Extra Time › Played for both › Manchester City and Real Madrid
Players who played for both Manchester City and Real Madrid
6 famous players have played for both Manchester City and Real Madrid, including Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicolas Anelka and Mateo Kovačić. 2 of them played for Manchester City first; 4 started at Real Madrid.
Did you know?
- Nicolas AnelkaEarliest on this list to play for both: Real Madrid (1999–2000), then Manchester City from 2002.
Mateo KovačićLatest on this list: Real Madrid first, then Manchester City from 2023.
All 6 players, most famous first
Robinho
Brazil · Midfielder · born 1984- Manchester City
- 2008–2010
- Real Madrid
- 2005–2008
- Manchester City
- 2009–2012
- Real Madrid
- 2010–2011
- Nicolas Anelka
France · Forward · born 1979- Manchester City
- 2002–2005
- Real Madrid
- 1999–2000
- Mateo Kovačić
Croatia · Midfielder · born 1994- Manchester City
- from 2023
- Real Madrid
- 2015–2019
- DaniloBrazil · Defender · born 1991
- Manchester City
- 2017–2019
- Real Madrid
- 2015–2017
- Brahim Díaz
Spain · Midfielder · born 1999- Manchester City
- 2016–2019
- Real Madrid
- from 2019
Years are club stints from Wikidata (snapshot 2026-09-28); a loan that runs straight into a transfer is shown as one stint. “from YEAR” means no end year is recorded — it is not a claim about a current club.
Play today’s Football Grid
Name players who played for both clubs — a new 3×3 grid of real careers every day.
More “played for both” lists
Manchester City and…
Arsenal 13Chelsea 12Barcelona 10West Ham 10Inter Milan 9Liverpool 9AC Milan 8Aston Villa 8
Questions
How many famous players have played for both Manchester City and Real Madrid?
6 in our data, including Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicolas Anelka and Mateo Kovačić. The list covers famous footballers only — players covered by at least 45 language editions of Wikipedia — so it is not every player who ever wore both shirts.
Who was the first player on this list to play for both clubs?
In our data, Nicolas Anelka: Real Madrid (1999–2000), then Manchester City (2002–2005).
Where does this list come from?
Club careers from Wikidata, the open database behind Wikipedia (public domain, CC0), snapshot 2026-09-28. Senior spells count, loans included when Wikidata records them; youth and reserve teams do not. Found a mistake? Tell us via the About page.