There are some things you just don't do in football – and playing for both Real Madrid and Barcelona is one of those things.
However, throughout the history of El Clasico, one of the most intense rivalries on the planet, a significant number of players haven't got the memo.
From 1900s students to some of the biggest footballing icons of all time, we take a look at (most of) those who did the unthinkable, plenty of whom even moved directly between the two clubs (the maniacs!).
We begin with an asterisk… The great Alfredo Di Stefano never really played for Barcelona – but he was briefly a Barcelona player (sort of).
Back in 1953, Di Stefano – then of Colombian outfit Millonarios – was the subject of a curious deal which stated that he would spend two seasons with Real Madrid and two with Barca. By that point, the ‘Blond Arrow’ had already taken part in friendlies for Barca – but that was as good as it got for the Blaugrana, with their arch-rivals swooping to secure his signature outright. The rest is history.
The first player to feature officially for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, Alfonso Albeniz started out with local club Barca in 1901.
A midfielder who also excelled at rugby, Albeniz joined the (not yet Real) Madrid FC the following year when we moved to the Spanish capital to study. He later became a referee.
Another early crosser of the divide between Spain’s two biggest clubs, Jose Quirante represented both outfits during the first decade of the 20th century.
Capped by the Catalonia national team, the midfielder later coached on both sides of two more divides: he managed Real and Atletico Madrid, as well as Sevilla and their local rivals Real Betis.
Born in Hamburg, Germany, midfielder Walter Rozitsky spent the majority of his playing days Spain, switching from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 1913.
After fighting in the First World War – which put his football career on hold – he owned a margarine company and ran a grocery shop in his homeland.
One of the very first Real Madrid players, joining the club around the time of its inception as Madrid FC, Enrique Normand helped Los Blancos to their first piece of silverware: the 1905 Copa del Rey.
A member of the team which retained the trophy for the next three years, the midfielder had two spells with Real either side of a short stint at Barcelona.
Goalkeeper Amador Lorenzo, often known as just Amador (literal translation: Lover) joined Real Madrid from hometown club Pontevedra in 1976, serving as understudy to Miguel Angel.
He made a handful of appearances for Los Blancos, winning the LaLiga title before leaving for Hercules in 1978 – only to move on again two years later to Barcelona, where he added two Copa del Rey crowns to his list of honours.
Signed by Barcelona from Club Burgge in 1962, Belgian forward Fernand Goyvaerts spent just a year at the Camp Nou before making the switch to Real Madrid.
A LaLiga champion and European Cup winner with Real, Goyvaerts was a teammate of Alfredo Di Stefano – who he subsequently played under at Elche.
Playing for both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the women’s game is even rarer, bur Ariana Arias has done just that.
The striker scored twice in 10 outings for hometown club Real before moving to Barcelona ahead of the 2022/23 season. She was a part of the Blaugrana’s 2023/24 treble-winning squad.
One of the top Spanish strikers of the 90s, Alfonso Perez came through Real Madrid’s youth system to make more than 100 first-team appearances between 1991 and 1995, getting his hands on LaLiga and Copa del Rey winner’s medals.
The 38-cap Spain international spent the latter half of the decade at Real Betis, where he had two spells either side of an unsuccessful stint at Barcelona.
A Real Madrid player between 1931 and 1936 and a Barcelona player from 1939 to 1940, Juan Hilario Marrero Perez aka Hilario represented Spain at the 1934 World Cup.
Hailing from Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, the midfielder also turned out for the likes of Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia.
More recently a Europa League-winning manager, Julen Lopetegui made the bulk of his career appearances for Rayo Vallecano and Logrones.
But the former goalkeeper did also feature – very sparingly – for both Real Madrid and Barcelona during the 90s. He returned to Real in 2018 as manager, having previously taken charge of the Spanish national team – who he represented once as a player.
Miquel Soler occupies a unique spot on this list: he was the first player to feature for both main clubs in Barcelona (Barca and Espanyol) and Madrid (Real and Atletico).
