It was in the 2017 Champions’ League final that these two giants ruling over the European football roost for quite a while crossed swords for the last time. Real Madrid humiliated the Old Lady at Cardiff with an extraordinary second-half performance, thanks to a spirited showdown from Cristiano Ronaldo. The entire affair for Los Galacticos was concluded under the tutelage of Zinedine Zidane, who has now become an extremely emphatic appellation in the echelons of Real Madrid. Despite being a part of Real Madrid, both the stars that we mentioned in the preceding paragraph also went on to play for Juventus.
Ronaldo still is their leading goal-scorer in the current season and was in the contention of European Golden Boot until being toppled by Ciro Immobile and Robert Lewandowski in the final hurdle. Similarly, like this duo, there have been a few selected players who went on to represent both Los Merengues and the Bianconeri. We will be ranking the top five players in terms of their popularity as they raked significant admiration from the supporters of both the clubs.
5. Sami Khedira
The crux of the German powerhouse, Sami Khedira is an absolute game-changer on his given days. Known for bombing down the centre and whipping in those vicious curlers that could dismantle the opposition at any second, Khedira has led both Real and Juventus to uncountable glories.
Playing at Bernabeu for a staggering 5 seasons, Khedira notched up 105 caps from which he could only net 6 goals. However, his towering presence in the midfield played a pivotal role in framing the perfect line up for Real that comprised stars like Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema.
However, his ending at Real wasn’t a very promising story as he failed to produce consistent performances and there were too many injuries plaguing his career that forced him down the pecking order. This phase also collided with the arrival of several youngsters who offered promise and uplifted Real to the top of the league where Khedira repeatedly struggled at the club.
To attain more game time, he switched allegiance to Juventus where he was granted a start right since his inception and his regular performances at Turin improved by leaps and bounds. Shedding the role of a central midfielder, he is now a central attacking midfielder that at times also bears witness to him being a withdrawal forward.
His current role has helped him to notch up 21 goals in the Black and White stripes and his charismatic presence in the midfield summons an illustrious storm to rake vehement bigshots of Europe.
With a domestic double and some commanding showdowns, Khedira has left a bitter taste in the mouth of Real Madrid after they realized that it was a big mistake in letting him go.
4. Michael Laudrup
Despite failing to kiss his usual substantial heights at Juventus, Laudrup still managed to be one of the best players to have ever graced both Juve and Real.
After spending a considerable span of time on loan, coming to Italy, Laudrup’s first telling appearance came after two seasons. Out of the four seasons, he went on to play for Juve, two were beyond his expected heights while the other two were arrant disappointments owing to an injury-plagued span at Turin.
His exploits at the Old Lady were nothing more than one Serie A title and an intercontinental cup but the brand of impudently genius football that was up for grabs from this Dane striker was nothing short of captivating.
After a failed stint in Italy, he arrived in Spain as he was roped in by Barcelona and he went on to deliver a gilt-edged showdown at Camp Nou for an overwhelming 5 seasons. Post which he treaded his way to Real where his heroics were once again put to the test as he could only manage 12 goals from 62 games before heading over to J-League.
3. Fabio Cannavaro
Call him whatever you may like but I prefer the title of a ‘Colossus in the defence’ for this man. The Italian defensive leader overcame all the hurdles which were subjected to him and were even touted to house the potential of thwarting a cannonball if that was ever unleashed.
As he made the switch from Italy to Spain, he was probably in the brightest purple patch that one could ever be in his career. Playing out a handful two seasons in Turin, his exploits were a Domestic double out of which one was reneged because of the infamous Calciopoli scandal. This, however, failed to have a lasting impact on the impenetrable defender as it was the same year in which he led his nation to a World Cup triumph. To cap it all off, he also went on to win the Balon d’Or in the same season.
However, his arrival in Spain was not as glittering as one expected it to be but his limited performances held a special place in the hearts of the Real fans.
In a span of three years, he went on to play 94 matches for Real Madrid before making a comeback to Juve to play out his final season there as he chronicled 27 appearances in his second stint with the club.
He went on to win 2 League titles in his span of three years at Real Madrid but his exploits in the colours of Juventus wasn’t something that he would brag of.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Out of the two Godly footballers that transcend all possible boundaries in Football currently, Ronaldo is the second in this prestigious list of elites.
A man who has left a trail of carnage to everywhere he has been, his stature is beyond the league of anyone else in contention.
Playing for a record 9 seasons in the colours of Real which saw him pump in 311 goals from 292 matches, Ronaldo was the chieftain of Real’s glitterati.
Despite speculations of him ending his career at Bernabeu, he shattered all hopes as he joined Juventus in 2018 to attain something greater. Already a winner of Serie A in 2018, he overcame his fire of baptism at Turin to score late goals in the year to make up for his lost form at the start.
However, in the second season with Juve, he was back to his former scintillating self as his goal-scoring exploits simply seem unparalleled. Much to his surprise, Ciro Immobile punched heroically above his weight to topple him from the race of the European and the Italian golden boot.
Losing the race to the ace in individual honours to Ciro, Ronaldo has already notched up 52 goals from 64 games in the colours of Juventus.
1. Zinedine Zidane
After careful consideration and intense debates, it was decided that the master will beat his student in the race to this double-pronged greatness.
Five years at both Real and Juve that witnessed him notching up three league titles, eight minor cups, and one UEFA Champions League final in which his remarkable goal still holds symbolic importance of his greatness.
While playing for both the clubs, Zidane went on to notch up the Balon d’Or once and the FIFA World Player of the Year a whopping three times. He was also named as the French player of the year, once with each club and was accorded the title of La Liga’s best foreign player. All of this collided with his World Cup triumph and the 2000 Euros championship in French colours.
His impudent roulettes, godlike precision in passes and vicious long rangers that torn apart his opponents inside out made him one of the best footballers of his era to have ever taken the pitch.
His numbers at Juve reads 24 goals from 151 matches while the French wizard managed to register 37 goals from 155 games. He is currently deployed as the manager of Real Madrid that has already witnessed him attaining several honours in a span of three years which even the greatest managers of football could only dream of.
