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With 91 titles in all competitions during their illustrious history, Real Madrid are the joint-most successful club in Europe's top five leagues.
Their most recent title triumph was a record-extending 34th La Liga title won last season, which was Los Blancos' first Spanish top-flight title in three years. Apart from their domestic league titles, Real Madrid's 13 wins in the European Cup/ UEFA Champions League are at least six clear of the next most successful team in the competition.
In that backdrop, it is not surprising that some of the greatest players to have graced the game have worn the famed Madrid whites. However, some of these players could not break into the Real Madrid first team often enough and were soon deemed surplus to requirements.
These players then went on to make their names at other clubs, leading experts and fans alike to rue Real Madrid's impatience and hastiness to prematurely jettison them to pastures anew. On that note, let us take a look at five such world-class players who once played for Real Madrid but went on shine elsewhere.
Five former Real Madrid players who shone brighter elsewhere:
#1: Clarence Seedorf (Real Madrid to AC Milan in 1999)
Clarence Seedorf, the only player to win the UEFA Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax (1995), Real Madrid (1998) and AC Milan (2003, 2007).
Seedorf was a hard-tackling and versatile midfield player who was renowned for his strength and pace and operated in a plethora of offensive and defensive roles with aplomb.
Arriving at Real Madrid from Sampdoria in the summer of 1996, the 20-year-old Seedorf missed only seven league games during his first three seasons at the club as Real Madrid lifted the 1996-97 Liga title.
Seedorf played a key role in the Real Madrid midfield as Los Blancos lifted their seventh Champions League title in 1998. However, with the arrival of new manager Guus Hiddink, Seedorf's game-time began to drop before the player was shipped out to Inter Milan in 1999.
The then 23-year-old stayed for two years with the Nerazzurri before joining their fierce cross-town rivals AC Milan, with whom the midfielder enjoyed the most fruitful phase of his club career.
During a glorious 10-year stay at the San Siro, Seedorf scored 63 goals in 431 appearances in all competitions as Milan won two Champions League titles, as many league titles and a plethora of other domestic and continental honours.
#2: Claude Makelele (Real Madrid to Chelsea in 2003)
Claude Makelele was perhaps one of the most underrated players at Real Madrid.
The Frenchman made a controversial arrival at Madrid in the summer of 2000 after allegedly refusing to train at his former club Celta Vigo. Makelele soon made his name as a fine defensive midfielder who was happy to operate under the radar.
Although adept in a more advanced role, Makelele mostly operated just in front of the defensive line, breaking up opponents' play with his superb tackling and positional awareness.
Despite the Frenchman playing key roles in Real Madrid winning two La Liga and one Champions League title, he was grossly underpaid compared to his other teammates like Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Raul, Ronaldo and Steve McManaman.
After winning the Liga title in his debut season, Makelele recollected a conversation with the then Real Madrid president Florentino Perez:
“During this time I had two years left on my contract, after we won our first La Liga title, Afterwards, the club president said to me ‘maybe we’ll renew your contact for another year’."
However, two years later, Florentino Perez reneged on his promise and ruled out a pay hike for the player after bringing in David Beckham in the summer of 2003. That made Makelele feel underappreciated at the Bernabeu despite having the backing of his manager Vicente Del Bosque.
“The club then signed [David] Beckham and even more of the ‘Galacticos’. When we came back, I got my manager (Vicente Del Bosque) to see the President for my new contract. “But he said there was no money left after signing Beckham,” rued Makelele in a later interview.
But with Del Bosque being shown the door, Makelele's position at the club became even more vulnerable and he went on to join Chelsea.
As things turned out, Madrid's 'Galacticos' policy didn't reap the rewards expected and the club missed someone like Makelele to do the 'dirty' work. The Frenchman, on his part, received his due recognition at Chelsea, making the London club's gain Madrid's loss.
#3: Arjen Robben (Real Madrid to Bayern Munich in 2009)
Arjen Robben was another precociously talented player who made a premature exit from the Santiago Bernabeu. Like Claude Makelele, Robben also blamed Madrid's then president Florentino Perez for his departure from the club in 2009.
In two seasons at Real Madrid, Robben didn't quite set the stage on fire, but his potential was there for all to see. The Dutchman scored only 13 goals in 65 appearances in all competitions for the capital club but played a key role in the team's play in the final third.
However, the reappointment of Florentino Perez as the new president in 2009 signalled a return of the controversial 'Galacticos' era. The Madrid strongman splashed the cash to bring in superstars Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, Kaka from AC Milan, and then Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso as well.
It meant that Madrid had to sell some players to balance their books, with Arjen Robben marked out to be one such player despite having a good pre-season with the club.
Robben did not win a trophy at Madrid and he looked at an uncertain future away from one of the greatest clubs in football history.
