Barcelona vs Real Madrid: 14 former Premier League stars you won’t believe once played in an El Clasico showdown
From Liverpool reject Antonio Nunez to one-time Reading winger Royston Drenthe there have been some odd faces on display
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BARCELONA play host to fierce rivals Real Madrid on Saturday in the latest star-laden El Clasico showdown at the Nou Camp.
With stars such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo all on display, it's fair to say there will be some incredible talent, not to mention expensive, on the famous turf.
However, despite the Luis Figos, Zinedine Zidanes and Ronaldinhos of yesterday, there have also been some, shall we say, less than world-class talent on show in Spain's most famous clash.
Keep up to date with ALL the Barcelona and Real Madrid news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary.
IBRAHIM AFELLAY
NOW part of the 'Stokealona' set-up under Mark Hughes, Afellay was a part of the Barcelona squad for four seasons.
While he spent a fair chunk of that on the bench or out on loan, the Dutch forward did in fact play in an El Clasico match - a 2-0 away win in the Champions League, even setting up Messi for the first goal of the game.
FABIO ROCHEMBACK
BEFORE his three-season stint at Middlesbrough, Rochemback was in and around the Barcelona set-up for four seasons.
The Brazilian ace turned out 45 times for the Nou Camp side, spending two seasons out on loan at Sporting, and even found himself on the pitch against Zinedine Zidane and Co FOUR El Clasicos.
GABRIEL HEINZE
THE arrival of Patrice Evra at Old Trafford all but ended Heinze's Manchester United career - where he would go on to join Real Madrid.
The Argentine defender played two seasons at the Bernabeu, featuring in a handful of El Clasicos - including the 6-2 hammering - during one of Real's dryest periods silverware-wise in recent years.
ALEX SONG
SEEMINGLY permanently injured, Song never quite lived up to his potential at Arsenal, but that didn't stop Barcelona buying him in 2012.
In four seasons at the Nou Camp, Song played just 39 times and even spent two years on loan at West Ham, but did manage to muster an El Clasico showdown - making his debut against Real in 2012.
ROYSTON DRENTHE
BELIEVE it of not, Drenthe has one El Clasico appearance to his name, despite struggling to get a game at Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
The one-cap Dutch winger showed great promise at Feyenoord and Real Madrid, but has struggled ever since and now plays for UAE side Baniyas.
GIOVANI DOS SANTOS
THE one-time Tottenham and Ipswich forward is now tearing it up in the MLS with the LA Galaxy, but the Mexican in fact kicked off his career at Barcelona.
Dos Santos played 37 games in just one season in the first-team squad at the Nou Camp, including the El Clasico in December 2007 as a second-half sub.
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ESTEBAN GRANERO
AFTER working his way through the ranks at Madrid, Granero finally got his shot iat first team action in 2012 when he returned from a spell at Getafe.
The Spaniard spent three seasons at Real Madrid taking on the likes of Barcelona before he somewhat oddly move to Queens Park Rangers for an ill-fated two-year stint.
ALEKSANDR HLEB
FOLLOWING three seasons at Arsenal, where he played 89 Premier League games, Hleb joined Barcelona where - in his own words - he wasted the best years of his career on the bench.
Despite playing just 19 times for Barca, he did play in the El Clasico, in between loan spells to Stuttgart, Birmingham and Wolfsburg, that is...
ANTONIO NUNEZ
MOST remembered for his horror stint at Liverpool under Rafa Benitez in 2004-05, Nunez was once, incredibly, a Real Madrid player.
The winger played 11 times - all as a substitute - in his one season with the first team, including an El Clasico showdown, before he was sent to Liverpool as part of the Michael Owen transfer deal.
PEPE REINA
WHILE easily one of the better players on this list, many forget Reina was once a Barcelona man, before his Villarreal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Napoli days.
And the Spanish stopper even turned out in a 2-2 El Clasico thriller in the 2000-01 season amid his 30 La Liga appearances for the Catalan club.
LUIS GARCIA
LONG before his famous Liverpool days, Garcia played for Barcelona through the youth ranks and then across two spells at senior level.
His 25 first team appearances hardly set the world alight in La Liga, but he did manage to feature in an El Clasico shodown
GAIZKA MENDIETA
MENDIETA was never contracted to Barcelona. He was never contracted to Real Madrid either. But the Dutchman still managed to edge his way into an El Clasico match.
If you're wondering how, the winger was on loan at Barca from Lazio in the 2002-03 season where he was a first team regular, before he upped sticks to join Middlesbrough.
BOLO ZENDEN
ANOTHER star perhaps most famous for his time at Boro, Zenden also had spells at Liverpool, Chelsea, Sunderland, Marseille, PSV and... Barcelona.
Between 1998 and 2001, Zenden played 64 La Liga games for Barca, including a handful of El Clasico appearances.
JORDI CRUYFF
SON of footballing icon Johan, Dutchman Jordi Cruyff endured an impressive stint at Barcelona before his underwhelming Manchester United spell.
The forward played 41 times in La Liga between 1994 and 1996, netting 11 times as he squared up to the best Real Madrid had to offer in his own El Clasico experience.