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Real Madrid vs. Barcelona – better known as El Clasico – is perhaps the biggest club game in football, as the two Spanish giants, who have won countless numbers of trophies between them, despise each other and have a storied rivalry that reaches back for decades. Due to the success, popularity and size of the two clubs, it should hardly come as a surprise to know that both the Bernabeu and the Nou Camp have been home to some of the greatest players to ever step onto the pitch, and over the years numerous Ballon d’Or winners have starred in El Clasico games.
With the Bernabeu playing host to the latest El Clasico this weekend, here is a look at the 5 greatest Ballon d’Or winners to star in the game over the years.
5. Luis Figo
One of just a handful of players to take part in El Clasico games for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, Portuguese playmaker Luis Figo won the Ballon d’Or in 2000. Just months before he was handed the famous award, Figo had controversially moved from the Nou Camp to the Bernabeu for a then-world record transfer fee of £37m, instantly becoming a super-villain in the eyes of the Barca faithful in the process.
Prior to that, he’d become one of their all-time great players after joining the club from his boyhood team Sporting Lisbon for just £2.25m in the summer of 1995. Figo was almost instantly a hit with La Blaugrana, cementing himself as practically an ever-present in their starting XI from day one. He was so good, in fact, that one teammate once claimed that Barca’s gameplan at one point was simply to give him the ball.
Figo won 7 trophies with Barca – including 2 La Liga titles – but saw more success once he’d moved to Real, as he helped Los Blancos to 2 La Liga titles as well as the 2002 Champions League. He was also at the heart of one of the more infamous moments of the Barca/Real rivalry, as fans of La Blaugrana would pelt him with debris after he made the move to their bitter rivals – notably hurling a pig’s head at him in one game at the Nou Camp.
Although not a prolific goalscorer, few players had the passing range and vision of the Portuguese wizard; even today, his 106 assists are the second-most in La Liga history behind Lionel Messi. Figo might not get a warm welcome at the Nou Camp even today, but there’s no denying that he became a legend for both Barca and Real over his collective 10 seasons in Spain.
4. Ronaldo
Another player to see action in El Clasico from both sides, Brazilian striker Ronaldo didn’t cross the divide outright; he played for Barcelona for just one season – 1996-97 – before moving to Inter Milan, and then returned to Spain as one of Real Madrid’s famous Galacticos in the summer of 2002. The Brazilian spent far more time at the Bernabeu than he did the Nou Camp – so it’s a testament to his insane form in that single season with Barca that it’d be difficult to say which of his Spanish stints was better.
At Barcelona, Ronaldo was simply a force of nature. A freakish mix of pace, power and natural finishing ability, El Fenomeno was seemingly unstoppable for the majority of the 1996-97 campaign, scoring a ridiculous 47 goals in 49 games across all competitions. He helped La Blaugrana to win the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana, and his 34 league goals made him the last player to score more than 30 in a single La Liga season until the 2008-09 season.
It came as no surprise when he was awarded the Ballon d’Or in December 1997 for his exploits at Barca, and at that point, it felt like he could go onto become arguably the greatest player of all time. But the Brazilian suffered reoccurring and serious knee injuries after his move to Inter – which broke the world-record transfer fee – and ended up being sidelined for nearly 3 seasons between 1999 and 2002.
The summer of 2002 saw a renaissance for El Fenomeno though, as he won the World Cup with Brazil and claimed the Golden Boot in the process after scoring 8 goals. That was enough to win him another Ballon d’Or, and also to make Real Madrid part with €46m to bring him in as their latest Galactico.
His form with Los Blancos – for his first 3 seasons at least – was blistering; he scored 85 goals in those campaigns and helped them to win the 2002-03 La Liga title. While his abilities then tailed off due to his age and injuries, there’s no denying his greatness in his prime. He remains perhaps the most natural goalscorer to ever play in El Clasico.
3. Zinedine Zidane
It says a lot about the on-pitch greatness of current Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane that however well he does as a manager – and he’s already won the Champions League on 3 occasions – his accomplishments will likely always be overshadowed by the greatness he achieved as a player.
