Who are the players who have featured for AS Monaco and Real Madrid?
They share the common experience of having played at the foot of the Rock and in the Spanish capital. Like Kylian Mbappé, trained at La Diagonale and now part of the most successful team in the Champions League, a total of 14 players have worn the jerseys of both AS Monaco and Real Madrid during their careers. So, before the two clubs meet again, let’s take a look back at them. 🎞️
𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙚𝙣 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.
‣ #RMAASM pic.twitter.com/JG3W0rrh3r
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) January 19, 2026
Miguel Perez, the pioneer 🥇
He is probably the least known of them all, yet he was the first to move from Real Madrid to Monaco. An Argentinian striker who played in the 1960s and 70s, Miguel Perez was in Madrid for six years, during which time he was loaned to the club in the Principality in 1967. We then have to fast forward in time to find any trace of Christian Panucci, who played 100 matches for Real Madrid before joining Monaco (2001-2002).
Top-class forwards 🌟
The beginning of the 21st century would see two great centre-forwards take the opposite path, with Fernando Morientes the player who won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid before being loaned for a season to the Principality and becoming a key member of Monaco’s memorable 2003-2004 Champions League campaign. Then came Javier Saviola, who succeeded the Spaniard and spent a season at the foot of the Rock (2004-2005) before heading to Madrid.
Speaking of strikers, Emmanuel Adebayor capitalized on his breakthrough at AS Monaco at the beginning of this new decade to make a name for himself in the Premier League (Arsenal, Manchester City), eventually landing a loan move to Real Madrid in 2011. It was a difficult year for the Rouge et Blanc, who nevertheless saw a former Real Madrid player make the reverse move, in the person of Mahamadou Diarra, who had risen to prominence at Lyon.
The expérience of “Ricky”, l’élégance de James 🪄
From one legend to another, the transition is seamless to Ricardo Carvalho, the executioner with FC Porto of the team led by Didier Deschamps in the Champions League final in 2004, and he would then enjoy one last stint in Europe when the club returned to the top flight in 2013. He left a very positive impression on the Monaco supporters, as did James Rodriguez, who would follow a similar path after a memorable 2013-2014 season.
Fabinho-Mbappé, two impressive destinies 🚀
This without obviously forgetting Fabinho, who was trained at Real Madrid and arrived at Monaco as a relative unknown that same season. He would leave the principality with a French league title in 2017, as well as two memorable European campaigns in the Champions League (2015 and 2017), alongside none other than Kylian Mbappé! Among the greatest players to have come through the Academy, the Bondy native had a meteoric rise before racking up titles at Paris Saint-Germain and then fulfilling his dream by joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2024.
This trajectory will give ideas to another Monegasque more recently, a current teammate of “Kyky” both at the club and in the French national team: Aurélien Tchouameni.The midfielder, who came through the Bordeaux academy, is indeed the latest player to have moved between the two clubs, proving that the Principality often leads to the top. 🇲🇨 🤝 ⚪
🗓️ The full list of 13 players to have featured for AS Monaco and Real Madrid *
🚧 Defenders: Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrão, Gary Kagelmacher, Christian Panucci
🎯 Midfielders: Mahamadou Diarra, Fabinho, James Rodriguez, Aurélien Tchouameni
⚽ Forwards: Emmanuel Adebayor, Fernando Morientes, Miguel Perez, Javier Saviola
*Players with at least one professional appearance for each team
