From McManaman to Adebayor, players who have played for both City and Real Madrid
Ahead of this night Manchester City showdown with the ten-time European champions Real Madrid, sportsration looks at players who have worn both the sky blue of Manchester City and the white of Real Madrid.
1. Steve McManaman
He left Liverpool for Madrid in 1999 as a free agent. He went on to become the first Englishman to win the UEFA Champions League with a foreign club – a feat he achieved twice, in 2000 and 2002, scoring in the final and claiming the Man of the Match award in the first of those triumphs.
Steve’s career was winding down when he joined City in 2003 but his experience told in the 44 appearances he made over two seasons at the City of Manchester Stadium.
2.Nicolas Anelka
Real Madrid paid a reported £23m for then-Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka in the summer of 1999 but the Frenchman struggled to replicate the form displayed in North London in the Spanish capital.
A disagreement with Del Bosque in March 2000, which saw him suspended by the club, seemed to be the beginning of the end of Anelka at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He joined PSG and enjoyed a successful loan spell at Liverpool before Kevin Keegan brought him to City for a club record £13m fee.
Anelka was a big hit in his time at City, scoring 45 goals and finishing as top scorer in his first two seasons in Manchester.
3.Robinho
Arguably the most exciting and unexpected transfer in the Premier League era, Robinho’s transfer to City in September 2008 almost single-handedly launched the “deadline day” coverage seen on rolling sports news channels to this day.
Robinho’s time in Madrid was far more successful than it’s often painted as, with the forward earning Ballon d’Or nominations and winning La Liga twice but a dispute over a contract renewal eventually led to his famous move to the Premier League.
Excellent in his first season at City where he finished as the club’s top scorer with 14 goals, the start to his second campaign was blighted by injury and he ended up moving to Milan in the January transfer window.
Still remembered fondly by supporters in Manchester, Robinho’s arrival is still seen as a defining moment in the establishment of City as a major force in English football.
4.Emmanuel Adebayor
In 2009 Adebayor left Arsenal for Manchester City for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £25million.
He became the first Manchester City player to score a hat-trick in a European competitionon when he scored in UEFA Europa League group stage match against Lech Poznań.
The arrival of Edin Džeko, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli meant he was City’s 4th choice striker so he joined Real Madrid on loan for the rest of the season in 2011.
