Ranking Real Madrid’s best transfer windows this century

5. 2014 Summer transfer window

First up on this list is the 2014 summer transfer window. It was the year of the World Cup in Brazil, so it meant market inflation. Every player who performs well at the World Cup would become one of the hottest transfer targets for any club, with their market value increasing to twice or even thrice the actual value.

James Rodriguez became the find of the tournament, as he won the golden boot scoring six goals in five games. Many top clubs were after him, and Monaco asked as much as 75 million euros for him. Real Madrid did get the Colombian international, but the price was a major talking point about his transfer, with him being the third costliest transfer in Real Madrid’s history at that point.

And it is fair to say that James lived up to the price tag, with him registering 17 goals and 18 assists in the 2014/15 season. The disappointing end to his Real Madrid career might be remembered more than his exploits at Los Blancos, but he didn’t flop at Real Madrid. He was just unlucky, and he proved why Real Madrid invested 75 million on him every time he got a chance.

Real Madrid did invest a lot for Rodriguez, but the transfer fee was huge. As I mentioned above, the market was inflated. But it worked both ways for Real Madrid, and they did generate money through sales, particularly from Angel Di Maria’s transfer. The club recovered 75 million from his move to Manchester United, and the inflation worked in his case as well.

Real Madrid recovered a decent amount from other sales as well, gaining 20 million from Alvaro Morata’s transfer to Juventus while also including a buyback clause in the deal that would be activated two years later. Xabi Alonso and Nuri Sahin’s didn’t generate much, but they helped the club decrease the net spend.

But none of the above-mentioned transfers made this window special. It was the signings of Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas that made the transfer window different from others, and highly successful. The club would also get Javier Hernandez ‘Chicharito’ on loan for a season, a move that proved to be a smart short term investment.

Keylor Navas would be purchased for a decent fee of 10 million from Levante, as a backup to Iker Casillas. No one had high expectations from him, but for his talent, 10 million was a bargain. And he went on to play a crucial role in Real Madrid’s 3-peat of Champions League titles, becoming one of the best in his position.

And the absolute steal of the market, or probably the steal of the century was the transfer of 25 million. To get a world-class player in his prime, playing at Bayern Munich which is a tough club to deal with for 25 million, that too after an extraordinary World Cup campaign, is simply a Florentino Perez masterclass. His achievements at Real Madrid speak for themselves, and all of them point to only one thing. Toni Kroos’ transfer was an absolute steal.

Both these transfers definitely make this window stand apart from the rest, except for four.