5 players who played for both Barcelona and Juventus

Juventus will be facing Barcelona for the first time in three years.
Juventus will be facing Barcelona for the first time in three years.

#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Ibrahimovic is one of the few players to play for Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Barcelona
Ibrahimovic is one of the few players to play for Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Barcelona

There are very few great players who have played in as many clubs as Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swedish striker has played in Sweden, England, USA, Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands during his 21-year-long career.

Juventus was Ibrahimovic's first stop in Italy. The striker joined the club in 2004 after impressing in the Netherlands with Ajax. Ibrahimovic had an impressive debut season as he made the most of his first-team opportunities following an injury to David Trezeguet. But, the next season saw Ibrahimovic's role in the team changing following the return of the French striker.

Ibrahimovic left Juventus for Inter Milan in 2006 after the Bianconeri were stripped of their 2004-05, 2005-06 Serie A titles and relegated to Serie B. At Inter, Ibrahimovic made 92 appearances and scored 26 goals.

Three seasons later, Zlatan Ibrahimovic completed a big-money move to Barcelona. The striker had established himself as one of the best in the business during his three seasons with Inter Milan.

Ibrahimovic instantly hit the ground running. The striker formed a devastating partnership with Messi as Barcelona dominated the league. But, all was not rosy between Ibrahimovic and Pep Guardiola. Guardiola's preference to play Messi in the middle and Ibrahimovic in the wing was one of the reasons that made Ibrahimovic move out of the club.

Ibrahimovic left Barcelona just a season after joining them. He made 45 appearances and scored an impressive 21 goals, but his poor relationship with Guardiola ultimately led to his exit.

#1 Michael Laudrup

Laudrup was part of Johan Cryuff's dream team.
Laudrup was part of Johan Cryuff's dream team.

The Greatest Danish footballer of all time, Michael Laudrup joined Juventus in 1983. Laudrup, though, had to wait two years to make his Bianconeri debut. Serie A policy at the time allowed only two foreigners to play in a team, and Juventus wanted to keep Zbigniew Boniek and Michel Platini. This meant that Laudrup played his first two seasons in Serie A on loan at Lazio.

Laudrup finally made his Juventus debut in 1985 after Boniek moved to AS Roma. The attacker had an impressive debut season as Bianconeri won the Intercontinental Cup and the Serie A. It started falling downhill for the Dane after that. Injuries, loss in form, and the retirement of Michel Platini saw Laudrup struggling at Juventus.

The Dane finally left the club in 1989, after making 151 appearances, to join Johan Cryuff's Barcelona. At Barcelona, Laudrup was the creative threat of the Dream Team that dominated Spanish and European football. But Cryuff's decision to bench the Dane in the 1994 Champions League final led to Laudrup deciding to move out of Barcelona.

The Dane made 217 appearances across five seasons, winning nine trophies, including four straight La Liga's, European Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.

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Edited by Deepit Magee
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