Matches between the two prominent Milanese clubs, Inter Milan and AC Milan, are called the Derby della Madonnina or Derby di Milano (Milan Derby).
Taking place twice a season in the league, this cross-town rivalry has extended to the Coppa Italia, Champions League, Supercoppa Italiana, as well as minor tournaments and friendlies.
It is one of the few major crosstown derbies in football that are played in the same stadium — the San Siro.
Usually, cross-city rivals don’t do too much business together, but the two Milan sides have exchanged more than 100 players throughout history.
In this post, FootballOrbit brings you the top 10 footballers that played for both Inter Milan and AC Milan.
1. Giuseppe Meazza
Widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, Giuseppe Meazza is also regarded by many as Italy’s greatest ever player.
He was nicknamed “il genio” (the genius) due to his technical skill, prolific goalscoring and creativity.
Across two spells for Inter Milan, Meazza scored 242 goals in 365 games and won 3 Serie A titles, as well as the Coppa Italia.
Later in his career, he played for local rivals AC Milan, and even Turin rivals Juventus.
The San Siro Stadium — shared by both Inter and AC Milan — was named after Giuseppe Meazza in 1980.
2. Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo played 22 matches for Inter early on his career, but the Nerazzurri (regarding him as surplus) decided to let him transfer to cross-city rivals AC Milan in 2001.
The deep-lying playmaker had an incredibly successful career with Milan where he matured into a world-class player — winning 2 Serie A titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 2 UEFA Super Cups, a FIFA Club World Cup, a Coppa Italia and a Supercoppa Italiana.
3. Ronaldo de Lima
After starring for PSV and Barcelona, Inter Milan broke the world record fee to sign Ronaldo de Lima in 1997.
The Brazilian phenomenon played for Inter for 5 years, but injuries derailed his career and really slowed down the man once considered as the most fearsome striker in football.
Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2002 and later moved to AC Milan in 2007. But another unfortunate injury put in his second year ended his career with the Rossoneri.
Furthermore, de Lima is also among the few footballers that played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic left Juventus for domestic rivals Inter Milan in 2006, where he won 3 consecutive Serie A titles.
In 2009, he joined Barcelona but after just one season, he returned to Italy to sign for Inter’s rivals AC Milan.
With the Rossoneri, Ibrahimovic won the Serie A title in his debut season.
In 2012, he joined PSG before later turning out for Manchester United and LA Galaxy.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic rejoined AC Milan in 2020, and won a 5th Serie A title in 2022.
5. Mario Balotelli
As a youngster, Mario Balotelli caused more controversy than goals with Inter Milan. His childish antics saw him fell out of favour with Jose Mourinho.
But he was part of the Nerazzurri’s historic side that won the Treble (Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League) in 2010.
Balotelli was ultimately sold to Manchester City, where he reunited with former Inter manager, Roberto Mancini. He helped City win a Premier League title and the FA Cup.
He moved back to Milan in 2013, but to join AC Milan. He was successful with the Rossoneri, scoring 26 goals in 43 matches.
6. Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf is one of the most successful players in the UEFA Champions League history, being the only player to have won it with 3 clubs — once with Ajax (1995), once with Real Madrid (1998) and twice with AC Milan (2003 and 2007).
After successful spells at Ajax, Sampdoria and Real Madrid, Seedorf joined Inter Milan in 1999 but didn’t quite meet expectations.
After two years with Inter, Seedorf moved to their city rivals AC Milan in 2002, in an exchange with Francesco Coco.
He excelled at Milan, becoming one of the best midfielders of his generation — winning two Serie A and two Champions Leagues among other trophies.
7. Fulvio Collovati
Fulvio Collovati was regarded as one of Italy’s best defenders during the 1970s and 1980s.
He joined AC Milan in 1976 and was heralded to be the heir to the great Roberto Rosatto.
The defender won 4 titles at Milan.
However, after Italy’s 1982 FIFA World Cup win; Collovati joined Inter Milan and became one of their most important players.
8. Giorgio Ghezzi
Giorgio Ghezzi played for Inter Milan for 7 years, playing 191 matches and won two consecutive Serie A titles in 1953 and 1954.
In 1958, he was sold to Genoa but returned to Milan a year later. This time around, to join Inter’s cross-city rivals AC Milan.
Ghezzi became Milan’s No. 1 goalkeeper and made over 120 appearances between 1959 and 1965.
With Milan, he won another Serie A title in 1962 and the European Cup in 1963.
In the 1963 European Cup final, he was one of the club’s star performers as AC Milan defeated Eusebio’s Benfica 2-1 at Wembley — becoming the first Italian goalkeeper to win the title.
9. Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio joined AC Milan in 1995 and soon became an indispensable part of the club, featured 67 times for Milan. He helped them win the Serie A in his first season.
He joined Bologna in 1997. In his single extraordinary season with Bologna, Baggio was nominated for both the Ballon d’Or and the World Player of the Year due to his performance at the 1998 World Cup.
Thereafter, Inter signed him. But he underwhelmed in his two seasons with the Nerazzurri.
10. Patrick Vieira
Known for his aggressive style of play, every club in Europe wanted Patrick Vieira early in his career.
His style of play earned him a big move to Milan in 1995, but he struggled to assert himself there, playing just two matches.
Thereafter, he joined Arsenal and achieved success with the Gunners. He won 4 FA Cups and 3 Premier League titles, including the famous unbeaten “Invincibles” one.
Vieira returned to Italy to join Juventus, but quickly departed after the club was relegated as punishment for its part in the Calciopoli scandal.
He then signed for Inter Milan, where he won 4 consecutive Serie A titles.
Honourable Mentions
¶Aldo Cevenini
¶Edgar Davids
¶Lorenzo Buffon
¶Taribo West
¶Hernan Crespo
¶Christian Vieri
¶Leonardo Bonucci
¶Francesco Toldo
¶Antonio Cassano.
