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Real Madrid is arguably the most marketable team on the planet. They are famously known for the big signings they make no matter what's the price tag.
They’ve broken the world record for transfer fee more than any other club on the planet such as the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka in their recent history. Currently, they are running No.2 in the world as the richest football club ever worth $3.26 billion.
With 33 La Liga championships, six-time European Champion club Cup, and seven-time Champion league winner, Real Madrid is the most successful football club the continent has ever seen.
Each signing that Spanish giants made ( except a few) has contributed in one way or the other in making Real the footballing powerhouse that is it today. But the club doesn't hesitate to show the door to a number of under-performing players as well as managers in the past.
Every player faces immense-pressure when playing for Madrid, as the fans are expecting the players to be an extraordinary one. However, some of the new signings didn't perform to their expectations and have subsequently been packed-off from Madrid.
This list is ranked according to the year in which players signed to Real Madrid.
Which are these 11 Signings Real Madrid Want You To Forget About? Read on to uncover them!
#11 Elvir Baljic-1999
Madrid fans can be forgiven for going “Who?”
Considering at a point in time, Elvir Baljic was an average player, more than anyone in every other game in Turkey he played in the starting of his career.
The Turkish footballer had started his career at FK Sarajevo, before playing at Bursaspor and later signing for domestic giants Fenerbahçe.
Somehow his goalscoring exploits in Turkey attracted the interest of several European major clubs, with Real Madrid winning the race to sign the Bosnian for a large transfer fee of €26m in 1999 from Fenerbahce on the advice of head coach John Toshack.
Baljic's career in Madrid was doomed before it started clearly, with the winger rupturing his cruciate ligament in pre-season. After recovering from the injury he hardly played 11 games for Real Madrid between 1999 and 2002, scoring a goal only.
During his stay with the Madrid, he was subsequently loaned twice to former club Fenerbahce before his contract was terminated in 2002, paving the way for a return to his homeland Turkey.
He finally retired in 2008 and worked as an assistant manager for his country between 2010 and 2014. He was recently seen working with the team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
#10 Nicolas Anelka-2000
Nicolas Anelka was brought to Arsenal in 1997 for a reported fee of £500,000 as a raw youngster. Under the guidance of Arsene Wenger, he did have an impressive season for the Gunners, helping them win the league.
Anelka had scored 23 league goals in 65 games when Real Madrid came knocking, and they brought in Thierry Henry to replace him. Arsenal did reach an agreement with Madrid to sell away Nicolas for a record fee of £22.3m.
But it didn't take Anelka long to fall out of the game at the Spanish club, as they had signed a youngster of immense potential but had plenty of attitude problems.
He didn't get along with the teammates, manager Vincent Del Bosque, and the fans. Eventually, at one point he received a 45-day suspension because of his refusal to train.
Later, after just a season the French striker was sold to his boyhood club PSG at a minimal loss in 2000, having scored only two league goals in 19 league appearances for Real Madrid.
#9 Walter Samuel-2004
Walter Samuel is somewhat of a throwback when it comes to a defender. His tough, forceful nature and ability to read the game have earned him the nickname 'Il Muro' (The Wall). Back in those days, he was considered as one of the best defenders in Roma.
Seeing his talent as a centre-back he didn't go unnoticed. The Argentinian was signed by Real Madrid who launched a successful bid for him worth £15m.
After signing with the Los Blancos he arrived in Spain in 2004, and failed to make much of an impact and didn't live up to his reputation for Madrid first team.
After seeing his failure in the team, Samuel was sold to Inter Milan for a cut-price fee £11m, and from there he went on to stay with the Italian giants for nine successful years.
At 37 years of age, Samuel now plays for FC Basel in Switzerland. His excellent performance against Barcelona in the Champions League, helped Inter Milan progress to the final.
#8 Jonathan Woodgate-2004
Jonathan Woodgate, who is currently signed to Middlesbrough, is considered as one of the worst signings in the Real Madrid's history till date because of his transfer fee of £13.4 million, which proved to be a complete waste of money for the giants.
Despite the injury issues Jonathan Woodgate had in past, he had proven himself as the best defender in England during his stay with Leeds and Newcastle United. However, it was a bit of a surprise when Spanish giants came knocking on his door and signed him in 2004 (Woodgate was actually injured at that time).
Unfortunately, things didn't go well for Woodgate after his signing with the club, as he continued to have serious injury problems and all of this led him to not feature in any of the matches played by Madrid in 2004.
After almost a year he played his first game for the Madrid against Athletic Balboa in 2005 scoring a goal though it didn't make much of an impact.
After showcasing his skills as a defender his injury issues struck again which led Madrid offloading him first on loan than on a permanent transfer to Middlesbrough.
He left Madrid the following year for a reported fee of £7m, signing a four-year deal with the North-East club before making his final move to the Spurs.
#7 Thomas Gravesen-2005
Thomas Gravesen had a good stay with Everton between 2000 and 2005 and did contribute to the club's rise in the 2004-05 season.
His performances and skills attracted the attention of Spanish giants. With his contract set to expire, Everton sold him in summer 2005 to Real Madrid for a reported fee of just £2.5m.
