More than 30 players have represented both sides of the Clasico divide, including some of history's biggest stars
The Clasico rivalry is so intense that it is considered taboo to represent both Real Madrid and Barcelona during a player's career. The two old rivals meet once again on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey – and no one in the current crop on either side has been brave enough to cross the divide.
However, there a long list of brave souls who have dared to turn their backs on one of the Spanish giants and end up sporting the jersey of the other.
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Youngster Iker Bravo is the latest to do so. Once a bright prospect in Barcelona's La Masia academy, he has ended up at Real Madrid on loan via Bayer Leverkusen just one year after contract extension negotiations broke down with Camp Nou club.
Is it possible for him to succeed at the Santiago Bernabeu despite his history? GOAL takes a look at the long list of stars who have been part of both organisations before him…
Getty ImagesLuis Figo
Without doubt the most notorious example on this list, Figo went from Barcelona's darling to public enemy number one when he joined Madrid in the summer of 2000.
The Portugal star was the best player in the world at the time. He won the Ballon d'Or soon after joining Madrid, largely for his performances at Barca, and his signing was the promise which won Florentino Perez the Madrid presidency.
Figo was targeted for vitriolic abuse whenever he played at Camp Nou. After he was pelted with missiles taking corners during a game in 2002, team-mate Michel Salgado said: "By the second or third corner I turned to Luis and said: ‘Forget it, mate. You’re on your own’.
"I used to offer Luis the chance to take the short corner, drawing up close to him near the touchline, but not this time. Missiles were raining down from the stands: coins, a knife, a glass whiskey bottle."
Figo made more than 200 appearances for each team and won two league titles with both, as well as the 2002 Champions League at Madrid.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesRonaldo
By contrast to Figo, the Brazilian Ronaldo remains generally beloved by fans of both teams – he was just that good.
Ronaldo only spent one season at Barca, but it was one of the most astonishing single seasons a player had delivered in Spain.
He scored 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions in 1996-97, but a contract dispute at the end of the year saw him leave for Inter for a world-record fee – breaking the record he set in joining Barca from PSV. He won that year's Ballon d'Or.
Returning to Spain in 2002, Ronaldo became one of the leading lights of the generation, winning a second Ballon d'Or and top-scoring in La Liga.
However, his time at the Santiago Bernabeu brought only one league title and no Champions Leagues, before injuries and weight issues marked the beginning of a long decline.
Getty ImagesMichael Laudrup
Widely regarded as the finest player ever to come out of Scandinavia, the Dane was a key part of the 'Dream Team' which won four straight La Liga titles under Johan Cruyff in the early nineties.
One of the most complete playmakers of all time, Laudrup's vision and guile made him arguably one of the all-time greats.
Frank Beckenbauer famously said of him: "Pele was the best in the 1960s, Cruyff in the 1970s, Maradona in the 1980s and Laudrup in the 1990s."
But after five glorious years with Barca, in 1994 he fell out with Cruyff and moved straight to Madrid, taking his winning touch with him – Madrid lifted their first league title in five years in his first season.
Memorably, Laudrup was on the winning side of two 5-0 Clasico wins – tellingly, they came in his final season at Barca, and his first at Madrid.
He only spent two seasons with Madrid before moving to Vissel Kobe in Japan, but in a poll run by in 2002, he was voted the club's 12th greatest player ever.
Getty ImagesLuis Enrique
A versatile, technically proficient midfielder, Luis Enrique played more than 200 times on each side of the divide as well as passing a half-century of international caps for Spain.
However, despite winning three trophies in five years at Madrid, he left for Barca on a free transfer in 1996, saying he felt underappreciated in the Spanish capital.
It took some time to win round the Barca fans. But he became a popular figure and a much-admired captain, scoring in several Clasicos against his former side.
After winning two league titles among several other trophies as a player, Luis Enrique later became manager of Barcelona, winning two further league titles and the 2015 Champions League.
