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The day all Real Madrid fans dreaded is finally here. Cristiano Ronaldo has left the club and joined Italian giants Juventus. He has enthralled the Los Blancos faithful over the years and it is teary goodbye for the Madristas. With the club legend moving on to other challenges, Real Madrid will certainly have a difficult time in finding a proper replacement for one of the greatest ever to grace the game.
Since Ronaldo joined Real Madrid back in 2009, Real Madrid and Juventus have faced each other seven times in the Champions League. Ronaldo didn't shy away from finding the back of the net, as he scored 10 goals in the process. Believe it or not, Juventus is his favourite European opponents. He has scored more goals against Juventus in Champions League than any other opponents. It is a football irony that the modern great joined his dear prey.
But it doesn't end there. Every year, Juventus and Real Madrid are favourites to win the Champions League trophy.
Possibly, the teams could meet again soon. Will Cristiano Ronaldo score with ease against his former club is a question to guess, but there are other players who left the Madrid side and came back to haunt the club. Here are five former Real Madrid players who gave the club gruelling memories as opponents.
#1 Alvaro Morata
Real Madrid were ruthless in the European campaign, scoring 16 goals in the group stages. In the round of 16, they further showed the character of champions in successfully resisting a determined Schalke side in what was branded as 'one of the gripping Champions League ties'.
The Spaniard was deemed surplus to the attacking prowess of El Real in 2014-15 season despite impressing the fans with 8 goals in the previous season. He was shipped to Italy in a €20 million deal with a buy-back clause.
They clinically dispatched their city rivals Atletico in the quarter-finals and the media backed Real Madrid to defend the Champions League title, a feat never achieved since 1990. But Real's dreams were shattered by their former player. Alvaro Morata scored in both legs of the semi-final, helping Juventus to secure a place in the final with an aggregate score of 3-2.
It broke the Madrid fans to see the youngster they wished to see don the white jersey humbling their own defence. The management responded by activating the buy-back clause, and he returned to the Bernabeu in 2016. He didn't disappoint in front of goal, scoring 20 goals in 43 games for Real Madrid. But he joined Chelsea next year, having done his time playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema.
#2 Bernd Schuster
The German international is one among the few players to have represented Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. After ending an illustrious 8-year association with Barcelona, the midfielder joined Real Madrid in 1998. Despite the transfer controversies surrounding him, Schuster won back-to-back La Liga titles with Real, and his style of play was lauded for augmenting the squad dynamics.
But his fairy tale with Real Madrid was short-lived. The 'Blonde-angel' aroused antagonism among the Real Madrid fans when he joined the city rival, Atletico Madrid. He won the Copa del Rey in his first season with Atletico and finished above Real Madrid in the league table.
But the perfect script was waiting. The 1992 Copa del Rey final was a complete Madrid affair. Having surrendered the league title to Barcelona on narrow margins, both the Madrid clubs were yearning to win the spare piece of silverware. Bernd Schuster ran the show scoring within the opening 10 minutes and the Rojiblancos comfortably secured the title with the scoreline of 2-0.
#3 Samuel Eto'o
No former Real Madrid player has tormented them like Eto'o did. The former Pichichi award winner was nurtured at the youth academy of Real Madrid. He featured only thrice for Real Madrid across three years and was mostly loaned-out during his time at the Santiago Bernabeau. Real Madrid sold him to RCD Mallorca and is the gravest mistake Real Madrid did in the 21st century. The Cameroonian flourished to become a nightmare for the defenders, and Real Madrid players suffered his wrath in particular.
In the 2002-03 season, the centre-forward scored his first goal against his former club in a humiliating defeat of 1-5. But the tables were turned later in the season with Eto'o scored a brace to help his team eliminate Real from Copa del Rey in a memorable 4-0 win. Further humiliation was awaiting Real Madrid towards the end of the season when Eto'o scored again, crushing Real 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. He scored three more goals against Real Madrid in his last season at the Iberostar stadium.
In 2004, Eto'o joined Barcelona, much to the dismay of Real Madrid management and fans. Moreover, he never stopped reminding Real Madrid of their blunder to let him go.
#4 Daniel Parejo
The Madrid youth academy product was touted as the next big thing in Madrid during the end of the last decade. The club legend Alfredo Di Stephano quoted Daniel Parejo as the best talent the youth academy, La Fabrica has ever produced. But somehow, it didn't happen for him. He featured only five times for Real Madrid before joining Getafe in 2009. He heartthrob kid of Real fans left the club as a dejected man.
But the Spaniard learned his lessons, indeed. He dictated the midfield for Getafe and was signed by Valencia. Soon he became a talismanic presence for Valencia and fared brilliantly to rediscover the mojo he lacked since his days at Real Castilla. But he will be remembered by Real fans for the 'unwanted' heroics he put up against Real on matchday 34 of the 2013-14 season.
Real, Atletico and Barcelona were all eyeing for title glory, but the fate of Real was decided by its former prodigious son. Los Blancos came to this fixture after four consecutive emphatic wins, and were favourites to win the title, as Barcelona and Atletico had to face each other on the final match day.
But Daniel Parejo avenged his neglect from Real Madrid by playing the game of his life. He bossed the game with a goal which pulled Real Madrid out of the fantastic momentum and the title run collapsed. Madrid drew the game 2-2 and dropped vital points.
#5 Luis Enrique
The versatile and consistent midfielder is the only player on the list to have agonised Real Madrid as both player and manager. He joined Real Madrid from Sporting Gijon in 1991 and was industrious for Los Blancos with his effervescent attitude on the ground. His stint at the Bernabeu ceased in 1996 during which time he won a La Liga title and a Copa del Rey.
He joined the arch-rivals Barcelona on a free transfer after explicitly lamenting Real Madrid fans for not supporting him enough. The 'Cules' were hesitant about the new signing, but he was eventually adored and made the team captain. The Gijon-born Spaniard paid back the love by scoring four times against Real Madrid in his 8-year tenure at the club. His most special game against his former team was the 1997 Copa del Rey final, where he stamped his midfield credentials to help Barcelona clinch the trophy at the Bernabeu.
After embracing the managerial role of Barcelona, he continued punishing Real. He designed three Barca wins in six El Clasicos, including a 4-0 rout in 2015.