A LaLiga, Cup Winners’ Cup and Copa del Rey winner with Johan Cruyff’s Blaugrana, Soler later spent a single season with at Real – whose manager Arsenio Iglesias was ordered by chairman Lorenzo Sanz to stop using the left-back, in order to avoid his contract automatically renewing if he hit 20 appearances.
A LaLiga champion and Copa del Rey winner with both clubs, defensive midfielder Luis Milla swapped Barcelona for Real Madrid in 1990 and went on to make the best part of 200 appearances for Los Blancos.
Capped three times by Spain, Milla later coached his country to victory at the 2011 European Under-21 Championship.
Fernando Munoz Garcia, more commonly known simply as Nando, won five major trophies across his spells at Barcelona and Real Madrid at the beginning of the 90s.
A LaLiga champion with both clubs, a European Cup winner with Barca and a Copa del Rey winner with Real, the centre-back earned eight caps for Spain.
Given how recently he played for them, you’re probably well aware that Marcos Alonso was at Barcelona. The defender spent two seasons at the Camp Nou, in fact, winning the 2022/23 LaLiga title under Xavi.
But it might be news to you that he also turned out for Real Madrid – and that would be fair enough, considering he made a sole first-team appearance back in 2010, having risen through the ranks at his hometown club.
One of the biggest stars of the Croatia national team’s formative years following independence from Yugoslavia, Robert Prosinecki made that perennially controversial journey directly from Real Madrid to Barcelona in 1995 – on a free transfer, such was Los Blancos’ perilous financial situation at the time.
A highly creative midfielder, Prosinecki made 73 appearances for Real and 26 for Barca, also playing in Spain for Real Oviedo and Sevilla.
Barcelona-born defensive midfielder Albert Celades got his professional breakthrough with his local side, having risen through their famed La Masia academy.
A LaLiga, Copa del Rey and Cup Winners’ Cup winner at Barca, Celades – who won four Spain caps – joined Real Madrid from Celta Vigo in 2000 and went on to pick up a 2001/02 Champions League winner’s medal.
A two-time French champion with the great Reims side of the late 50s and early 60s, Lucien Muller made the big move to Real Madrid in in 1962 and helped Los Blancos to three LaLiga titles – as well as the 1964 European Cup final.
Capped 16 times by France, the midfielder crossed the El Clasico divide to Barcelona in 1965 and spent three years at the Camp Nou.
Born in Barcelona, forward Justo Tejada made the majority of his career appearances for Barcelona, averaging almost a goal every other game in LaLiga (and exactly that in eight caps for Spain).
Having fired Barca to two LaLiga titles and two triumphs in the Copa del Generalisimo (as the Copa del Rey was known during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco), Tejada departed in 1961 for Real Madrid – who he helped to success in the same two competitions, while also finishing among the top scorers in the 1961/62 European Cup.
One of Spain’s Euro 1964-winning heroes, scoring the opening goal in the final against the Soviet Union, Chus Pereda is a bona fide Barcelona legend.
A domestic and European champion with Real Madrid as a youngster, the attack-minded midfielder joined Barca from Sevilla in 1961 and helped them to two Copa del Generalisimo crowns and their third European trophy: the 1965/66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Plucked by Real Madrid from the Kadji Sports Academy in his homeland, Cameroonian icon Samuel Eto’o made six senior appearances for Real Madrid but failed to make the grade at the Bernabeu, leaving for Real Mallorca in 2000.
And his goalscoring exploits for the Balearic caught the eye of Barcelona, who signed him 24m euros amid interest from Real in buying him back. The four-time African Player of the Year proceeded to find the net 130 times in 199 games for Barca, where he won the Champions League under Frank Rijkaard then Pep Guardiola.
Versatile Argentine attacker Javier Saviola was at his devastating best with Barcelona, where scored almost a third of his career club goals (70 in 168 games, to be precise).
