22 July 2023 , 06:30
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A footballer's career can be a long one, encompassing spells at a range of clubs both big and small, and this can see them rub shoulders with a surprising range of names.
To give you a feel for how big a range we're talking, Sevilla's Europa League winner Jesus Navas has played international football with Gavi and David Villa, while Paul Scholes' Man Utd team-mates ranged from Steve Bruce to David de Gea. And they're not the only ones.
With summer transfers set to unite big names in Europe, Saudi Arabia and beyond, more unlikely team-mates could soon be thrown up. Here, Mirror Football takes a look at some pairings you might have missed at the time.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcos Alonso
When Cristiano Ronaldo made his return to English football with Manchester United, he found himself lining up against Marcos Alonso, then of Chelsea. More than a decade earlier, though, the pair were team-mates.
Alonso, like his late grandfather, spent time on the books of Real Madrid. His time at the Bernabeu was brief, but it did see him share a pitch with Ronaldo.
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The game in question was a 2-0 win at Racing Santander in May 2010. Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot, with Gonzalo Higuain adding a second before making way for Alonso late on.
Are there any combos we've missed? Have your say in the comments section
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 (Victor Fraile/Corbis via Getty Images)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ronaldo
Gabon frontman Aubameyang has been a bit of a nomad during his top-level career. He has scored goals regular for a number of clubs, but his early career saw bigger names take centre-stage.
Aubameyang couldn't break into the first-team at AC Milan after joining as a teenager. With Brazil legend Ronaldo ahead of him in the queue, though, it was always going to be tough.
“I was just trying to improve and looking at him [Ronaldo] to learn as much as I could," the former Arsenal captain recalled in 2022. "To tell the truth, he was a bit fat by then! But he was still the best."
Fabinho and Xabi Alonso
Fabinho and Xabi Alonso both played a big role in Champions League triumphs for Liverpool. While the Brazilian excelled in the 2018-19 campaign, it was the Spaniard's equaliser which forced penalties against Milan in Istanbul in 2005.
Fabinho had a brief spell at Real Madrid (Getty Images)
Fellow Liverpool great Xabi Alonso was at the club at the time (Angel Martinez/Real Madrid via Getty Images)Back in 2013, though, the pair were briefly colleagues. Fabinho was on loan at Real Madrid B from Rio Ave, but managed one appearance for Los Blancos' first team late in the season.
Fabinho came off the bench to replace Fabio Coentrao in a 6-2 win, with Alonso and Luka Modric among the starters. He moved to Monaco not long after that game, though, and it would be his Ligue 1 form which prompted Liverpool to take the plunge several years later.
Roberto Firmino and Ryan Babel
Speaking of Liverpool players, Firmino and Babel also existed firmly in different eras for the Reds. For one season, though, they appeared side by side.
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Babel left Liverpool for Hoffenheim in 2011, and while he was there he had the chance to play with a young Firmino. The pair played together a number of times, including one game where Firmino replaced Babel in a victory over Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund,
Some eight years later, Babel and Firmino were on opposite sides in the Premier League. On that occasion, the Dutchman netted against his old club, only for Klopp's Reds to sneak a 2-1 win in West London.
Eden Hazard and Dimitri Payet
Hazard and Payet lined up together at Lille (JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)The 2015-16 season brought contrasting fortunes for Payet and Hazard. While the Frenchman enjoyed a dream debut season in English football, Hazard and Chelsea were struggling in Jose Mourinho's final few months in charge.
Back in the 2011-12 season, though, they were part of a Lille team which finished third in Ligue 1. On-loan Englishman Joe Cole also impressed, while other future Premier League stars in the side included Lucas Digne and Idrissa Gueye.
At the end of that season, Hazard announced he was joining the Champions League winners. Twelve months after that, Payet left for Marseille, where he has enjoyed a fruitful decade only briefly interrupted by his move to London.
Joe Cole and James Maddison
Cole has had plenty of interesting colleagues, from Hazard and Payet in France to Freddy Adu in the US. He also played with a wide range of stars in England, including Rio Ferdinand and cousin Les.
The former West Ham and Chelsea star played his final EFL season at Coventry City, having joined the club from Aston Villa. A number of his Ricoh Arena colleagues have Premier League football on their CV, including new Spurs signing James Maddison.
Maddison impressed as a youngster at Coventry (BIRMINGHAM POST AND MAIL)
Joe Cole moved to the Midlands late in his career (EMPICS Sport)Maddison's final goal for the Sky Blues came in a 6-0 win against Bury in 2016. John Fleck and Adam Armstrong also found the net that day, long before their top-flight careers for Sheffield United and Southampton respectively, while Cole earned himself three assists.
Paul Pogba and Nicklas Bendtner
Paul Pogba's Man Utd career saw him include Paul Scholes and Alejandro Garnacho among his colleagues. The Frenchman's two Juventus stints have also incorporated a wide range of team-mates, but few more bizarre than Bendtner.
Back in 2012-13, Bendtner joined Juve on loan from Arsenal. He only made 10 appearances for the Bianconeri, but they included a win against Palermo in which Pogba (and Andrea Pirlo) started in midfield.
Last season, it was Pogba who only played 10 times for the club after injuries harmed his comeback. His team-mates in that period included Leo Bonucci - another member of that 2012-13 squad.
Wilfried Zaha and Edgar Davids
As Wilfried Zaha weighs up whether to stay with Crystal Palace, his long spell at the club has come into focus. The Ivorian has 300 appearances to his name in his current spell, but there was also a first stint in the Championship.
Wilfried Zaha became a Palace legend (Getty Images)
Davids had a spell at Selhurst Park (PA)Zaha's form in South London prompted Man Utd to bring him on board, but he was part of a very bizarre Eagles squad when he came through. In the 2010-11 season, when still a teenager, the forward lined up in the same team as Dutch legend Edgar Davids for a handful of games.
Davids, who played with the likes of Danny Blind and the De Boer twins at Ajax, tasted victory just once in his seven Palace outings. Zaha also started that victory, at Norwich, as did current Palace right-back Nathaniel Clyne and coach Paddy McCarthy.
Kyle Lafferty and Paulo Dybala
Rino Gattuso's managerial career has been a strange one. The Italian has taken charge of teams in four countries, while twice managing Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty.
After leaving Sion for Palermo in 2013, Gattuso took Lafferty with him. The former Rangers frontman hit double figures for goals to help the Sicilian side win promotion, with Andrea Belotti and Abel Hernandez among the others to chip in.
Lafferty and Dybala won promotion with Palermo (Getty Images)The squad also included a young Paulo Dybala. The Argentina was in his second Palermo season, and would stick around in Serie A, but Lafferty left for Norwich in the summer of 2014.
David Beckham and David Moyes
David Beckham spent most of his playing career with Man Utd, but not all of it. There were the late-career stints in Spain, France, Italy and the US, but there was also a brief spell on loan at Preston.
The midfielder scored twice in a five game loan spell at Deepdale in the 1994-95 season. Other members of the Lilywhites' squad that season included David Moyes, who would later go on to manage the club.
Nearly three decades later, Moyes has taken charge of more than 1,000 games as a manager, including 51 for United. Beckham, however, appears happy enough with his ownership role at Inter Miami.