He left the club at the end of his contract in 2014 and returned to the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion, where he featured rarely and had an unsuccessful loan to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.

In March 2016, he joined North American Soccer League expansion team Rayo OKC, and when they shut down after one season he signed for Real Zaragoza.

Samaras was born in Heraklion, the capital city of the Greek island of Crete[1] to a Melbourne-born father who had settled back in Greece before Georgios' birth.

[20] In the next match Samaras, along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, scored a hat-trick as relegation candidates RBC Roosendaal were defeated 7–1 and Heerenveen pushed to finish the league in a European spot.

[41] On 10 March, defender Richard Dunne said that he felt the reason that City were performing so badly was that their foreign players, including Samaras, were letting the side down by not working hard enough.

He also said that he felt a lot of criticism stemmed from his high transfer fee, saying that it is normal for expensive players to be criticised more than most when they don't play well.

Samaras' agent Paul Koutsoliakos said that, despite interest from across Europe, his client wanted to stay in the Premier League and prove his ability.

Samaras was behind the likes of Valeri Bojinov and Rolando Bianchi in the pecking order and was included in the squad for the first time only on 25 September, when he was selected for a League Cup match against Norwich City.

[47] Several teams including Rangers, Middlesbrough, Espanyol, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic had expressed an interest in signing him, but it was Celtic to whom he eventually moved.

[52] A week later he scored the winner in a 2–1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle to help Celtic keep up the pressure on league leaders Rangers.

[75] Although he did not start in the League Cup Final due to poor form,[76] he did come on as a substitute as Celtic beat Rangers 2–0 and won the trophy.

[81] On 5 August, Samaras scored in injury time of Celtic's Champions League third qualifying round tie against Dynamo Moscow.

[86] Celtic endured a dismal season, culminating in a humiliating 2–0 loss to lower league Ross County in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.

[87] Samaras missed a chance to equalise in that match when the score was only 1–0 to County,[87] and he was amongst several players publicly criticised by caretaker manager Neil Lennon.

[50] Samaras began the 2010–11 season in good form, scoring his first goal in a Europa League tie against FC Utrecht with a chest down and finish to make it 2–0, sending Celtic into the second leg with a lead.

[95] His first goal came from latching onto a Joe Ledley pass before rounding Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor and slotting home from a wide angle.

[97] In the following game, a Scottish Cup tie against Berwick Rangers, Samaras again started but failed to last the 90 minutes after sustaining a hamstring injury.

[98] Samaras had an influential performance in a 3–0 home victory against Rangers in the SPL on 20 February, helping to set up the second goal for Gary Hooper[99] and causing problems for the opposition throughout the game.

[103] Celtic drew 0–0 with Rangers on 24 April 2011 in the final Old Firm league fixture of the season, with Samaras missing a penalty kick late in the second half.

"[109] After an impressive performance in Celtic's 1–1 draw against Italian league leaders Udinese,[110] fellow Serie A side Palermo expressed an interest in Samaras.

He had been playing as a left midfielder in the previous few weeks, and the Daily Record said that his good form since returning to the team had helped re-ignite Celtic's season.

[113] On 21 August, Samaras assisted Kris Commons' opening goal in the Champions League play-off round first leg away at Helsingborg and then scored himself later in the match.

[117] Samaras finished the season with more silverware as Celtic clinched their second successive league title and then defeated Hibs 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final.

[131] The same day, Samaras confirmed that Celtic would not offer him a new deal when his current contract expired at the end of the season, leaving him as a free agent.

[132] On 22 August 2014, Samaras completed a free transfer move to English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on a two-year contract.

In April 2015, Greek newspaper SportDay reported that Samaras was unhappy with life in the Middle East and did not wish to continue his career at the Saudi club when his contract expired at the end of the season.

[143] Samaras did eventually sign for a North American Soccer League team, joining expansion side Rayo OKC on 10 March 2016.

[144] On 2 April, he made his debut in their first match, replacing Robbie Findley for the final 12 minutes of a goalless home draw against FC Edmonton.

[146] Samaras' first goal for the franchise came on 16 July in his 9th match, coming on as a late substitute to wrap up a 3–0 win over the same opponent at the Miller Stadium.

[147] Samaras became a free agent in early 2017 when Rayo OKC shut down after only one season, and his next move was suggested to be to Spain to sign for Real Zaragoza.