It is well-known that players rarely snub a move to arguably the most prestigious clubs in the world in Real Madrid and Barcelona. Throughout the years, they have been able to sign the biggest stars around the world as they have the budget to shell out millions of dollars for their targets. And while they may have strong interest in a player, there have been times where the feeling wasn't mutual. Some fans may find it hard to believe that someone would reject such an opportunity since it would give them the chance to play on the biggest stage of the world - while getting a top salary as well as sponsor deals.

But as we will come to learn from this list, players always have their reasons when it comes to rejecting a certain club. Some may come as a result of loyalty to their current team, while others were eyeing a move to a different team. Considering that Barcelona and Real Madrid are constantly competing for the signature of world class players, there have been many instances where a player rejected the former for the latter and vice versa.

When it comes to these two clubs in particular, it is immensely tough for players to reject them - a decision that may come back to haunt them later on while others take great pride in having snubbed them. With today's list, we look at 10 great players who turned down Real Madrid and 10 who rejected Barcelona

20 Real Madrid: Steven Gerrard

Real Madrid approached Steven Gerrard on two occasions with the first taking place in 2004 upon Zinedine Zidane's suggestion to add him to the team's midfield. Gerrard turned down the offer and went on to lead Liverpool to win the Champions League the very next season.

In 2010, Madrid once again approached Gerrard with another offer - but he opted to remain with Liverpool rather than move out of the team at 30 years old.

And while his trophy cabinet may not be quite as full as other players of his talent, Gerrard takes great pride in having rejected Madrid to stay with Liverpool.

19 Barcelona: Thiago Silva

It's no secret that Thiago Silva was a fan of Barcelona as a kid and it had always been his dream to play for the club - which makes it even more shocking that he rejected the club twice. Silva has admitted that it was one of the toughest decisions that he has ever made - but since Paris Saint-Germain had offered him superior wages, as well as the fact that he bought into their project - Silva didn't hesitate to make the move. Silva did hint that it came down to wages at the end of the day since he had a family to feed.

18 Real Madrid: Kylian Mbappe

Currently the best prospect in the world, Kylian Mbappe is already a world class player at the age of 19. Last summer, his former club Monaco received a massive offer from Real Madrid for Mbappe and accepted their terms - although they left the final decision to him. Surprisingly, Mbappe decided to snub Madrid for a move to Paris Saint-Germain although many believe that it's only a matter of time before he makes the move to his dream club. For now, it appears that he is adamant on remaining with PSG so Mbappe may reject Madrid once again if another offer is received.

17 Barcelona: Alessandro Del Piero

When Juventus was relegated to Serie B, many of the top players chose to leave the club - but Alessandro Del Piero declared that he wouldn't leave his beloved team despite receiving many offers.

Fast forward to 2012, his long time agent revealed that Del Piero had offers to move to Manchester United and Barcelona during his younger years - which he rejected due to his commitment to Juventus.

And while it certainly would have been interesting to see Del Piero take on a new challenge, his heart was always set on Juventus and the consistent success with the club didn't hurt either.

16 Real Madrid: Luis Suarez

During the summer of 2014, Luis Suarez was bound for a move away from Liverpool as he had been linked with both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunately for him, his 2014 World Cup ended in a disaster after biting Giorgio Chiellini in a match - resulting in a lengthy suspension. But that didn't stop the two clubs from pursuing Suarez's services, although he snubbed Madrid for Barcelona due to their support following the incident. He would later go on to indicate that it had always been his dream to play for Barcelona, which made it an easy decision for him.

15 Barcelona: Antoine Griezmann

After having spent six years with Atletico Madrid, Antoine Griezmann's future with the club came into question in recent times as rumors linked him with a move to Barcelona. And for so long, it seems like Griezmann couldn't make up his mind as to whether he wanted to stay or go for a new adventure. He went on to pull off a failed stunt like that of LeBron James' infamous "The Decision" in which he announced through a video that he would remain with Atletico. With the snub having been very recent, only time will tell whether Griezmann ends up regretting his decision.

14 Real Madrid: Gianluigi Buffon

When Juventus were relegated to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal, many top players from the club made the move to other teams including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson.

Gianluigi Buffon was considered to be the top goalkeeper in the world at the time, and also had the chance to join the biggest club in the world when Real Madrid inquired about his availability.

While Juventus left the decision to him, Buffon opted to remain with his club through the rough times - leading them to get back on track as they were promoted back to Serie A the following season.

13 Barcelona: David Beckham

In the summer of 2003, not many expected David Beckham to be sold from Manchester United as the team was coming fresh off a league win. But as his relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson had been going through a rough patch, the club agreed on a deal to sell him to Barcelona while Beckham happened to be away on vacation. Upon finding out, Beckham was shocked to learn that the club was willing to let him go although he made it clear that he wanted a move to Real Madrid - which was concluded in a matter of days as he got his wish.

12 Real Madrid: Ivan Rakitic

Following some brilliant seasons with Sevilla, Ivan Rakitic received interest from both Real Madrid and Barcelona - although he opted to sign for the latter in 2014. Two years later, Real Madrid once again approached him and attempted to use his Croatian teammate Luka Modric to convince him to make the jump. But once again, Rakitic preferred to remain with Barcelona - earning him plenty of supporters among the fanbase. He couldn't have gone wrong with either move as Rakitic would have been just as crucial for Madrid as he has been for Barcelona thus far - and maybe even more so with Modric by his side.

