Footballers who played for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona

Few players have had the privilege of playing in ELCLÁSICO while wearing the jerseys of both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. These are footballers who are well aware of the pressure involved in signing for the eternal rival. Learn more about these ELCLÁSICO legends in LALIGA EA SPORTS!

Luís Figo

To talk about rivalry in ELCLÁSICO is to talk about Luís Figo. The Portuguese signed for FC Barcelona in the 1995/96 season from Sporting Clube and became a key player for the Culés. But after five campaigns as an Azulgrana, in the summer of 2000, Figo signed for Real Madrid, becoming the first piece of 'The Galácticos'. He remained a Madridista for five seasons.

His trophy cabinet includes 4 LALIGA EA SPORTS titles (2 with FC Barcelona and 2 with Real Madrid), the Champions League, the Intercontinental Cup (with the Blanco team), the Cup Winners' Cup (with FC Barcelona), and the UEFA Super Cup (1 with each shirt), among other titles.

The Portuguese has suffered the pressure of ELCLÁSICO, being one of the players who moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid, and also knows what it is like to score in this special duel with both jerseys: he scored 3 goals with FC Barcelona and 1 with Real Madrid.

Ronaldo Nazário

Ronaldo, a LALIGA legend and one of the best strikers in football history, arrived at FC Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven in the 96/97 season. The Brazilian made history in LALIGA, among other things, for his goal against SD Compostela in his debut year.

After leaving for Inter Milan in 1997, the Brazilian star returned to Spain with Real Madrid in 2002, bringing the World Cup and the Ballon d'Or with him.

With the Blanco team, he won LALIGA EA SPORTS in the 2002/03 season and left for AC Milan in 2007. Ronaldo, who won the Pichichi twice (one with each jersey), scored goals with both teams in ELCLÁSICO: 2 with the FC Barcelona shirt and 4 with Real Madrid's. Ronaldo is, arguably, the best footballer to have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Samuel Eto’o

The Cameroonian forward triumphed in the FC Barcelona shirt after failing to secure a permanent place at Real Madrid, whose academy he had trained in.

He debuted with the Blancos in December 1998 and, after spells at CD Leganés, RCD Espanyol, and RCD Mallorca, he signed for the Azulgrana team in 2004. As a Culé, in 5 seasons, he won 3 LALIGA titles and two Champions Leagues, in addition to one top goalscorer award.

Samuel Eto'o was a protagonist in several editions of ELCLÁSICO: he participated in 8 duels, in which he scored a total of 4 goals.

Luis Enrique Martínez

The versatile Asturian player defended the colors of both ELCLÁSICO contenders, becoming a key figure with both jerseys. After turning professional with Real Sporting, he signed for Real Madrid in 1991, where he remained for 5 seasons and won 3 titles (1 LALIGA).

In 1996, he joined FC Barcelona, where he retired in 2004 after 8 campaigns and a total of 7 titles, including 2 editions of LALIGA EA SPORTS, for a total of 3 national championships.

Luis Enrique demonstrated his goal-scoring abilities in ELCLÁSICO with a total of 31 appearances (18 as a Culé and 13 as a Merengue), 22 of which were in LALIGA. In these, he scored 6 goals: 1 as a Madridista and 5 with the FC Barcelona shirt.

After his retirement, he began a coaching career that also led him to manage FC Barcelona for 3 seasons, winning LALIGA twice as a Culé (2014/15, 2015/16).

Michael Laudrup

Michael Laudrup arrived at LALIGA in 1990 with FC Barcelona. The Dane played for the Azulgranas for 5 seasons, winning LALIGA EA SPORTS 4 times.

After five years as part of Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team', he decided to change teams in 1994, joining the eternal rival. He played for Real Madrid for 2 campaigns, winning LALIGA (his fifth league title) in the first of them.

The Dane knows what it is like to score in ELCLÁSICO: he did it in his second season as a Culé, in a victory at the Camp Nou (2-1). It was not his only goal against Madrid, as he scored again in 1993 in a Copa del Rey semi-final that the Blancos nevertheless won.

Curiously, Laudrup participated in FC Barcelona's 'manita' (5-0) against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in January 1994 and, a year later, in the Blanco revenge at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Luis Milla

The coach and father of the current Getafe CF player, Luis Milla (Teruel, 1966), developed in the youth ranks of FC Barcelona, reaching the first team in 1985 and establishing himself in 1988. He remained a Culé until 1990 (winning one LALIGA, 1 Copa del Rey, and 1 Cup Winners' Cup), when he made the 'air bridge' transfer to Madrid. As a Merengue until 1997, he extended his trophy cabinet with two editions of LALIGA EA SPORTS, 1 Copa del Rey, and 2 Spanish Super Cups. Between 1997 and 2001, he defended the jersey of Valencia CF, winning 1 Copa del Rey and 1 Spanish Super Cup.

After his retirement, he began a coaching career that led him to manage the Spanish U-21 team (2010-2012), CD Lugo, and Real Zaragoza. He has also had experiences in the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

Robert Prosinečki

The Croatian (1969) arrived in Spain in 1991 with Real Madrid after winning the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade. Injuries plagued a skillful player who played only 74 matches in three seasons before leaving for Real Oviedo. A great year there led to his signing for FC Barcelona, where he played 22 games. In the 1996/97 season, he defended the shirt of Sevilla FC before returning to his country and starting spells in Belgium, England, and Slovenia, and then back to Croatia, where he retired in 2004. Prosinečki is the only Croatian footballer to have played for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

He then began his coaching career, which has led him to manage the national teams of Azerbaijan, Bosnia, and Montenegro, in addition to various clubs.

