma in Serie A at home over Brescia, which also proved to be the winning goal of the match. Nakata played there for two and a half seasons, where he scored a crucial goal after coming on as a substitute in the first leg of the 2002 Coppa Italia final against Juventus, which Parma eventually won.
In January 2004, Nakata played for Bologna where he played the remainder of the 2003–04 season before moving to Fiorentina, where he played the following season. In August 2005, Nakata moved to Premiership side Bolton Wanderers on loan. During his season at Bolton, which would be the last of his professional career, he scored once in the league, in a 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
