Real Madrid hasn’t had the best of financial conditions in the past seasons. The same has also forced Real Madrid to limit its activity in the transfer market. However, the club seems to have taken a smart step towards making meaningful additions to the squad while maintaining its financial books. And, they’ve done so using free transfers.
David Alaba is the latest example, who in my opinion, is the best free transfer that football has seen since Robert Lewandowski’s free move to Bayern Munich.
For the upcoming window too, Real Madrid has their eyes on stars like Kylian Mbappe who would be a free agent then. Moreover, the links with players like Franck Kessie, Paul Pogba among others suggest that Real Madrid is all in for venturing into the free-agent market.
This made me think a little more about how Real’s past free agent signings have turned out. And, hence, here is a list of the five free agents that I think have been the best buys for Real Madrid in its limited history of signing free agents.
5. Bernd Schuster
Arriving from the arch-rivals, FC Barcelona, Bernd Schuster’s move to Real Madrid was a controversial one as would any transfer between Real Madrid and Barcelona would be. Based on the difficult relationships he had with the coaching staff in Catalonia, he made his free move to the Capital in 1988. Although he stayed for just two seasons, he managed to win four titles with Los Blancos.
His style of play complemented the crop of homegrown Madrid players, dubbed the Vulture’s Cohort (Quinta del Buitre) in popular culture. Creating play from midfield, Schuster had taken over the creative duties although he didn’t shy away from popping up in shooting positions. He had thirteen goals from his 61 official appearances for Real Madrid.
In the very first season, he made his way to three titles, a league triumph, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Supercup. The domestic treble, if you will. Then in his final season with Real Madrid, he played a crucial part in another league crown. He also returned to the club as the manager in 2007 and under his management, Real won their 31st league crown in 2008 and the Supercup in the same season.
4. Luis Milla
Rising through the ranks at the Catalan club, FC Barcelona; Luis Milla played through all possible stages there. He earned a first-team spot before being involved in a controversial contract extension dispute with the board members at Catalonia and the then-manager, Johan Cruyff. This ultimately resulted in him joining the exact opposite giants of Spain, Real Madrid in 1990.
Milla’s stay at the Bernabeu was a seven years-long stay, in which he made 165 appearances for the club and anchored the Defensive midfield role. Scoring goals wasn’t his mainstay, he’d rather stay orthodox and guard out all possible danger. He scored just three goals in his 165 official appearances.
Milla had to wait for his first title in the White Shirt. In 1993, Real Madrid won the Supercopa de Espana and that went down as Milla’s first title with the club. In the same season, they managed to win the Copa del Rey as well. Later, in 1994-95, Real Madrid won the league and two seasons later another league win would put a full stop to Milla’s trophy cabinet with Real Madrid.
He stayed a crucial campaigner for Los Blancos throughout these wins and was even fairly used after the marquee signing of Fernando Redondo in 1994. He is one of the first players to compel Real Madrid into considering free agents as a real option in squad development rather than just splashing the cash for Superstars.
3. David Alaba
Making his case at number three is Real Madrid’s latest free agent signing, David Alaba. Of the strangest of all transitions that Real Madrid has recently had, reviving a defense that lost both Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane in the same transfer window was probably the most challenging. But, thanks to David Alaba, and a rising Eder Militao, Real Madrid’s defense has outperformed expectations, considering the high line that Carlo Ancelotti plays with.
Much like Schuster, Alaba has also recently won his very first title in a white shirt in his debut season, the Spanish Supercup. Real Madrid also looks comfortably on course towards winning the 35th league crown by the end of the season. And, David Alaba has been a crucial campaigner in this journey set on the backdrop of a trophy-less season and one with three significant departures including that of former manager, Zinedine Zidane.
David Alaba is the club’s new number 4, and one would argue that he has replaced Sergio Ramos in the lineup. And, he has done a brilliant job so far. Filling in the void of one of the best defenders and leaders of this generation isn’t an easy task but Alaba has been onto it. He leads the backline like a true leader and dons that number four shirt with the sort of ball-playing that Madridistas expect from their number 4. He has been the best signing in LaLiga this season, in my opinion.
He is good at launching up the long balls, has bagged some picture-perfect assists in the season, has a couple of Golazos to his name, and time and again, he has been immense in defense. There are very high chances that David Alaba would elevate his position on this rankings if he plays longer with the club and continues with the same winner’s mentality.
2. Steve McManaman
The scorer of the goal that won Real Madrid their eighth European Cup, Steve Mcmanaman, the free agent who arrived from Liverpool, scored a goal that would forever be engraved in the history of Real Madrid. McManaman scored a fierce volley in a 3-0 thrashing of Valencia. With the win he also became the first Englishman to have won the competition with a foreign club.
McManaman was an instant hit among the Bernabeu faithful. And, although he was rumored to transfer away from the Spanish Capital with bids reported from clubs like Chelsea, Mcmanaman refused to leave for his love of the supporters. Even with the inception of the Galacticos policy, Mcmanaman’s playing was cut short with high-profile players like Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane taking charge of the midfield.
Mcmanaman’s versatility still meant that he’d put in an effort to win back his place, he continued being a motivated competitor to these midfield superstars and continued putting in marquee performances every once in a while. Although his natural position was on the right of the midfield, he could put in a decent shift anywhere in midfield.
An absolute fan favorite and a player known for his gentlemanly behavior on and off the pitch, the versatile Englishman’s time with the Royal White Club accounted for two European Cups, one European Supercup, one Intercontinental Cup, two LaLiga titles, and one Supercopa de Espana. A true legend!
1. Fernando Morientes
On number one, is an absolute club legend, the perfect number nine who cemented his position in the front-line alongside Raul despite a lot of competition for the spot. He is none other than Fernando Morientes, a true old-school goal-scorer whose exploits are well known at both club and country levels. Arriving on a free transfer from Zaragoza in 1997, Morientes worked his way up to a decorated trophy cabinet with Real Madrid.
Morientes was the first-choice center forward who rounded off the attack in the late 90s and into the 2000s. In 292 official appearances for the club, he netted 91 goals. Alongside Mcmanaman, he was one of the key contributors in the final of the 1997-98 Champions League against Valencia, scoring a goal in the first half from a Michel Salgado assist. Another highlight of his infamous goal-scoring came in the 2000-01 LaLiga season when in a 7-0 thrashing of UD Las Palmas, Morientes netted five goals.
Morientes also had to leave on a loan spell in 2003/04 to Monaco after having fallen down the pecking order to players like Guti and a new arrival, Ronaldo Nazario. However, when he was in his prime, Morientes made more than enough of his opportunities having won three European Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, one European Supercup, two LaLiga titles, and three Spanish Supercups.
The partnership with Raul was also visible in the Spanish national team. Morientes scored 27 goals in 47 caps making him a notable goal scorer for Spain. He participated in two World Cups, one European Championship, and once in the Olympics without any success. But, his scoring exploits were of the quality that fans would still remember.