11 Barcelona: Andrea Pirlo

Following Zlatan Ibrahimovic's brief and underwhelming stint with Barcelona, the team engaged in negotiations with AC Milan regarding a potential sale. And during a friendly between the two clubs, Pep Guardiola - who was coaching Barcelona at the time - invited Pirlo to his office and revealed his great interest in having him join the club.

Pirlo was set to be included in a deal which would have seen him being exchanged for Ibrahimovic - but that deal fell through along the way.

Turns out Pirlo wanted to remain at Milan. And since Zlatan was going to join Milan either way, it made Pirlo's decision easier.

10 Real Madrid: Roy Keane

In 2005, Roy Keane was one year shy from his eventual retirement when he received an offer to join Real Madrid. According to the man himself, he was sitting on the toilet at the time when he received a call regarding the potential move - which he was quick to dismiss. He has admitted to having regrets about his decision to not embark on possibly the biggest challenge of his career - although he had some concerns about his effectiveness considering that he was 34 years old at the time. Based on his comments, it seems like Keane would have accepted the deal if he could do it all over again.

9 Barcelona: Franck Ribery

It didn't take Franck Ribery too long to establish himself as one of the better players in the world - earning him a move to Bayern Munich in 2007. With more great seasons under his belt, Ribery was able to generate plenty of interest from the top clubs - including Barcelona as they tried to sign him in 2009. But considering that he was extremely comfortable with Bayern and already playing for one of the better teams, he didn't feel the need to move elsewhere. To this day, he remains with the club and has extended his contract a number of times.

8 Real Madrid: Neymar

Real Madrid have attempted to sign Neymar twice in the past, and based on recent rumors, it seems like they haven't given up just yet.

With Ronaldo gone, the links to Madrid have become stronger than ever although it remains to be seen whether Neymar finally accepts after having previously turned them down twice in the past.

The first time came in 2006 when he was only 13 years old, as Madrid were interested in signing him to the academy. And in 2013, the club engaged in a bidding war with Barcelona for his services - which Neymar claims that he chose the latter for footballing reasons.

7 Barcelona: Rio Ferdinand

Following two seasons with Leeds United, Rio Ferdinand quickly made it on the radar of the best clubs in Europe. He would go on to pick Manchester United as he felt that he had the best chance of winning trophies there, especially since it would give him a chance to remain in England. As it turned out, Ferdinand had made the right move considering his brilliant stint with the club. Chelsea, Roma and Barcelona were among the teams who also tried to sign him at the time - and while Ferdinand gave plenty of thought to their offers - his heart was set on joining Manchester United.

6 Real Madrid: Patrick Vieira

In 2004, Patrick Vieira had gotten very close to joining Real Madrid as the club had reached a deal with Arsenal - but he ultimately opted to remain with his team. Vieira claims that he had a change of heart since he wanted to remain with Arsenal - although he did note that he may have lacked the courage to make such major move at that time of his career. He also added that if he had known that he would be moving to Juventus the following season, he may have chosen to join Madrid in the summer of 2004.

5 Barcelona: Karim Benzema

As a member of Lyon, Karim Benzema was setting Ligue 1 on fire - catching the attention of the top clubs including Manchester United, Barcelona and Inter Milan - all of whom attempted to get his signature.

Benzema had always been keen on joining Real Madrid, so it didn't take much for him to decided to join them on his new quest.

In a past interview, he revealed that it was difficult to reject prestigious clubs like Barcelona, but such decision is made much easier when you end up as a Real Madrid player - where he won the Champions League four times.

4 Real Madrid: Paul Pogba

After having been labelled as a flop during his early stint with Manchester United, Paul Pogba went on to become one of the best midfielders in the world when he joined Juventus. In 2016, it became apparent that he would move away from the club with many clubs pursuing his services. Among them were Real Madrid who were keen to add him to the mix, and while Pogba had strong interest in joining the club, he claims that his heart was set on a return to Manchester United. Considering that he is only 25 years old, a future move to Madrid isn't out of the question.

3 Barcelona: Dennis Bergkamp

Coming off many great seasons with Ajax, some of the top clubs around Europe were in pursuit of Dennis Bergkamp.

At the time, Johan Cruyff was coaching Barcelona and had a great relationship with Bergkamp - even went as far as to recruit him to join his side.

Ultimately, Bergkamp decided against a move to Barcelona for the simple reason that Serie A was on top of the world back then and he was too intrigued by the prospect of playing for one of the top Italian clubs. Shortly after, Bergkamp agreed to terms with Inter Milan - which ended up being a brief stint after all.

2 Real Madrid: Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti has the unique distinction of having rejected both Barcelona and Real Madrid in his prime years. Although he has openly admitted that he would have only left Roma for Madrid, he decided to remain with his beloved club despite some lucrative offers. Madrid attempted to sign him on three different occasions with Florentino Perez listing Totti as his dream signing - but it never materialized. A move to the biggest club in the world would have guaranteed many more trophies for someone as great as Totti, as well as potentially some Ballon D'Or awards that he missed out on due to his loyalty to Roma.

1 Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo

In 2009, it seemed only a matter of time before Cristiano Ronaldo made a move away from Manchester United. Although he ended up signing with Real Madrid, he had also been linked with Inter Milan and Barcelona. And while the latter had strong offers, Ronaldo stuck by his word as he had promised Madrid to join them. It would certainly have altered history if Ronaldo was teaming up with Lionel Messi rather than being his decade long rival and may have all competitions unfair. Based on what he has accomplished in Madrid, it's safe to say that Ronaldo doesn't have the slightest regret.