Though he did have short spells in the starting of his career at Madrid, Gravesen was mainly deployed in a defensive midfield role, a role he was not used to playing at Everton. Gravesen at Madrid made his reputation as a tough tackling attitude which often landed him in hot water, with the fans, players, and the Spanish media.
All of this led to his release as Real Madrid packed-off him before the start of the 2006-07 season by selling Graveson to Celtic for a fee of £2m and retired in 2008 after a loan spell back at his boyhood club Everton.
During his spell at Madrid be hardly make appearances and finally retired from the field in 2008.
#6 Emerson-2006
Emerson had been performing extremely well at both Roma and Juventus. However, the Brazilian midfielder failed to live up to his hype when Madrid signed him and manager Fabio Capello from Juventus for a combined fee of €20m.
Unfortunately, he had a bad start and failed to live up to his transfer fee, and it led to the Madrid fans being frustrated with the midfielder.
He was mostly left out of the starting line-up for several games by Capello, but his form started picking up towards the end of the season, as Capello's team managed to win the La Liga in the end.
The fortune for Emerson didn't last long as he was sold to Milan for a considerably lesser fee, after which he made only 33 appearances before retiring in 2009.
#5 Antonio Cassano-2006
After five successful years with the Italian club Roma, Antonio Cassano was signed by Spanish giants Real Madrid for a fee of £3.8m in 2006.
Though he was a player of immense ability and supremely talented, has had a poor attitude in the past and has clashed with teammates and managers in some of his previous clubs.
It took the Italian just over three minutes to score on his debut after he came off the bench as a replacement against Real Betis. But in spite of the promising start, Cassano's attitude and refusal to train hindered his rise in the club.
Despite the hefty fines made by the club on Cassano for lack of discipline, he continued to cause more trouble and in a result, he was suspended for "A lack of respect" in 2006 and was subsequently dropped.
Due to this, Cassano was packed off from Madrid after only one and a half seasons with the club, to join Sampdoria, initially on loan and then on a permanent basis in 2008.
However, the 33-year-old Cassano's attitude problems didn't solve in Sampordia due to which he made his final move to AC Milan in 2011 before retiring in 2017.
#4 Royston Drenthe-2007
Drenthe plays as a winger was signed by Real Madrid from Feyenoord for a fee reported to be in the region of €14m.
But the tide turned quickly for him as he was unable to live up to his reputation. It was probably too early for the Dutchman to move to Madrid, who could also play as a left back.
Drenthe missed a significant amount of game time due to anxiety in his second season, as the Real Madrid supporters were not happy with his performances and expressed as much during a 1-0 victory over Deportivo De La Coruna.
He was surprisingly loaned out to Hercules and then to cash-strapped Everton, before leaving Real Madrid on the permanent basis upon his contract expiring in June 2012.
After leaving Los Blancos, the 28-year-old truly never reached to his full potential and has had playing spells with Russian outfit Alania Vladikavkaz as well as English clubs Reading and Sheffield Wednesday.
#3 Javier Saviola-2007
Javier Saviola was regarded by many back in 2007 to be Argentina's future striker when he signed for Barcelona as a 19-year-old.
Despite having a great boost to his spell in Catalonia, he fell short compared to other big stars such as Samuel Eto'o and spent two seasons away from the club on loan playing for Monaco and Sevilla.
Upon his return, in Barcelona, the club chooses not to renew Saviola's contract upon expiry in 2007, which led arch-rival Real Madrid to swoop in and sign him for a reported fee of €5 million.
The Argentinian's game time in Madrid was limited, he failed to show his quality at Madrid, and after being for two-years with the club, he scored only five goals in 28 appearances.
Saviola left the club in 2009, went on to play for several teams across Europe including--Benfica, Málaga, Olympiacos, Verona, and River Plate. Immediately after leaving River Plate the 34-year-old announced his retirement in 2015.
#2 Julien Faubert-2009
Though Real Madrid did not technically sign Julien Faubert, he did play for the club on a brief loan spell, he will go down in footballing history for all the wrong reasons. The Frenchman was loaned to the Spanish giants in January 2009.
Upon his signing, with the club, he failed to make a much of an impact for Real Madrid, as was expected by many. He made only two appearances for the Los Blancos. He had infuriated many of the supporters with his poor behavior and famously fell asleep on the bench during a match between Real Madrid and Villarreal.
Unsurprisingly, Madrid was provided with an option to buy him at the end of the season. Needless to say, that option was never taken. He returned to London after making only 2 appearances for the club. He further made a 100 appearances for West Ham before moving out for Turkish Super Lig side Elazığspor.
#1 Kaka-2009
In 2001, Kaká made his professional club debut at age 18 at São Paulo FC in Brazil. Also, in 2002 he made his debut for the Brazil national Football squad and was selected for their victorious World Cup squad that year. Newly elected President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez signed him without a doubt as one of the most skilled midfielders in the game at the time from AC Milan in 2009.
Kaka signed to Los Blancos on a six-year contract for a then-record-breaking price tag of £56million. Unfortunately, Kaka failed to live up to his hype due to the injuries he suffered. During his spell at Madrid, he made 120 appearances in which he scored 29 goals and 25 assists. He failed to live up to his reputation at Real Madrid.
After 4 injury-plagued seasons, he played for AC Milan on a free before signing to Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer. Kaka finally announced his retirement in 2017.
What do you think of this list? Have your say in the comment section below.
