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The La Liga back in the early 2000s was totally different - something the modern football fan would never recognise. In a span of 5 seasons where Real won the title twice, Deportivo and Valencia were dominant forces in Spanish football.
It didn't take long for Real and Barca to re-establish their duopoly though. Only one team other than these two has won the La Liga since 2005 (Atletico in 2014).
But those few years at the turn of the millennium was a time of delightful unpredictability in Spain. Valencia won two titles, Deportivo won the title once and finished runners-up twice. And there was also Deportivo's memorable run to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2004.
For Real though, that period marked the beginning of Florentino Perez's extremely successful Galacticos policy, which began with the high profile and controversial signing of Luis Figo from Barcelona.
They then had their first major title under Perez in 2002, as Vincente del Bosque's men beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the Champions League final in Glasgow.
They also won the Spanish Super Cup and came second in the Copa del Rey. So where are the players of the first Galacticos team right now?
GK: Iker Casillas
The 2001/02 season marked Casillas' third full season with Real at just the age of 21, he received fierce competition from Cesar Sanchez. In fact, it was Sanchez who started the final in Glasgow, though Casillas had to replace him after an injury in the second half.
Having fallen out of favour at Madrid in his later years, he joined Porto in 2015, and still plays for the Portuguese giants. Although he admitted that retirement was on his mind, he still hasn't officially announced it yet.
He even remains available for Spanish duty, but his last appearance came in 2016, having since been displaced by David de Gea as Spanish no. 1.
His legendary status in Madrid and Spain will never be in doubt, though, having led his country to a World Cup in 2010. In Real Madrid's immensely successful run over the past couple of decades, he was one of those very few superstars who made it through the academy before breaking into the first team.
RB: Michel Salgado
Salgado is probably the best Spanish right-back of all time. He had 10 immensely successful seasons at Madrid where he won four La Liga titles and two Champions League titles.
He started the final against Leverkusen, playing the full 90 minutes. Salgado made 52 appearances for the first team throughout that season, the most of any player.
As his place in the starting lineup was soon taken by Pepe and Sergio Ramos, he joined Blackburn Rovers in 2009, spending three seasons in England before retiring at the end of the 2011/12 season.
At the age of 40, he briefly played in the Indian Futsal League for Kochi 5's. He also recently admitted in an interview that a management career was a possibility in the future.
CB: Fernando Hierro
Hierro came through Malaga's academy and represented Valladolid briefly before joining Real in 1989. In a career spanning 14 full seasons at the Spanish capital, he was almost always the first choice for both Real and Spain.
He captained his team in the final at Glasgow. Perhaps more notably, he scored a hat-trick in the league against Real Zaragoza, but couldn't inspire his team to the league title, missing out to eventual champions Valencia.
Like Salgado, he ended his career in England with Bolton Wanderers, retiring in 2005. He had a brief spell as director of football at his boyhood club Malaga. He was also an assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti during the Italian's tenure at Madrid.
His first major managerial role came with Real Oviedo in the second division, but he departed at the end of the 2017 season by mutual consent after missing a promotion playoff.
CB: Ivan Helguera
Helguera was a versatile centre back/defensive midfielder who played in both positions for the Los Blancos after signing from Espanyol in 1999.
He was instrumental for them in their victorious Champions League campaigns in 2000 and 2002, playing in both the finals against Valencia and Leverkusen.
With 47 caps for Spain, he was an important part of the national defensive setup along with club teammate Hierro. He later became the second choice towards the end of his spell in Madrid, eventually joining Valencia in 2007.
He was an important player there in his debut season, but his contract was cancelled subsequently after just one season. In spite of rumoured interest from LA Galaxy, he retired from football in 2009.
LB: Roberto Carlos
At that point in time, Real probably had the two best fullbacks in the world rampaging up and down the flanks for them.
2002 was an eventful year for Roberto Carlos - barely a month and a half after lifting the Champions League, he helped Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in the World Cup final.
After Raul equalised for Real following Lucio's opener for Leverkusen, Roberto Carlos flicked the ball over his head to Zidane at the edge of the box, who buried a ferocious volley in what is considered as one of the best Champions League goals of all time.
After leaving Madrid in 2007, he had spells at Fenerbahce, Corinthians and Anzhi. Even though he retired in 2012, he briefly returned as a player-manager for Delhi Dynamos in 2015, but it was later confirmed that he wouldn't return for the 2016 season.
