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Players Who Played for Both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are Thibaut Courtois, Álvaro Morata, Marcos Llorente, Sergio Reguilón, Saúl Ñíguez, Theo Hernández
The Madrid derby is one of the hottest rivalries in football. Real Madrid, with their white kit and big trophies, face off against Atletico Madrid, known for red and white stripes and a tough fighting style.
These two clubs from the same city have hated each other since the early 1900s. Real started strong, taking over smaller teams, but Atletico held on and grew into a strong team.
Over the years, many players have crossed the line and played for both sides. It's rare because fans get mad when someone switches. This article looks at some key players who did it, from old stars to new ones.
The 2010s saw a big change in the Madrid derby, Diego Simeone made Atletico Madrid a great team, winning machine, while Real Madrid followed all the moves to international glory with their massive packs of superstars. There were no reports of players crossing over between rivals.
The towering Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, made his mark at Atletico from 2011 to 2014. On loan from Chelsea, he played 111 games and was a wall in goal, helping win the 2012-13 La Liga with the fewest goals conceded.
His saves, like stopping penalties in derbies, were great. Then, in 2018, he joined Real Madrid, taking over from Keylor Navas. At Real, he lifted the 2022 Champions League and became a derby hero again, saving crucial penalties against Atletico.
A Madrid-born striker Álvaro Morata, grew up in Real’s youth system. He played two spells for their senior team, from 2010 to 2014 and 2016 to 2017, scoring 10 goals in 37 games and helping win the 2014 Champions League.
In 2019, he joined Atletico on loan, going permanent in 2020. There, he scored 46 goals in 117 games, including key strikes in their 2021 La Liga win.
Another Real product Marcos Llorente from the youth system, he made his senior debut for the first team aged 17 in 2015 and played through to 2019. Although he had some good player, he certainly wasn’t a star.
In 2019, he went to Atletico and got his start under Simeone, but has since made 261 appearances. A man who is all over the pitch with no effort to finish.
And one of the biggest of them for was, his fantastic hat-trick against Real in a 2020 Copa del Rey match, and one of the reasons for Atletico’s title challenge is because of the energy that he brings to the bench.
The quick left-back, Sergio Reguilón has been capped by Real’s youth system, made his first appearance in 2018 in just a handful of games before leaving on loan at Sevilla. He also made 11 appearances for Atletico in 2022 (on loan from Tottenham) before returning to Spurs.
Saúl Ñíguez is a midfielder, spent some years with Real’s youth system, until 2011 when he joined Atletico, where he became one of the mainstays in 295 games for the club with his tough, box-to-box nature.
By the 1990s, Real Madrid’s Galacticos era brought superstars, while Atletico bounced between leagues after relegation. It was becoming less common to cross the derby line ( despite the repercussions ). Fans wanted loyalty, and that prompted great feelings.
A Real Madrid icon, had an odd tie to Atletico. Born in 1977, he trained in Atletico’s youth system around 1990 but got released, some say for attitude issues.
Real snapped him up, and he debuted in 1994, against Atletico. He became a legend, scoring 291 goals in 741 games and winning six leagues.
Born in 1985, started as a winger in Real’s youth setup and debuted for their senior team in 2002, playing three games. After stints at Osasuna, he joined Atletico in 2010 and became a rock-solid right-back.
Over 329 games, he helped win the 2014 La Liga and two Europa Leagues. He reached two Champions League finals, losing both to Real, and missed a penalty in 2016.
Born 1997, was a left back who spent time in Atletico’s youth system up until 2014, when he never made his debut.
A move to Real Madrid in 2015, to join their Castilla side, and then in 2017 the first team, brought him 13 appearances on loan in the process, but he never returned to his former club.
The 1970 's had colour TV and bigger crowds. Derby matches got violent sometimes. Players cross? A lot of news.
