The 5 best players who played for Real Madrid and Juventus

FBL-EUR-C1-JUVENTUS-REAL MADRID
FBL-EUR-C1-JUVENTUS-REAL MADRID | MARCO BERTORELLO/GettyImages

There is a rich history between Real Madrid and Juventus - two of the most successful clubs in Europe.

They have shared the biggest stage, the biggest match and the biggest moments countless times over the course of the Champions League, and they are set to play each other again in a few days at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Even though Juventus are not as good as they used to be a few seasons ago, they still have some good players, and of course, some history that cannot be erased.

Here are five of the best players to have played for both teams.

The 5 best players who played for Real Madrid and Juventus

Gonzalo Higuaín

Higuaín had good stints at both clubs, even though one was shorter than the other. The Argentine was great for Real Madrid, spending six years at the club and scoring more than 100 goals.

For Juventus, a move before which he was considered one of the best strikers in the world, he had 66 goals in 149 games, with his time at the club spanning for over three years.

He even played against Real Madrid a number of times, most importantly the huge final of the Champions League in 2016-17, where he assisted the goal to Mario Mandzukic for the equaliser - which did not end up meaning much in the grand scheme of things.

However, Higuaín was a very good, under-appreciated player who, in his prime, was scoring goals for fun.

Fabio Cannavaro

Cannavaro is one of the best players in football history, very famously known for winning the Ballon d'or as a defender, when he won in 2006.

He was wearing a Real Madrid shirt, but won it for his brilliance at the World Cup as well as for Juventus, who he left to join Los Blancos that summer.

Cannavaro played 124 games for Juventus, and 113 for Real Madrid in those years, and even though the games in white were not particularly great, he is still one of the best football players to ever lace up.

Cannavaro also ended up going back to Juventus after his two year stay at Real Madrid, before ending his career after a season in Dubai.

Cannavaro is one of those football players who, despite winning the Ballon d'Or, don't quite get the plaudits they deserve.

Michael Laudrup

Laudrup is one of the most underrated football players in history, and he had a really good, and long career. He played for the biggest teams in the world, including these two and Real Madrid's arch-rivals Barcelona, and showed that he wanted to impress at the world's best teams for as long as possible.

Laudrup was at Real Madrid from 1994 till 1995, playing 73 games, and scoring 14 goals in the process. He joined straight from Barcelona, which was surprising, in 1994. His time at Real's arch-rivals was also his best ever stint as a footballer, where he became a household name under Johann Cruyff.

Before that, though, he plied his trade at Juventus, where he was also really good. In a career that spanned over 150 games, Laudrup was very impressive in his years in Italy, scoring important goals and winning important titles, most importantly the Serie A in 1986.

He is one of those rare players who have played for these three big clubs, but he did achieve a lot in his footballing years, so fair play to him.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The best football player to play for either of these two teams, Cristiano Ronaldo's switch to Juventus from Real Madrid was one to remember.

He had just won the three-peat with Real Madrid, and he went out looking for a new challenge. He found one at Juventus, a club whose fans applauded him after scoring a wonderful bicycle kick against their own team at their own ground. I guess that stuck with him, and he decided to leave for them.

Ronaldo spent three years at Juventus, and was their top scorer in each of those three seasons. They did not win as much as he would have wanted to, but Ronaldo did have a good time there, at the very least on an individual level.

Some would say that Ronaldo should not have left Real Madrid after the Champions League final in 2018. Maybe Real Madrid would have won more. Maybe Zinedine Zidane, their manager at the time and the next man on the list, would have stayed. but these are just ifs and maybes.

Ronaldo had a brilliant time at Real Madrid, and after scoring 450 goals in 438 games, he must have felt like it was a time for a fresh start.

Zinedine Zidane

The only player here who can easily be called a legend for both clubs, Zidane was incredible in his time at two of the biggest clubs in the world.

He played almost the same number of matches for the two teams - 230 for Real Madrid and 214 for Juventus.

He has, on multiple occasions, called Real Madrid the club of his life, and after winning so many important titles as a manager there, as well as scoring in the final of the Champions League to win the club their ninth, you could say he is a bigger Real Madrid legend than Juventus.

But, that is like thinking about whether pasta is better than pizza - both of them are really good.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations