Players who played for Manchester United and Real Madrid

12 players have played for both Manchester United and Real Madrid, according to Wikidata. The best known include Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Ángel Di María. 8 of them moved straight from one club to the other, including Cristiano Ronaldo. The earliest arrival at one of the two clubs was in 1979 (Laurie Cunningham), the most recent in 2017 (Álvaro Fernández).

Play today's football grid (in French)One player ticks both the row and the column, for every square. Manchester United special (in French)Today's games with its 364 players. Real Madrid special (in French)Today's games with its 460 players.

The full list (12 players)

PlayerPositionNationalityManchester UnitedReal Madrid
Cristiano RonaldoForwardPortugal2003–20222009–2018
David BeckhamMidfielderEngland1992–20032003–2007
Ángel Di MaríaMidfielderArgentina2014–20152010–2014
Michael OwenForwardEngland2009–20132004–2005
CasemiroDefenderBrazil2022–20262013–2022
Raphaël VaraneDefenderFrance2021–20242011–2021
Ruud van NistelrooyForwardNetherlands2001–20062006–2010
Javier Hernández BalcázarForwardMexico2010–20142014–2015
Gabriel HeinzeDefenderArgentina2004–20072007–2009
Álvaro FernándezDefenderSpain2020–20242017–2020
Guillermo VarelaDefenderUruguay2013–2014–
Laurie CunninghamMidfielderEngland19831979–1983

Players ranked from best known to least known (number of language editions of their Wikipedia page). Data from Wikidata: spotted a mistake? Let us know.

Other club pairs

With Manchester United

Aston Villa28Sunderland27Blackburn Rovers25West Brom24Everton23Royal Antwerp22Preston North End20Manchester City19

With Real Madrid

Espanyol45Rayo Vallecano39Real Valladolid39Real Zaragoza37Atlético Madrid36Real Betis35Barcelona32Sevilla32