The rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will be rekindled this weekend as the El Classico comes off at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
Ghanaian football fans over the years love to watch this fixture due to the finesse served by the players of both teams. A few Ghanaian players have featured for the two biggest clubs in Spain(youth ranks to first team).
In 1999, the Los Blancos signed a young Ghanaian sensational player from Ourense after he played an instrumental role in Ghana’s campaign in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Baba Sule however failed to make an appearance for Real Madrid and moved on to Leganes.
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup winner, Daniel Opare also joined Real Madrid C and was promoted to Real Madrid Castilla but he also failed to break the ceiling to feature for the first team.
On 21st January 2019, Kevin Prince Boateng joined Barcelona from Italian club, Sassuolo to become the first Ghanaian to be signed by the Catalonia team. He made 3 appearances and was on the bench most of the time for Barcelona. KP Boateng never had a look in fixtures that involved Real Madrid ( El Classico )
Micahel Essien joined Real Madrid on a loan deal from Chelsea on August 2012. He was signed by his father in football, Jose Mourihno. Unlike the other Ghanaians who were signed by these big teams, Essien adapted very quickly and became an integral member of the Galaticos. He featured in four El Classico games for Real Madrid.
His first Classico game was on the 7th October 2012. He came on as a substitute with just 3 minutes to end the game. The game ended 2-2.
On 2nd March 2013, Essien played 90 minutes as a right back against Barcelona; helping Madrid to win the game 2-1. His third and last Classico game was in the semi finals of the Copa Del Rey. He featured 90 minutes in the first leg as right back and featured only eight minutes in the second leg as a defensive midfielder.
Source: Ghana/starrfm.com.gh/103.5/James Ohenba Mckeown
