Do you know there are top footballers who played together? What if we told you that Messi and Ronaldo once played together for the same team?
Would you believe that?
Oh, you better not believe that because that’s not true. However, there are some pairs of players who once played for the same teams, but you may never believe they actually did. And today we want to see 10 of such pairings.
Here are 10 top footballers who played together
1. Ederson & Oblak
Yes, Ederson and Oblak, two of the biggest goalkeepers in Europe right now, once played for the same club in Portugal – Rio Ave FC.
Ederson had made his move to Europe in 2009, when he joined Benfica’s academy. He spent two years there and was then sold to Ribeirao where he spent one year before being transferred to Rio Ave. The same year Rio Ave bought him, Oblak was loaned to that same club for a year. So, for the 2012-13 season, Ederson and Oblak were teammates.
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They very well could have been teammates in Benfica, too, but while they both played for the club, their paths never crossed. Oblak was a Benfica player from 2010 to 2014, most of that time was spent on loan spells, though, to be honest. Meanwhile, Ederson was a Benfica player from 2015 to 2017 before City came and snatched him up.
2. Alves & Ramos
Dani Alves and Sergio Ramos were two of the biggest warriors in those really intense El Clasico battles back then, that you might forget that these two were once teammates. It’s sort of how it still feels weird that Messi and Ramos are currently teammates.
Anyway, Alves and Ramos have PSG in common, but of course, that’s not where they played together. It was much earlier in their careers. Before Barcelona and Madrid. Before their big moves, both defenders were Sevilla players. Alves was there between 2003 and 2008, while Ramos was with the academy since 1996, but only got promoted to the first team in 2004.
So, from 2004, he and Alves were teammates at Sevilla. But that didn’t last long at all, because just one full season in Sevilla’s first team was enough to convince Madrid to sign Ramos, so they came for him ASAP. They bought him for 27 million euros, a record fee for Spanish defenders back then, and you have to say it was a very brilliant investment. So, Alves and Ramos were teammates for only one season.
3. Ozil & Rakitic
These two never actually played a Clasico game against each other, but what they did was play together at Schalke 04.
Ozil joined Schalke’s youth team in 2005 and was promoted to the first team the following year, while Rakitic was signed from Basel in 2007. But the pair were only teammates for 6 months as Ozil left for Werder Bremen in January of 2008.
4. Ronaldo Nazario and Aubameyang
This one is pretty crazy, isn’t it?
How did these guys from two totally different generations cross paths?
Well, it was at the beginning of one’s career and the end of the other’s.
Ronaldo had already conquered the world when he moved to AC Milan in 2007 as a 31-year-old. Meanwhile Aubameyang was just starting out his career when he moved to AC Milan in 2007 as an 18-year-old.
They spent one season together before Ronaldo left for Brazil and Aubameyang started his loan tour. But of course, the former Arsenal captain has memories from that one year that he’ll never forget.
Here’s what he said about the Brazilian legend:
“To tell the truth, he was a bit fat by then, but he was still the best. I will always remember when Carlo Ancelotti had a go at him about his fitness, he said, ‘What do you want me to do, run or score goals?’ Ancelotti said ‘Score goals’ and the next game Ronaldo scored twice!”
These are memories that will never leave you as a player.
5. Guardiola & Totti
You know Pep as a Barcelona legend and Totti as a Roma legend, so how then did they manage to play together?
Well, because Pep left his home in 2001 after more than a decade there and decided to tour Italy. First, he moved to Brescia and then he moved to Roma in 2002 where he played for one year before going to Qatar.
In that one year, of course, he met the King of Rome and played alongside him. Totti was in Roma from 1989 to 2017, so anytime you joined, the chance that you’d have played alongside him was very high.
A little bonus here is that Pep Guardiola also played alongside Roberto Baggio. Our older viewers will appreciate this one.
But if you appreciate that one, you’re in for a real treat with this next one.
6. Maradona & Simeone
Yes, the two Diegos played in the same team during their playing careers. They actually both even joined Sevilla in the same window in 1992. Maradona played there for just one year before he went back to Argentina to finish up his career. Surely, that one year is one that Simeone will never forget.
But then, they were international teammates for much longer. Simeone made his international debut in 1988, 6 years before Maradona retired from international football. As a matter of fact, they both even represented Argentina at the 1994 World Cup.
7. Pochettino & Ronaldinho
We would have thought that their names sort of rhyming would be the only thing Pochettino and Ronaldinho have in common, but no, they were actually teammates. At PSG.
They actually both joined the French club in the same year and left in the same year. Poch was signed in January of 2001 while Dinho was brought in in the summer of that same year. They both played together until 2003 when Ronaldinho was snatched up by Barcelona and Pochettino made his move to Bordeaux.
They would both later end up in the same city, though, as Poch was later signed by Espanyol in 2004.
8. Zaha & Edgar Davids
This one is really crazy cos there are like 3 generations between these two guys. Zaha only just turned 30 while Edgar Davids is soon to be 50, but somehow, in 2010, they both found themselves in the same club.
Edgar Davids was rounding off his career and he decided to move to England after completing his second stint with Ajax. He chose Championship side, Crystal Palace, and signed a pay-as-you-play deal with them in August 2010
Meanwhile, Zaha, who had been with the youth team since 2004, just got promoted to the first team and made his senior debut in March of 2010 as a 17-year-old.
So, by the time Davids came in August, Zaha was already fully integrated into the first team, so they were teammates. But that didn’t last long at all as the Dutchman spent only 3 months at Palace, leaving in November and saying that his short spell there was one of the greatest experiences of his life.
9. Reus & Josh King
If you’re a Premier League fan, then you surely know Josh King. He played for Bournemouth, Everton, Watford, and a couple other Championship teams.
Now, how did this guy play with Reus who has never left Germany? Well, before he started his tour of mid-table Premier League teams, he was a Man United player. Pretty sure you didn’t know that.
United signed him when he was just 16, but he never actually broke into the first team. Instead, he was loaned to different clubs. First, Preston North End and then Borussia Monchengladbach. Now, that’s the one we’re looking for!
He joined the German club in 2011 a year before Reus left for Dortmund. But this is the shortest spell on this list today, because Josh King played only two games for Monchengladbach before his loan contract was terminated due to a groin injury.
King played a total of 19 minutes for the Bundesliga side. But every minute counts, doesn’t it?
10. Rivaldo & Casemiro
Best of two generations. Rivaldo and Casemiro have 20 years between them but somehow they managed to find themselves in the same football club at the same time.
Like a number of Brazilian football stars, Casemiro started out his career in Sao Paulo. He joined the Brazilian giants as a 10-year-old in 2002, rose throught the ranks, and got promoted to the senior team in 2010.
While he was there, a legend joined the club on loan in January 2011. We’re pretty sure a 19-year-old Casemiro, along with other youngsters at Sau Paulo at that time, was Starstruck when the great Rivaldo came to play with them.
He stayed for just 6 months, but we’re sure those were some really unforgettable 6 months for Casemiro.
Now, which of these pairings shocked you the most?
Let us know in the comments.
