Football
Top 5 Players Who Have Played for Both Barcelona and Inter Milan
Sushan Chakraborty has been writing professionally since debuting with 90min in 2017. He has since typed out thousands of articles, learning the trade from some of the smartest minds in the business. Now at Sportscasting, he is striving to whip up his best articles yet.
Get to know Sushan Chakraborty betterPublished29 Apr 2025
Spanish heavyweights Barcelona and Italian powerhouse Inter Milan will fight it out for a place in the 2024-25 Champions League final.
Barcelona claimed a 5-3 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund to qualify for the final four. Inter, on the other hand, overcame Bayern Munich, securing a narrow 4-3 victory over two legs. Barcelona and Inter have played eye-catching football throughout the competition, and we are expecting plenty of fireworks when they meet in the semi-final.
Ahead of their double-header, SportsCasting takes a look at their shared history. Here are the top five players who have played for both Barcelona and Inter Milan.
#5 Samuel Eto’o
One of the most versatile forwards the game has ever seen, Samuel Eto’o earned his move to Barcelona in 2004. Well aware of his skillset, Barcelona promptly gave him a spot in the starting XI.
The Cameroonian legend did not disappoint, scoring 25 goals in 37 games across his debut LaLiga campaign for Barcelona. He went a step beyond in the following season, chipping in with 26 goals and 7 assists in LaLiga and recording 6 goals and 3 assists in the Champions League. His exploits helped Barca win both LaLiga and the Champions League.
His finest campaign, however, came in the 2008-09 season, as he scored 36 goals and provided 7 assists in 52 games to help Barcelona to their first-ever Treble.
After ing 130 goals and 38 assists in 199 games, Eto’o jetted off to San Siro to try his luck in Serie A. He was at the club for three seasons, scoring 53 goals and providing 23 assists in 102 appearances. Eto’o’s goals and assists proved crucial as Inter won one UEFA Champions League trophy, one Serie A title, and two Coppas Italia.
#4 Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez ed Barcelona from LaLiga outfit Deportivo La Coruna in July 1954. The midfield maestro, who had the ability to dictate as well as decide games, spent seven years in Catalonia, winning every major trophy in Spain.
Between 1954 and 1961, Suarez played 176 games for the Blaugrana, scoring 80 goals. He helped the club to two LaLiga titles, two Copas del Rey, and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups.
Although Suarez played his best football at Barcelona, he enjoyed a lot more success during his nine-year run at Inter Milan. He helped the Nerazzurri become the most dominant team in Europe, winning the European Cup two times. With his help, Inter also won the Serie A title three times.
Suarez played 329 games for Inter Milan during his stay, scoring 55 goals.
#3 Luis Figo
In 1995, Luis Figo ed Spanish powerhouse Barcelona from his boyhood club Sporting . Possessing unmatched power, finesse, and agility, Figo quickly became one of the first names on the team sheet.
Figo, who eventually won the captain’s armband, seemed destined for a prolonged stay in Catalonia, but a masterstroke from presidency candidate Florentino Perez took him to Real Madrid. Barcelona fans immediately turned against the Portuguese player, branding him a traitor.
Before his shocking transfer to Real Madrid, Figo played 249 games for Barca, scoring 45 goals and providing 90 assists. He helped the club to two LaLiga titles and Copas del Rey among other honours.
After winning it all with Real Madrid between 2000 and 2005, Figo moved to Italy with Inter Milan. Figo spent four seasons at San Siro, scoring 11 goals and providing 34 assists in 140 games. He won the Serie A title in all four seasons at the club
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed for Inter Milan from Serie A rivals Juventus in August 2006. Having proven his mettle at Juve, Ibrahimovic easily got himself a place in the starting XI.
The Swede enjoyed a strong start to life at Inter, as he scored 15 goals and provided 6 assists in his debut season in Serie A (27 games). The following season, he scored 17 and claimed 9 assists in 26 games. His finest Serie A campaign came in 2008-09, with him scoring 25 goals and providing 7 assists in 35 games.
Having won three Serie A titles and scored 66 goals in 117 games, Ibrahimovic ed Pep Guardiola’s exciting project in Barcelona.
Ibrahimovic exhibited his excellence on the pitch, but he did not get along with Guardiola. With their relationship beyond repair, Ibrahimovic left Barca after just one season. In his solitary campaign in Catalonia, Ibrahimovic scored 22 goals and claimed 13 assists in 46 games, winning La Liga, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup, and the Club World Cup.
#1 Ronaldo Nazario
Arguably the greatest striker in football history, Ronaldo Nazario ed Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven in July 1996. The Brazilian hit the ground running, emerging as one of the most formidable forwards in Spain. Ronaldo played 49 games for Barca across competitions in 1996-97, scoring a whopping 47 times and providing 13 assists.
Although Ronaldo was enjoying his football, he did not feel the love from the club hierarchy. So, after they failed to renew his contract, he moved to Serie A, g with Inter Milan. Ronaldo scored an irable 25 times in 32 Serie A matches in the 1997-98 season. But unfortunately, injuries did not allow him to build on his strong start. In his final two seasons at Inter, he only played 17 Serie A games, scoring 10 goals.
Ronaldo departed the club in 2002, after scoring 59 goals and providing 10 assists in 99 games.