Five who played for both: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid meet in La Liga today in a derby fixture with plenty at stake.

Real require a win to keep the pressure on Barcelona at the top, while Atletico will be eager to dent their arch-rival’s hopes of another Spanish title.

Ahead of their latest meeting, we’ve remembered five footballers who played on both sides of the divide.

Five of the best players who played for Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.

Bernd Schuster

The German great took a tour around Spanish football’s biggest clubs during a decorated career. Barcelona brought Schuster to La Liga in the early eighties, following the FC Köln midfielder’s role in Germany’s Euro 1980 success.

He won six trophies during eight seasons at Barcelona before a controversial cross of the El Clásico divide. Schuster signed for Real Madrid in 1988 and won back-to-back La Liga titles during his two-season spell.

Not content with one uncommon career transfer, he left Real Madrid for neighbours Atletico and made 112 appearances over three seasons with the Rojiblancos, twice lifting the Copa del Rey.

Santiago Solari

Real Madrid snapped up Santiago Solari from their city rivals, following Atlético Madrid’s relegation in 2000. The Argentine had impressed in a struggling side, and Real activated the buy-out clause in the midfielder’s deal.

Solari spent five seasons at the Bernabeu, where he made 217 appearances during the club’s Galactico era. He won two La Liga titles among his honours and was part of the team that lifted the 2001-02 Champions League.

Juanfran

It’s often forgotten that Juanfran began his career at Real Madrid, such was his affinity to Atletico Madrid.

The right-back came through the ranks across town, but made only 11 senior appearances for Los Blancos. After impressing at Espanyol and Osasuna, he returned to Madrid with Atletico in January 2011.

The €4m fee proved to be a bargain, as the dependable defender racked up 355 appearances during an era of success for the capital club. His seven trophies included a drought-breaking 2014 La Liga title and two Europa League wins, while he also twice featured in Champions League finals – losing on each occasion to former club Real Madrid. The latter, in 2016, cruelly saw Juanfran miss the decisive spot-kick in the shootout.

Alvaro Morata

Alvaro Morata has had two spells each on either side of the Madrid divide. A product of the Real Madrid academy, he scored 11 times in 52 games for Los Blancos before joining Juventus in search of a more prominent role.

Morata’s impressive time in Turin saw Real Madrid activate a buy-back clause to re-sign the striker, who proceeded to score 20 goals in a La Liga and Champions League double-winning 2016-17 season.

Despite that, Real Madrid sanctioned his sale to Chelsea to continue a nomadic career path. After struggling in West London, loan spells at Atletico and Juventus followed, before a permanent return to Atletico. He scored 53 times in 154 appearances across his two stints at Atleti.

Thibaut Courtois

A player who enjoyed great success in the colours of both capital clubs. Courtois spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid from Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, a period which saw the Belgian become one of the world’s top goalkeepers.

He won La Liga, the Europa League, and Cope del Rey with Atletico, alongside two La Liga Zamora Trophies, awarded to the goalkeeper who has the lowest “goals-to-games” ratio.

After returning to Chelsea and winning four major trophies, Real Madrid spent around £35m to sign the goalkeeper in 2018. His time at Real Madrid has further cemented Courtois as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, with accolades that include three La Liga titles and two Champions League trophies.

Read – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid – Match preview and team news

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