CDM: Claude Makelele
Although Makelele is better known for his spell in England with Chelsea, he was an important squad member for Real in the three seasons he spent there, including the victorious Champions League campaign in 2002.
Florentino Perez infamously blasted the midfielder when he eventually left for Chelsea, but other players like Zidane had differing opinions about his importance to the team. He was the pivot around which more creative players like Zidane and Luis Figo worked their magic higher up the pitch.
He finished his career at PSG back in France after leaving Chelsea. He had a forgettable spell as manager for Bastia in 2014, getting sacked barely six months after getting the job.
He had a very short spell as assistant coach at Swansea earlier this year, and was then appointed head coach of Belgian side Eupen in November.
LM: Santiago Solari/Guti
Both Solari and Guti played for almost an equal amount time in the 2001/02 season; it was the former who started the Glasgow final.
While Guti spent almost his entire career with the Los Blancos, having also come through their youth ranks. He then joined Besiktas in 2010, and was released from his contract in November 2011 after only one complete season. He currently works as a coach for Real's youth team, and has expressed his interest in management several times.
Solari joined Real from cross-city rivals Atletico in 2000. He gradually became a regular, but most often as a substitute. He had his most personally successful campaign in the 2003/04 season, but his most important match was probably the 2002 final. He had spells at Inter and San Lorenzo after leaving Real, and is currently the manager of their reserve team which plays in the Spanish second division.
RM: Luis Figo
The legendary Portuguese winger earned the wrath of every single Barcelona fan when he crossed the almost forbidden line between Catalonia and Madrid in 2000, signing for the Los Blancos for a then world record $60 million.
His spell at Real is heavily defined by the intense hatred that Barca fans had towards him. But he was impressive for them nevertheless, going on to score more goals in fewer appearances.
He started the final in Glasgow on the right as part of a midfield diamond supporting the attacking duo of Raul and Fernando Morientes.
He joined Inter after leaving Madrid, and retired after four seasons in Italy. In 2015, Figo intended to run for FIFA presidency but later withdrew his candidacy. After announcing his retirement though, he did mention that he would work for Inter later on as a board member.
CAM: Zinedine Zidane
Zidane had just joined Real at the beginning of that season, and the €77.5 million fee that they paid Juventus for him at the age of 29 proved just how much they valued him.
And he went on to repay their faith in the very first season with an unstoppable volley with his weaker foot in the UCL final, which eventually ended up being the decisive goal.
In spite of having spent most of his time at Madrid in his thirties, he went on to cement his place as the best midfielder in the world en route to 5 major titles with the Los Blancos.
He was appointed the manager of Real Madrid after Rafa Benitez's sacking in January 2016. In just under two seasons, he's already won 8 major honours but has run into a rough patch recently, with rumours that Perez is growing impatient after the recent El Clasico humiliation.
ST: Raul Gonzalez
Before Cristiano Ronaldo arrived from Manchester and broke every Real Madrid goalscoring record possible, Raul was the undisputed goal machine in the Spanish capital.
Like Casillas, he came through the academy and spent a large chunk of his playing career at the Bernabeu. In 16 seasons, he scored 323 goals in 741 appearances in all competitions and is still considered one of the greatest Spanish forwards of all time.
It was Raul who opened the scoring in the final against Leverkusen in the eighth minute. That season, he was the top scorer for his team with 24 goals in 50 appearances.
After leaving Madrid, he had spells at Schalke, Al Sadd and New York Cosmos. He retired in 2015 after leading the Cosmos to the Soccer Bowl. Both his sons are also footballers, with one of them currently enrolled in the New York City FC academy.
ST: Fernando Morientes
Morientes started alongside Raul in Glasgow and formed a lethal partnership with his compatriot throughout that season. He ended the season as the second highest goalscorer in the La Liga with 18 goals.
He was instrumental in all three Champions League titles that Real won in the space of five years - he even scored in the 3-0 win over Valencia in the 2000 final.
His last couple of seasons were mostly spent playing second fiddle to Ronaldo, who arrived from Inter in 2002. In spite of being linked to both Barca and Tottenham, he chose to stay in Madrid.
He eventually ended up at Liverpool after a loan spell at Monaco, and then went on to play for Valencia and Marseille before retiring in 2010. He started his management career with Huracan Valencia CF, and then the Real Madrid youth team. He was appointed as manager of CF Fuenlabrada in 2015 but sacked in February 2016 with his team struggling in 11th place in the second division.
