#3 Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas
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Probably one of the most popular of the lot, the relationship between Iker Casillas and Xavi Hernandez is something special. The duo first met during the 1997 U-17 FIFA World Cup in Egypt leading their country to a third-placed finish. Two years later, the duo led Spain to glory, winning the FIFA Youth Championship in 1999. Only a year later, they would meet on the pitch but this time in different colours for their respective first El Clasico.
In 2008, they led Spain to European glory and then the biggest of them all – the World Cup in 2010. However, their friendship would begin to suffer in the years to come after Mourinho took over at Madrid. The Portuguese started a war between the two clubs and the animosity between the players of the two clubs was clearer than ever. It was after the nasty 2011 Supercopa De Espana game that Casillas made a phone call to Xavi in order to resolve the issues.
Iker’s willingness to restore peace between the two clubs did not impress Mourinho who has ever since had a poor relationship with the goalkeeper. However, Casillas and Xavi would go on to unite a Spanish team that consisted a large number of players from both Real Madrid and Barcelona that lifted the European Championship in 2012. Their friendship proved that people are more important than colours, certainly a beautiful story!
