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Ronaldo
The 2002 World Cup winner is one of the biggest names to have played on both sides of the Clasiso divide. He arrived at the Nou Camp in the summer of 1996 before leaving for Inter Milan the following year. However, his solitary year in Catalonia was very fruitful as he scored 34 league goals in 37 games.
After five years in Milan, he was back in Spain with Real Madrid and notched 105 goals from 185 appearances across all competitions before departing for AC Milan in 2007.
Luis Figo
Perhaps no transfer in the history of football has been as acrimonious as that of Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid in the summer of 2000. He was prised away from the Camp Nou in what was one of the first transfers of Florentino Perez’s era that kick started the Real Madrid Galactico era.
Figo had spent five years at the Camp Nou and scored 30 league goals from 172 appearances before landing at the Bernabeu for another five-year spell.
Samuel Eto’o
The Cameroon forward was part of the Real Madrid youth academy before progressing to the team’s first team in 1997. However, he found it hard to break into the starting eleven, spending loan spells at Leganes, Espanyol and Mallorca before making his deal permanent at the latter.
After four years at Mallorca, Eto’o moved to Barcelona and became a club legend over the course of his five years at the Camp Nou. He scored 108 league goals in 145 appearances for the Blaugrana and was integral part of the 2009 treble-winning side. He will maintain a cult status in the hearts of the Barcelona faithful for giving back to their Madrid rivals during the treble celebrations at the Camp Nou.
Luis Enrique
The current Barcelona manager was part of Real Madrid from 1991 until 1996 during which he made over 150 league appearances and won La Liga in 1995.
However, he became one of the rare direct transfers from Real Madrid to Barcelona in 1996 and went on to enjoy a successful eight-year stint. At the Camp Nou he won two league titles, two Copa del Reys and the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
Michael Laudrup
One of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Laudrup landed at Barcelona in 1989 after a four-year stint with Juventus and stayed at the Camp Nou for the following five years during which he helped the club become the European champions for the first time in their history in 1992. He attained legendary status at the club.
However, differences with club manager Johan Cruyff saw Laudrup depart for Real Madrid for a two-year spell at the Santiago Bernabeu. In his first season in Madrid he was part of the team that defeated Barcelona 5-0, and therefore, he became the only player to have been on the winning side of 5-0 thrashings on both sides of the Clasico divide.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.