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Regarded as one of the brightest talents in world football right now, Luka Jović finally signed for Real Madrid from Eintracht Frankfurt, with the Spanish giants confirming the news on Tuesday.
However, Jović was heavily linked with Barcelona over the last few months. It was claimed that the Catalan gaints were very much interested in signing him as a future replacement of their current No. 9, Luis Suarez. But the former Frankfurt striker rejected the prospect of playing at the Camp Nou as he refused to play second fiddle to Suarez.
It was not the first time when both Barcelona and Real Madrid went head to head to sign a player.
There have been incidents in the past, where a player had the privilege of choosing either of the two Spanish giants. Several players have opted for Real Madrid over Barcelona and vice versa over the years.
So, without further ado, let’s see which top five superstars ditched Barcelona to sign for their eternal rivals Real Madrid.
#5 Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio could have easily joined Barcelona in the summer of 2014 after the Catalan giants made an official bid of €2.5 million to Real Mallorca for the Spaniard.
But the unwillingness of Barcelona to pay the desired one-off payment of €4.5 million cost them the deal and subsequently, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez was quick enough to pay the money and get the player on board.
Asensio’s performance graph might have seen a massive dip in the recent past, but Barcelona’s reluctance to add just another €2 million saw them lose probably one of the most gifted left-footed upcoming superstars.
#4 Martin Odegaard
Barcelona also missed out on the opportunity to sign another young and upcoming superstar Martin Odegaard. The Real Madrid loanee was in tremendous form for Dutch club Vitesse in the 2018-19 campaign. The Norwegian international made it through to the official Eridevise Team of the Season after being directly involved in 21 goals in the Dutch league this season.
Before his move to Real Madrid, Odegaard was heavily linked with Barcelona. The wonder-kid even visited Barcelona's training facility in November 2014, accompanied by both his father and his agent. But the deal couldn’t materialize as the Norwegian opted for Real Madrid in a deal worth €3.1 million.
The hugely talented attacker is yet to make his mark at the Bernabeu as he has been loaned out to several clubs by Real Madrid. But once again Barcelona missed out on a signing to their arch-rivals.
#3 Karim Benzema
Marca has recently reported that Pep Guardiola wanted to sign Karim Benzema back in 2008, when he was appointed as the Barcelona manager. Txiki Begiristain, the then-technical secretary at Barcelona, even visited Benzema’s house in order to convince the Frenchman to join the club. But the deal didn’t materialize due to some bad review comments from the Barcelona director.
A year later, Barcelona swapped their then-prolific No 9, Samuel Eto'o with Zlatan Ibrahimović of Inter Milan. But Zlatan had to leave the club due to his differences with Guardiola, with Barcelona then signing David Villa from Valencia.
However, Real Madrid sneaked into the conversation of luring Benzema to Spain and got him on board in 2009. Since then, Benzema has been a regular starter for Los Blancos, and it's fair to say that Barcelona missed a golden opportunity to sign a top-class striker.
#2 David Beckham
One of Barcelona’s most successful presidents ever, Joan Laporta, won the presidential election by promising to bring David Beckham to the Camp Nou. However, Laporta failed to sign the Englishman as he chose Real Madrid over the Catalan giants back in 2003.
Nevertheless, as it turned out, Barcelona’s failure to sign the former Manchester United midfielder was a blessing in disguise as the Catalan giants signed Ronaldinho from Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian himself started a revolution at the Camp Nou, winning the Champions League along with destroying Real Madrid all on his own in El Clasicos.
However, Beckham enjoyed a good time at Real Madrid, wining the league title in his final season at the Bernabéu. Beckham was a part of the dream Real Madid team, comprising of several Galacticos, including the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo Nazario and Roberto Carlos.
#1 Alfredo di Stéfano
Many regard him as the greatest player ever to wear the famous white shirt of Real Madrid, Alfredo di Stéfano, was, however, very close to joining Barcelona until Los Blancos signed him.
Even a deal was completed between the sensational forward and Barcelona, but Real Madrid grabbed benefit of a sudden disappearance of agreement papers to get him on board. FIFA had to step in and gave the verdict that the former forward could play one season at each club until the contract expires, but Barcelona rejected the proposal and Real Madrid benefited from it.
Di Stefano played an instrumental role in Real Madrid’s dominance in both the European Cup and in La Liga in the 1950s. He helped Real Madrid create history by playing a huge part in their five successive European Cup triumphs from 1955 to 1960. Di Stefano also managed to win eight domestic league titles in Spain, scoring 216 goals in just 282 appearances for Los Blancos.