Gica Hagi

Gheorghe Hagi, the 'Maradona of the Carpathians' (1965), is recognized as the best Romanian player in history. A left-footer with great striking ability and passing quality, he stood out at Steaua București before arriving at Real Madrid in 1990. He spent two seasons as a Blanco before moving to Brescia in Italy, and in 1994, he returned to LALIGA EA SPORTS with FC Barcelona. He stayed for two seasons with the Culé team, but in 1996, he left for Galatasaray, where he retired in 2002.

He won 1 Spanish Super Cup as a Merengue and another as a Culé, but his trophy cabinet is mainly filled with titles won with Steaua (1 European Super Cup, 3 league titles, and 2 Cups) and Galatasaray (1 UEFA Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 4 league titles, and 2 Cups).

Bernd Schuster

The German midfielder Bernd Schuster is another of the most prominent players who have worn the jerseys of both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. He arrived at the Catalan club in 1980 and defended the Azulgrana colors for 8 seasons until he signed for Real Madrid in 1988. As a Blanco, he competed for 2 seasons before signing for Atlético de Madrid (3 campaigns).

He won LALIGA 3 times: 1 with FC Barcelona (a total of 8 titles with the club) and 2 with Real Madrid (5 titles with the club). He played 19 matches between the two teams (16 of them in LALIGA EA SPORTS) in which he scored 2 goals, both with the Azulgrana team.

After retiring, he began a coaching career that led him to manage Real Madrid for one and a half seasons, winning LALIGA once.

Evaristo Macedo

The forward born in Rio de Janeiro in 1933 stood out as a great goalscorer for Flamengo. He was not a regular in the Brazilian national team, but in March 1957, with 5 goals in a match against Colombia, he set the record for a Brazilian with the most goals in a single match for the Canarinha.

All of this allowed him to make the leap to Europe. In 1957, he arrived at FC Barcelona, where he stayed for five seasons and won 2 editions of LALIGA EA SPORTS and 1 Copa del Rey. After 5 years as a Culé, he signed for Real Madrid, where he won LALIGA twice more in 3 seasons.

In 1965, he returned to Flamengo, where he retired two years later before starting a long coaching career for teams in the South American country.

Jesús Pereda

Jesús Pereda was an FC Barcelona legend, but he previously defended the Real Madrid shirt. He played for the Blancos in the 1957/58 season, winning LALIGA EA SPORTS and the European Cup. After spells at Real Valladolid and Sevilla FC, he joined FC Barcelona in 1961, remaining for 8 seasons in which he won 2 Copa del Rey titles and 1 Fairs Cup. He participated in 10 matches between Culés and Merengues (8 in LALIGA), all with the FC Barcelona jersey, in which he scored one goal in a Copa del Rey match.

Josep Samitier

The Barcelona-born forward is one of the early legends of FC Barcelona, where he remained between 1919 and 1932. With the Culés, he won the first edition of LALIGA EA SPORTS, the 1928/29 season.

After his time with the Azulgrana club, he signed for Real Madrid (1932–1934), where he played alongside Ricardo Zamora. As a Merengue, he won his second LALIGA title.

He played 6 editions of ELCLÁSICO in LALIGA, 4 with Barça and 2 as a Merengue, scoring 4 goals: one as a Culé and 3 with the Blanco shirt. He played two other Copa del Rey duels between the two teams before the birth of LALIGA, in which he scored 4 and 2 goals, respectively.

After his retirement, he managed FC Barcelona, winning LALIGA once as a Culé (1944/45). He was also the technical secretary for both ELCLÁSICO protagonists.

Ricardo Zamora

Ricardo Zamora, known as 'El Divino' (The Divine One), is one of the most important goalkeepers in the history of Spanish football. A native of Barcelona, he wore the Azulgrana shirt from 1919 to 1922. He later returned to RCD Espanyol, where he remained until 1930, when he joined the Blanco team (1930–1936). He won two LALIGA titles with the Merengues. This made him one of the most important footballers who played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

He defended the Real Madrid goal in 9 editions of ELCLÁSICO and retired from football precisely in a duel against FC Barcelona, the 1936 Copa del Rey final, which the Blancos won (2-1) with a performance that contemporary chronicles described as memorable.

Other Players

Several other players have played for both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the first player to switch shirts being Alfonso Albéniz, who played for FC Barcelona between 1901 and 1902 and for Real Madrid between 1902 and 1911.

In the early years, other footballers such as José Quirante, Arsenio Comamala, the brothers Joaquín and Alfonso Navarro, and Hilario Marrero made the transfer. Also, Walter Rositzky, who became the first foreigner to wear both jerseys: FC Barcelona's (1911–1913) and Real Madrid's (1913–1914).

After the German, other foreign footballers played for both teams during years of few changes between the two squads involving national players. Some of them included László Kaszás, Fernand Goyvaert, and Lucien Müller.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the transfer flow between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona (or vice versa) increased. The latest movements were those of Nando Muñoz, Julen Lopetegui, Miquel Soler, Albert Celades, Dani García, Alfonso Pérez, Javier Saviola, and Marcos Alonso.