A German midfielder, Bernd Schuster, made the headlines. He signed with Real Madrid in 1988 having made his name at Barcelona. After a few years in Real's dominating midfield, he helped the club win two league titles and a UEFA Cup.
Schuster then went on to sign with Atletico in 1990 after a spell at Real Betis, and played 85 games and scored 11 goals while dodging the city's fans who disdained him by pelting him with abuse at the Bernabeu. During his time in Spain he even began coaching Atletico.
Another big name, another midfielder, (born 1938) had a phenomenal spell at Atletico (1964–74, in which he scored 122 goals in 265 matches across three leagues), but in the 1950s he also managed Real Madrid’s youth team and played in the reserves. Aragonés absolutely loved Atletico back then, and later on in his career, he helped them to Euro 2008.
Mexican footballers Hugo Sánchez. Signed on loan from Pumas, Atletico made 54 in 111 appearances to win 1985 edition of La Liga.
In 1985 he joined Real Madrid and scored 164 goals in 208 appearances for the club, garnering five Pichichi awards (Top Scorer), five league titles. He was known as “Pentapichichi” for his finishes.
Also switching was Argentine winger Santiago Solari, loan from Atletico in 1999-2000, scored seven goals in 46 appearances and then returned to his former club Real Madrid where he played 131 games (for 10 goals) and won the Champions League in 2002. A versatile player though who later went on to coach Real.
A speedy Spanish winger, joined Real on loan from Arsenal in 2006-07, scoring six goals in 30 games, including clutch strikes to win the league. Later, at Atletico from 2007 to 2012, he played 103 games and won the 2010 Europa League. His tragic death in 2019 hit fans hard.
After the Spanish Civil War, the football scene in Madrid was under reconstruction. The war had completely divided the two teams apart, but both, Real Madrid and Atlético Aviación (Atletico Madrid's name from 1939-1947), came back strongly.
Real started competing for European Cup titles, by the late 50s, while Atletico began fighting hard to win leagues in 1950 and 1951. It was difficult to switch sides with the fans who root for each team, and you could get life-long boos for crossing over. Few players achieved this feat: playing real senior matches for both clubs.
He was simply known as Pruden, was a vicious striker for Atlético Aviación, who won their very first Liga title in 1939–40. At the start of the 1936–37 season he scored 58 goals for the club and also helped them defend their title ,this was big for the club in an extremely difficult league.
In 1943 he joined Real Madrid and during five seasons from 1943 to 1948 was an amazing scorer, scoring 58 goals in 84 matches. Together with his excellent passing and deadly scorching instinct Real won two Copa del Generalsimo titles (in 1946 and 1947).
He’s been there since 1935; out of Real Sociedad, he started with them during the civil war, then went to Real Madrid in 1939. For a decade, though, he played, made 232 appearances, and scored seven goals as Atlético Aviación won two Copa del Generalsimo titles (in the 1940s and the Copa Eva Duarte in the 1950s).
He was a big fan, but having spent so many years in Atletico meant he was back on both sides of the city.
These post-war players faced more pressure. Real was becoming kings with Di Stefano in 1953. Atletico fans booed switchers, but need for players won out. By 1960s, the gap widened, Real had 5 European Cups, Atletico just leagues in 1950 and 1966.
In those days football in Madrid was really rough. Real Madrid started in 1902 with the best players from other teams. Atletico started in 1903 as Athletic Club de Madrid then became friends with Bilbao 's Athletic Club. They split in the middle. There were many early moves due to the lack of money for teams in Madrid.
He was one of the first giants to make a move over. Born in 1895, he signed for Real Madrid in 1911 as a forward, and stayed there until 1920, playing in regional matches and early cups.
He scored when he could, and helped make the team a success early on. In 1920-21 he moved to Atletico Madrid for a season. There he only played one official match, a friendly against Espanol.
The short trip to Atletico adds quite a twist to his legend. Imagine the future boss of Real sporting the shirt the rival has on.