Ozil Beware: Real to Barca not always recipe for success

Mesut Ozil could be added to a small group of players to have left the Bernabeu and end up at the Nou Camp with reports suggesting Barcelona, who are now 6/1 third favourites to win La Liga – are preparing a £30m+ bid for the Arsenal midfielder.

The controversial move has offered differing fortunes for other players in the past and here we take a look at five who swapped Real for the Catalan giants.

Samuel Eto’o

Should Ozil opt to move to Barcelona he will be hoping the decision has the same impact on his career as that of Cameroon ace Eto’o.

The now-Chelsea striker was barely given a chance at the Bernabeu before being loaned to three different clubs and leaving for Mallorca with no trophies to his name.

He soon showed Los Blancos what they were missing though, winning the Copa del Rey with Mallorca before moving to the Nou Camp and landing a further eight honours including three league titles and two Champions League successes.

Luis Enrique

One of just a few players to move directly from Real to Barca Luis Enrique, while successful with the capital-based outfit, went on to reach even greater heights with the Catalans.

With a league title, Copa del Rey and Supercopa to show for his 200+ games for Real, Enrique was snapped up by Barca and would eclipse those prizes at the Nou Camp.

Another two league and Copa del Rey wins were boosted by another Supercopa triumph and glory in both the Cup Winners Cup and Uefa Super Cup.

Gheorghe Hagi

While the first two players on the list enjoyed greater success with Barca than with Real the Romanian won just one trophy with either side.

His 84 games for Los Blancos yielded just a single competition win, the 1990 Supercopa, and the same cup in 1994 was all he had to show for his 50+ games for Barca.

Hagi went on to have great success in Turkey but his lack of trophy wins at the Nou Camp could serve as a cautionary tale for Ozil.

Alfonso Perez

While Hagi had success in equal measure on both sides of the divide, Perez’s move can be viewed as disastrous in comparison with his trophy-laden spell at the Bernabeu being followed by a barren spell at the Nou Camp.

A winner of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and two Supercopas with Los Blancos the Spaniard was expected to enjoy as much, if not more, glory at Barca.

However, he struggled to settle and was soon sent packing to Real Betis without adding to his honours list.

Daniel Garcia Lara (Dani)

Perhaps the biggest note of caution for Ozil, though, is Dani who landed club football’s biggest prize with Real but couldn’t reach the same heights with Barca.

Dani made the same Madrid to Mallorca to Barcelona trip as Samuel Eto’o but without the Cameroonian’s glory.

A winner of the Champions League, La Liga and the Supercopa with Real he added no trophies to his CV at Barca and subsequently plied his trade in the Greek and Turkish leagues.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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