The likes of Luis Enrique, Ronaldo Nazario, and Luis Figo are some of the prime examples of footballers who played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Figo's transfer in particular, is arguably the most controversial in football history as he directly moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid. The consequences of the move was directly seen by the player, as the Nou camp gave him the most aggressive reaction in perhaps its history.
This article will be about Brazilian forward Evaristo, who was one of the finest attacking Players in Europe during the 1950's. Similar to Figo, he was yet another player who played for Barcelona and directly joined Real Madrid. Let us look back at his time in Spain, and what caused him to move directly to his former team's biggest rivals.
From Brazil to Barcelona
Evaristo's magnificent 5 goal performance for Brazil against Colombia during the 1957 South American Championship caught the attention of FC Barcelona technical secretary Josep Samitier. He went on to personally scout the player during Brazil's 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification games, and eventually went on to make an irrefutable offer to the player's father. In addition to a then astounding £6,000 a year salary, the player received a house, a Mercedes-Benz, and a club liaison officer who even assisted with Evaristo's marriage to his childhood sweetheart Norma three months later. In short, the Brazilian was a marquee signing by the club.
The immense efforts to sign him seemed to be worth it, as Evaristo scored in the first official match played at the Camp Nou in September 1957, and became the first player to score a hat-trick at the ground. The following season saw Evaristo score a legendary hat-trick against Real Madrid in the league, and eventually help Barcelona to win their first La Liga title in six years.
This was only the beginning of Evaristo's slaughter against Los Blancos, as the Brazilian's goal knocked Real Madrid from the European Cup on 23th November 1960. It was a devastating defeat for Real, as they were eliminated for the first time in the competition and it also ended their hopes of a sixth successive title. Evaristo was instrumental in Barca's European run, as his 6 goals took them to their first European Cup Final. However, they ended up losing the final 3-2 against Benfica.
Despite that heartbreaking loss, Evaristo went on to have a magnificent stint with the Blaugrana. He ended up winning two league titles, a cup title, and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups with the club. The Brazilian scored an impressive 181 goals in 237 appearances for them.
The move to Los Blancos
A specific transfer rule in 1962 stopped Barcelona from signing another foreign player. This led to the club requesting Evaristo to naturalise as a Spanish citizen. All of this led to a disastrous end that saw him quit the club.
Despite offers from clubs in both France and Italy, Evaristo agreed to join Real Madrid with his family members being happy to live in Spain.
Contrary to the Luis Fifo transfer saga, Barcelona fans did not direct their anger at Evaristo after the transfer. The blame was instead put on the club's board.
Evaristo's brilliance at Barcelona was unfortunately not replicated at Los Blancos, as a serious knee injury limited him to just nineteen appearances and six goals for Real Madrid. The move was still a success in terms of silverware though, as the Brazilian was able to add 2 more La Liga titles to his illustrious trophy cabinet.
That was also the end of his time at Spain, as the Brazilian returned home and joined his first professional club Fluminense once again. Evaristo added one more league title to his collection with Fluminense, before ultimately bidding farewell from the beautiful game at age 33.