He didn’t win any silverware with the Catalan giants, though, having to wait until his frustrating spell at Real Madrid to claim the LaLiga title – which he did in 2007/08.
Romania’s best ever player, Gheorghe Hagi joined Real Madrid from Steaua Bucharest in 1990, having caught the eye with his performances for his country at that summer’s World Cup.
Major trophies eluded ‘the Maradona of the Carpathians’ at Real and Barcelona, but he still left his mark on both clubs, scoring 31 goals for the two combined.
Evaristo won 14 caps for Brazil during the mid-50s, once scoring five goals in a 9-0 demolition of Colombia – and it was around that time that the striker left Flamengo to join Barcelona, for whom he went on to bang in 105 goals in 151 games.
The future Brazil manager wasn’t quite as prolific for Real Madrid, where he played between 1962 and 1965 – but he still helped Los Blancos to two LaLiga titles, just as he had Barca.
One of the most prolific goalscorers in Barcelona’s history, Josep Samitier grew up playing football with – of all people – legendary surrealist artist Salvador Dali. He went on to amass 365 goals in 504 games for Barca, winning one LaLioga title and the Copa del Rey five times.
Controversially friends with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, Samitier – who helped Spain to silver at the 1920 Olympics – spent two seasons with Real Madrid towards the end of his career, adding another LaLiga title and Copa del Rey triumph to his resume.
One of the greatest German players of all time, Bernd Schuster enjoyed great success with both El Clasico clubs, winning domestic league and cup titles with the pair of them – and the 1981/82 Cup Winners’ Cup with Barcelona.
A Euro 1980 winner with West Germany, the man nicknamed ‘the Blond Angel’ – who also claimed two Copa del Rey crowns with Atletico Madrid – later guided Real to 2007/07 LaLiga glory as manager.
Widely regarded as the finest footballer ever to come out of Scandinavia, Danish icon Michael Laudrup plied his trade for a number of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The stylish goalscoring midfielder joined Barcelona after leaving Juventus in 1989 and became a key cog in Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ who won the 1991/92 European Cup. Five years later, following a falling out with boss Cruyff, Laudrup was on the move again, this time to Real Madrid – who he helped to the LaLiga title in his first campaign at the Bernabeu.
Up there with the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the game, Ricardo Zamora won two Copas del Rey with Barcelona at the start of the 1920s and two LaLiga titles with Real Madrid in the early 1930s.
The man after whom LaLiga’s award for the best ‘keeper is named, Barcelona native Zamora – a 46-time Spain international – also had two spells at the other main club in the city, Espanyol.
An elite utility player who proved his class in a variety of midfield and forward roles, Luis Enrique made more than 200 appearances for Real Madrid and exactly 300 for Barcelona – for whom he also scored an impressive 109 goals.
Later Barca and Spain manager (having won 62 caps for the national team), Luis Enrique made his controversial move to the Camp Nou in 1996, becoming captain and once riling the Real fans by fervently celebrating after scoring a screamer against his former employers.
The ‘original’ Ronaldo well and truly announced himself to the world with an astonishing haul of 47 goals in 49 games during his sole season at Barcelona, 1996/97.
Having been unable to negotiate a new contract at the Camp Nou, the two-time Ballon d’Or-winning Brazilian joined Inter – only to return to LaLiga five years later with Real Madrid, fresh from firing his nation to World Cup glory. He racked up 61 goals in his first two campaigns at the Bernabeu, leaving Los Blancos in 2006 with a total of 104 from 177 appearances.
Who else but Luis Figo was going to top this list? The man whose mega-money 2000 move from Barcelona to Real Madrid remains just about the most controversial transfer of all time.
Real’s first ‘Galactico’, the Portuguese superstar – who won the Ballon d’Or that same year – soon found out how Barca fans felt about his decision: on his first visit to the Camp Nou since leaving, he was pelted with oranges, bottles and even mobile phones (and this was the Nokia ‘brick’ era, let’s remember).