"The goal when I was there was to win the club's 10th European Cup, that was really the big dream for me. I played there for two years, but we didn't manage to win the trophy. When I left, it felt like a step back at that time", Robben told Marca in a later interview.
In an interaction with Diario AS just before playing his final game for Bayern Munich after a ten-season stint at the club, Robben said:
“Florentino Pérez returned as president and then bought Ronaldo and Kaka, Benzema and Xabi Alonso. They spent so much money and told us they needed to make some money with sales. For me it was a shame because I had a very good relationship with (former coach) Manuel Pellegrini, and maybe I had the best pre-season of my career," rued Robben.
“I found it difficult because of the change of president in Madrid – I really felt very comfortable there and played very well - but when politics comes into play and you don’t have a real chance, you must decide if you want to keep fighting or continue your career elsewhere,” Robben reflected.
As it turned out, the Dutchman soon made his way out of Real Madrid and arrived at German champions Bayern Munich. During a decade-long stay in Bavaria, the mercurial Dutchman, with a magical left-foot, scored 144 goals in 309 appearances in all competitions as he won a bevvy of team and individual honours.
Ahead of his retirement from professional football, Robben looked back fondly on a successful decade at Bayern where he realised his 'dream' of winning the Champions League, something he couldn't accomplish at Real Madrid:
“I wanted to prove I was good enough and my move to Bayern was the best decision of my career."
#4: Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid to Manchester United in 2014)
Angel Di Maria arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2010 after a £25 million move from Benfica.
Di Maria is a skillful left-footed winger who can also operate in the centre of the pitch, something he demonstrated to great effect under Carlo Ancelotti. Blessed with good vision and a lithe frame, the Argentine excels in creating scoring opportunities for teammates and is also adept with set-pieces.
During his four seasons with Real Madrid, Di Maria scored 37 goals in almost 200 appearances in various competitions for the club. The Argentine, who played a key role in Real Madrid winning their La Decima (10th title) in the Champions League, won five other titles during his stay in the Spanish capital.
However, he couldn't quite endure himself to the Madrid faithful. The relationship soured further when an injured Di Maria reportedly received a letter from the club's president Florentino Perez asking him to sit out of Argentina's 2014 FIFA World Cup final against Germany.
"A letter arrived from Madrid to tell me not to play. I ripped it up, I ignored it," recollected Di Maria in a later interaction.
As it turned out, Di Maria could not play the final, but his Real Madrid career was now all but over. A few weeks later, Real Madrid sold the player to Manchester United in a then Premier League record transfer of £56.7 million (€63 million).
However, Di Maria had an unhappy season with the Old Trafford club before made a move to Paris St. Germain where he rediscovered his mojo, as is apparent in his tally of 82 goals in 221 appearances in various competitions for the French club.
Six years later, Di Maria scored a memorable brace against his former club in a Champions League game and had little qualms about 'celebrating' his goals.
#5: Samuel Eto'o (Real Madrid to Mallorca in 2000)
Samuel Eto'o is one of a handful of players who have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona.
However, it may not be known by many that the Cameroon striker was a Real Madrid man for two seasons. After making his professional debut with Leganes in 1997-98, Eto'o played his first and only La Liga game for Real Madrid the next season. In his next season, he played six more games but failed to open his tally for the club before he was sold to Real Mallorca for €27 million in 2000.
After four modest seasons with Mallorca, Eto'o moved to Barcelona where he enjoyed the most prolific spell of his club career. During five trophy-laden seasons at the club, Eto'o thrived in the company of Lionel Messi and Co. as he scored 130 goals in 199 appearances in various competitions.
With the Catalan giants, the Cameroonian striker was at his powerful and prolific best, displaying composure in front of goal and also an ability to play with other forwards as he won a plethora of individual and team honours. Eto'o was part of Barcelona's historic treble-winning 2008-09 team under Pep Guardiola before moving to Inter Milan.
Although his Real Madrid stint wasn't a successful or productive one, Eto'o alluded to the fact that the colour of his skin might have been one of the reasons why the then-teenager was shunted out of the club.
Years later, in an interaction with FC Inter News, Eto'o, who scored goals aplenty for the reserve team but failed to score for the senior team, opened up about his time at Real Madrid:
"I was not quiet. "When I was 16 and I was in the cantera (reserve team), nobody respected me. My comrades did not even greet me. They treated me like I was the last to arrive, despite the many goals I scored."
"The only people who have always believed in me were Fabio Capello and Italo Galbiati, who gave me the opportunity to train with the first team. I will thank them both for ever. I would bleed for them, and I was hungry for fame, money, and goals. I wanted to be somebody."
Eto'o concluded by saying that he never wanted to leave Real Madrid, something that could haunt the capital club as they were not patient enough with the precocious teenager.
"I never wanted to leave Madrid, but in that company I wanted to. I'll never understand the real reason. I have always done well. The only explanation is that perhaps the black men in that club were not loved."
