Xabi Alonso (Liverpool to Real Madrid)
Having once enjoyed a formidable partnership with Mascherano at the heart of the Liverpool midfield, Xabi Alonso found himself on the opposite side the El Clasico divide to his former teammate after he joined Real Madrid in 2009 for a fee of around £30m.
The classy holding midfielder became one of the key parts of both the Real Madrid team and the Spanish national side that won three successive major international tournaments from 2008.
He is still at the Bernabeu, missing out on the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid this year but returning to play a part in Spain’s ill-fated World Cup campaign in Brazil.