Real Madrid is often seen as the club that spends a lot on players by many football fans and the media. The club is famous for its Galactico policy introduced by Florentino Perez during his first term, which involved signing football’s biggest superstars like Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo Nazario, David Beckham, and many more players for world record fees. That policy didn’t work well on the pitch, but it brought the club a lot of profits.
After a gap, Florentino Perez introduced his Galactico 2.0 policy, with the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Ricardo Kaka, and Xabi Alonso. Florentino Perez made Real Madrid a fantasy club with his Galactico policy and the most valuable club in Europe. This drew Real Madrid a lot of criticism as well, while FC Barcelona’s official Twitter handle went on to tweet that Barcelona produces talent, while Real Madrid buys talent.
Though Real Madrid has made some world record signings and is mostly known for them, one shouldn’t ignore the smart investments made by the club on some players. The club made some low-cost investments on some players, who in turn responded with a high return on the pitch.
Such signings are a rarity these days, due to the inflated transfer market after the transfers of Paul Pogba to Manchester United and more importantly Neymar Jr to Paris Saint-Germain. It is not easy to get a world-class player for single-digit these days. Even an 18-year-old Brazilian teenager is worth 45 million these days, while any attacker with one good season under their belt is worth more than 100 million.
It has become more and more difficult for clubs to get quality players for low prices. In few more years, it might actually become a practically impossible task for a club. In the days of high transfer fees and wages, let us have a look at ten of the smartest investments made by Real Madrid in transfers, excluding academy graduates.