Top 5 superstars that Barcelona And Real Madrid raided from the Premier League

Spanish giants - Barcelona and Real Madrid are well known as the home of the greatest footballers. This is why every talented player wants to play for these two teams. They have had a lot of great superstars representing the club in the past.

Maradona, Ronaldo De Lima, Johan Cruyff, Alfredo De Stefano, Patrick Kluivert, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Henrik Larsson to mention just a few, played for these giant clubs.

The policy of accumulating the world's best players is very effective and awesome, but its effects does not favour other teams. It involves that other clubs will lose their star players to Barca and Madrid.

The Premier League, in particular, has lost their top assets to the Spanish teams in the past and it really hurts to recall those memories.

Therefore let's look at the top 5 players that the Spanish giants have taken from the EPL in recent years. See the list below:

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#5 Ruud van Nistelrooy

Ruud van Nistelrooy was a fan favourite at Manchester before he moved to Real Madrid

Ruud Van Nistelrooy made his mark in Europe in his playing days, with clubs like PSV and Manchester United. The striker was signed by English Premier League club, Manchester United in 2001 for a record fee of £19 million.

At Manchester United, he had a successful career winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup and Community Shield. The Dutch striker scored a total of 150 goals in just 219 matches for the Red Devils. He became a strong force in the United squad and became, back then, the all-time European goalscorer.

He was at the peak of his career when Manchester United fans got hit with their worst nightmare as Real Madrid lured him away to the Spanish capital in 2006, in a deal worth €14 million.

#4 Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez's meteoric rise benefitted Liverpool wonderfully until Barcelona came calling

One of the best strikers to ever play at Anfield, Luis Suarez was a real hero to the Liverpool fans. He scored many goals for the Reds, helping them finish second in the 2013/2014 Premier League season.

That term, he bagged an impressive 31 goals for Liverpool in the league. His photos were hung on banners, with the fans chanting his name. Liverpool just found their hero.

It did not take much time before the Anfield fans realised what was to befall them. Rumours appeared that Barcelona was tracking the Uruguayan. That later became a reality when the Spanish giants snapped him up by splashing £64.98 million on him in 2014. And that was it, the Catalans had stolen another hero from the Premier League.

#3 David Beckham

David Beckham was Manchester United's poster boy before Real Madrid came for him

85 goals and 152 assists in 394 appearances show just how important David Beckham was to Manchester United in his 10-year career with the club.

A very good winger and a creative player, he is one of the best players to ever wear the English National team jersey. He is also widely known for his strength at set pieces. He won the Champions League, the Premier League, as well as other trophies with the English club in his wonderful Manchester United career.

At the time, Beckham became a player with the highest profile in England, and unfortunately for the Red Devils' devout fans, Real Madrid came to raid the English Premier League again for their most valued asset.

They signed the midfielder for €35 million in 2003, and ended all hopes of Beckham staying in England.

#2 Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry broke many hearts when he left Arsenal for Barcelona

'King Henry' as called by many Gunners fans is the all-time scorer of Arsenal with 225 goals in just 377 games. Besides, he is the greatest player to wear the Gunners' jersey. He won 1 Premier League and 2 FA cups and many other trophies for Arsenal.

Also, he claimed World Cup glory during the 1998 World Cup in France and led Arsenal to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006.

Unfortunately, he is also one of the English Premier League superstars who left the division in order to move to Spain. He was signed by FC Barcelona in June 2007, for a reported fee of €24 million.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo was the prince of Manchester, but eventually became the king of Madrid

It is sincerely absurd that the Premier League, despite all the reputation, lost one of the greatest footballers of all time to the La Liga champions. The failure to keep Ronaldo in the Premier League will hurt the division for many years to come.

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player in the history of the English Premier League. The four-time Ballon d'Or winner is the only player to have made England proud at the highest level, and won his first Ballon d'Or while playing in England, when he claimed the prestigious award in 2008 while playing for Manchester United.

He also won the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carling Cup and other trophies for the Red Devils.

But unfortunately, like the other superstars, Ronaldo left the EPL for Real Madrid in July 2009 for a reported fee of £80 million.