The 5 greatest Ballon d'Or winners to have graced El Clasico | La Liga 2019-20

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo won it all during his time at Real Madrid

Splitting the obvious #1 and #2 in a list like this was always going to be near-impossible; debates about whether Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is better rage on seemingly every day of the week. In this instance though, one of the two – Messi – stands as the top goalscorer in the history of El Clasico with 26 goals, and so he pushes CR7 – who had 18 to his name before his 2018 move to Juventus – into the runner’s up spot.

That takes nothing away from Ronaldo and his accomplishments, though. The Portuguese superstar not only had a huge impact on Real Madrid, but has made a huge impact on the world of football in general.

Making his name as a flashy winger with a penchant for insane dribbling skills and spectacular goals, CR7 rose to prominence over 6 seasons with Manchester United, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2008 after inspiring the Red Devils to a Premier League and Champions League double with an incredible 42 goals in 49 games.

Real Madrid always seemed to be Ronaldo’s destiny, though, and after a protracted transfer saga, the Portuguese made the move to the Bernabeu in the summer of 2009 for a world-record fee of £80m. And from there, the goals – and trophies – began to flow at a simply astonishing rate, putting basically everyone else who came before him firmly in the shade.

CR7 scored a frankly ludicrous 450 goals in 438 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos, including the afore-mentioned 18 strikes in El Clasico games against Barcelona. Along the way his goalscoring exploits and incredible drive for excellence helped Real to capture 2 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League titles, as well as numerous other minor trophies.

While at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo was crowned the Ballon d’Or winner on a further 4 occasions – in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. To put it mildly, Real have never seemed quite the same since his departure.