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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.