Until the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, it was widely believed that the French playmaker was the only player from the modern era to be good enough to be considered on the same level as historical greats like Pele, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona. Essentially, Zidane had everything; he could find passes that other players couldn’t, he could score with either foot, and he was physically fast and powerful too.
Zizou’s reputation as the greatest player on the planet largely stemmed from his days with Juventus – where he won the Scudetto on 2 occasions – and also for his performances in the 1998 World Cup, as he helped France to a famous victory on home soil, scoring 2 of their 3 goals in the final against Brazil. It was that year, naturally, that saw him awarded the Ballon d’Or.
By the summer of 2001, though, after 5 seasons in Italy, Zidane felt that it was time for a new challenge – and so he made a world-record breaking £46.6m move to Real, a fee that would not be topped for almost a decade. Incredibly, the great Frenchman repaid that fee almost immediately – by scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen during his first season at the club, a wonderful volley struck with his weaker left foot from the edge of the box.
Zizou went onto inspire Los Blancos to win the 2002-03 La Liga title, the same season that saw him named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. And although he couldn’t help Real to win any more major trophies, he remained an icon at the Bernabeu until his retirement in 2006 following an incredible World Cup with France – and it came as no surprise to see him become Real’s new manager in January 2016, such was his love affair with the club.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Splitting the obvious #1 and #2 in a list like this was always going to be near-impossible; debates about whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is better rage on seemingly every day of the week. In this instance though, one of the two – Messi – stands as the top goalscorer in the history of El Clasico with 26 goals, and so he pushes CR7 – who had 18 to his name before his 2018 move to Juventus – into the runner’s up spot.
That takes nothing away from Ronaldo and his accomplishments, though. The Portuguese superstar not only had a huge impact on Real Madrid, but has made a huge impact on the world of football in general.
Making his name as a flashy winger with a penchant for insane dribbling skills and spectacular goals, CR7 rose to prominence over 6 seasons with Manchester United, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2008 after inspiring the Red Devils to a Premier League and Champions League double with an incredible 42 goals in 49 games.
Real Madrid always seemed to be Ronaldo’s destiny, though, and after a protracted transfer saga, the Portuguese made the move to the Bernabeu in the summer of 2009 for a world-record fee of £80m. And from there, the goals – and trophies – began to flow at a simply astonishing rate, putting basically everyone else who came before him firmly in the shade.
CR7 scored a frankly ludicrous 450 goals in 438 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos, including the afore-mentioned 18 strikes in El Clasico games against Barcelona. Along the way his goalscoring exploits and incredible drive for excellence helped Real to capture 2 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League titles, as well as numerous other minor trophies.
While at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo was crowned the Ballon d’Or winner on a further 4 occasions – in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. To put it mildly, Real have never seemed quite the same since his departure.
1. Lionel Messi
In the modern era at least, no player embodies Barcelona more than the Argentine wizard Lionel Messi. A product of Barca’s famed La Masia academy, Messi debuted in the first team at the Nou Camp way back in 2003 as a tiny 16-year old, and to say he has made a big impact since would be the understatement of the century.
In the years that have followed his debut, the Argentine has set numerous records; he’s won a club-record 34 trophies with Barcelona, including 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions Leagues, he holds the record for most goals in La Liga history with 437, the record for most assists in La Liga history with 181, he’s become Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer with 626 strikes and he’s also won the Ballon d’Or on 6 different occasions, more than any other player.
When discussing his style of play, what is there to say? Messi isn’t a physical powerhouse like Cristiano Ronaldo nor is he the quickest player on the pitch as the Brazilian Ronaldo was in his prime. Instead, he’s like a ghost, seemingly operating on another dimensional plane than his opponents, dribbling around defenders like they’re not there at all.
Some of his goals literally need to be seen to be believed, and of course, 26 of them have come in El Clasico matches against Real Madrid, giving him yet another record for his personal ledger. Will he be remembered as being better than his great rival, Ronaldo? To be quite frank, it doesn’t matter – they’re equally special players and fans of La Blaugrana and Los Blancos would probably take them over any of the other stars that have graced their famous stadiums over the years.
When it comes to the best Ballon d’Or winners to have graced El Clasico, though, nobody beats Messi.
