As Real Madrid prepare to take on Atletico Madrid in the final match of this season’s UEFA Champions League on May 28 in Milan, we take a look at the 2014 title-winning squad, and how it compares to the current squad.
Real Madrid’s La Decima first-eleven squad:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Fabio Coentrao
Midfielders: Luka Modric, Sami Khedira, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid’s 2016 first-eleven squad
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas
Defenders: Raphael, Varane, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo
Midfielders: Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos,
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo.jpg)
First-eleven players who have left since 2014
Sami Khedira
The German midfielder joined Italian giants Juventus on June 9, 2015 after signing a four-year deal. Before joining the Italian side, Khedira had made 102 appearances for Los Blancos since 2010, and scored six league goals. So far at Juve, he has scored five league goals in 20 appearances.
At Real Madrid, Khedira has won:
- UEFA Champions League
- FIFA Club World Cup
- La Liga
- Copa del Rey
- Supercopa de Espana
At juventus, he has won:
- Serie A
- Copa Italia
Fabio Coentrao
The Frenchman joined Real Madrid in 2011 but was sent on loan to Monaco in 2015. He made 55 appearances for Los Blancos, and scored one league goal. At Monaco, the 28-year-old seems to have had a slight improvement, having scored three league goals in 15 appearances. 
At Real Madrid, he won:
- La Liga
- Copa del Rey
- Supercopa de Espana
- UEFA Champions League
- UEFA Super Cup
- FIFA Club World Cup
He is yet to win any title with the French side.
Angel Di Maria
The Argentine’s exit from the Santiago Bernabeu was widely publicized, as he was one of the major stars at the Spanish club. He is well-remembered by Madrid fans for his solo effort in the 2014 UCL final when he dribbled past three players before forcing Thibaut Courtois to a save, but Gareth Bale capitalized from the rebound to give Real Madrid a 2-1 lead over their bitter rivals Atletico. He was named the Man of The Match.
Check out the highlights of the thrilling final in 2014:
Di Maria (right) celebrates winning the Champions League title in 2014 alongside Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos
The superstar then made a shocking move to Man United in a deal that cost 59.7 million pounds, which was the fifth most expensive transfer of all time, and the highest transfer fee ever paid by a British club. However, after a disappointing season at Old Trafford where he managed only three league goals in 27 appearances compared to 22 league goals in 124 appearances for his former club, the 28-year-old decided to move to France to join Paris Saint-Germain.
He became an instant hit with Les Parisiens and ended the season with 10 league goals in 28 appearances, and set a new Ligue 1 record of 18 assists in a single season by beating Marvin Martin’s record of 17 assists set in the 2010/11 season with Sochaux.
The Argentine celebrates one of his goals for PSG in the Champions League this season.jpg)
Di Maria’s titles with Real Madrid:
- Champions League
- UEFA Super Cup
- La Liga
- Copa del Rey
- Supercopa de Espana
Titles with Man United
No titles
Titles with PSG
- League 1
- Coupe de France
- Coupe de la Ligue
Iker Casillas
The ex-Real Madrid captain joined the Spanish giants in 1999 and left unceremoniously for PC Porto in 2015 after making 510 league appearances. At Porto, he has made 32 appearances, but his form has taken a deep slump with the Portuguese giants, to an extent of becoming the club’s worst goalkeeper in 15 years after conceding 28 goals out of his side’s 30 goals allowed this season.
Check out his stats with Real Madrid:
#Casillas stats for #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/Nrxr3j4uhd
— Football GRACE (@footballgrace1) May 21, 2016
Individual ratings of first-eleven players who have stayed with Real Madrid
The BBC have certainly lived up to their expectations after steering Zinedine Zidane’s men to the second-spot in the league table, and the finals of the UEFA Champions League. Here is a quick look at their overall stats this season.
All club competitions, courtesy of MessivsRonaldo.net.
G = Goals
As = Assists
Ap = Appearances
Here is also quick look at Real Madrid’s player ratings in the Champions League so far, according to WhoScored.com
By virtue of being the top scorer in the competition with 16 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-rated Real Madrid player in the European competition. He has been consistently lethal in front of goal, despite picking up an injury and missing the first-leg tie against Man City at the Etihad Stadium. Check out Real Madrid's stats with and without CR7:
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 24, 2016
TRANSLATION: 72% - Real Madrid have won 72% of their UCL games with Cristiano Ronaldo since 2009/10; and 43% only without him. FEAR.
His individual performance in the UCL this season
Cristiano Ronaldo's stats in #UCL this season! Wow#SimplyCR7 pic.twitter.com/jZBmqrGAdM
— #APorLaUndecima (@Abhishxk) April 26, 2016
From the look of things, Angel Di Maria could be the only player whose absence will be highly missed as Zinedine Zidane rallies his troops against Diego Simeone’s men in Milan on Saturday. Given the fact that the Frenchman has not won any official trophy with the club since taking over from Rafa Benitez in January, lifting the prestigious Champions League would mean so much to him, and his players.
Another thing to consider is Keylor Navas’ good form between the posts this season, and Casillas’ poor run. It could only mean one thing; the Spanish giants are safer between the posts as they head to Milan. Secondly, with Ronaldo getting better with age, Real Madrid fans could start dreaming of European glory.
But one thing for sure is that he will not have it easy against a resilient Atletico Madrid side that has mauled the likes of Bayern Munich and European giants Barcelona on their way to the finals. All said and done, you can now sit back then wait for lights, camera, and action.
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