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What is it about Brazilian players that attract the biggest clubs in La Liga like flies? The biggest clubs in the Spanish premier division have had a long and varied relationship with Brazilian footballers, nowhere has this been more evident than at Real Madrid.
The 12-time European champions have enjoyed the talents of many a Brazilian genius: players like Roberto Carlos, Marcelo, Ronaldo de Lima etc. have lit up the Santiago Bernabeu, winning trophies and achieving legendary status at this most storied of football clubs.
There is another side to this of course; the many Brazilian players who have failed to make an appreciable impact in the colours of Los Merengues.
Some of these players came in at great cost and on the back of great hype but for various reasons, they failed to deliver.
Here is a shortlist of 5 of the biggest Brazilian flops to have put on the Real Madrid jersey:
#5 Emerson (2006-2007)
Emerson's style of play never gelled with the team and he only lasted for one season
The powerful central midfielder who was nicknamed the Puma moved to Madrid in the aftermath of the Calciopoli scandal which led to Juventus’ relegation to Serie B. The Old Lady was forced to sell off a lot of players as a result of this and as a result, Emerson joined Real Madrid for €16 million.
In his days in the Serie A, the tough-tackling, strong running Brazilian was easily one of the best midfielders in the league and his contributions to AS Roma’s and Juventus’ Scudetto winnings campaigns were very important.
However, he was unable to recreate this in Spain as he clashed repeatedly with manager Fabio Capello, who at that time, was trying to shoehorn David Beckham into a central midfield role which meant that Emerson’s playing time was curtailed.
The Madrid press was not overly enthused with his ponderous and power-based style of play and though he played 34 games (across all competitions) that season (a season where Los Merengues lifted the La Liga title based on a better head-to-head record against old foes FC Barcelona), he never really won the fans over and was off to AC Milan for €6 million the following season.
#4 Júlio Baptista (2005-2008)
The Beast was never properly unleashed during his years at the Bernabeu
“The Beast” as he was affectionately called during his early years, the powerfully built Brazilian joined Real Madrid in the 2005-2006 season. Alongside the signing of Robinho and Sergio Ramos, the purchase of Baptista after his very impressive spell at Sevilla was meant to help the Madrid team win after a lean couple of years.
His initial season at the Bernabeu was a mixed bag as he was played out of position to accommodate the declining genius of Zinedine Zidane and Jose-Maria Guti so Madridistas did not get to see the best of the beast.
He managed to notch just 8 goals in his debut La Liga campaign and was sent on loan the following season to longtime admirers Arsenal.
He returned to the Bernabeu at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season and under new manager Bernd Schuster, he was moved to his preferred central position where he was expected to be very effective, but while he enjoyed decent form, he failed to find the back of the net as often as expected.
While the fans certainly had his back and appreciated his efforts, he just wasn’t able to deliver on expectations and was sold to AS Roma the following season.
#3 Danilo (2015–2017)
The Brazilian seemed overawed by the grandeur of Real Madrid and never got going
Seems a bit harsh for the Manchester City full-back to be included on this list but given his explosive performances at FC Porto, big things were expected from the Brazilian following his €31.5 million move to Madrid in 2015.
At Porto, he looked and played like the taller and faster version of famous compatriot Roberto Carlos and was believed to be a worthy replacement for Alvaro Arbeloa as Sergio Ramos had been moved into central defence at this point.
Right from his debut game in the famous white jersey (a La Liga tie against Sporting de Gijón), he did not look comfortable, an issue that was chalked up to inexperience on his part.
His nervousness and decidedly shaking defending led to quite a number of chances being conceded and goals against the team.
Despite a series of injuries suffered by the first choice right-back, Dani Carvajal, Danilo’s inefficient displays meant that he wasn’t always trusted to deputize and his performance in the UEFA Champions League final against Atletico Madrid did him no favours.
#2 Kaká (2009-2013)
Injuries ensured that Madridistas never got to see the best of this Brazilian genius
The story of Kaká at Real Madrid can be summed up thus: what might have been if it not for injuries.
The Real Madrid faithful had not been as excited for a signing as they were when it was announced that the Brazilian maestro was expected to join the club in a €68.5 million deal in 2009.
One of the marquee signings which Florentino Perez’s return to the helm of affairs as Real Madrid president, Kaka, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema were supposed to be an awesome attacking trident which would alongside other world-class players like captain Raul Gonzalez return Real Madrid to its perceived place as the world’s premier football club.
Safe to say that while Madridistas appreciated the Brazilian maestro, it was more on account of his extremely charming and affable personality rather than what he did on the pitch.
A succession of injuries meant that the Santiago Bernabeu never got to see anything close to the magic he had displayed while at Milan.
In 120 games spanning four seasons, the former Ballon d’Or winner scored just 29 goals and 32 assists and it was something of an anti-climax when he made his return to AC Milan in 2013.
#1 Robinho (2005-2008)
While his stats look great, the dancing forward is on this list because he never fully lived up to the hype which accompanied his arrival in Madrid.
Tipped by the great Pele himself to be a worthy successor to his legacy, the São Vicente-born star first came to the scene with a trajectory that was closely mirrored just a couple of years later by Neymar (Santos wonderboy to La Liga big hitter).
He joined Los Merengues in 2005 for €24 million and was assigned the number 10 jersey which had only been recently vacated by Portuguese legend, Luis Figo.
This was a deliberate ploy by Real supremo Florentino Perez to build the team round this very marketable youngster.
He had one of the most memorable debuts in La Liga history as he came in the 65th minute to replace Thomas Gravesen with the teams tied at 1-1. What followed was a masterclass in movement, dribbling and passing as he assisted captain Raul Gonzalez to score the winning goal and was loudly acclaimed by both the press and fans.
Under Fabio Capello in his second season at the club, Robinho’s flashiness didn’t sit well with the disciplinarian that Capello was and Robinho spent most of the 2006-2007 season as a sub and played a relatively insignificant role in Real’s La Liga win that year.
He was more prominent when Bernd Schuster took over the following season and helped the team retain the La Liga title.
However, his lifestyle, tactical indiscipline coupled with the desire of then president Ramón Calderón to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United meant that Robinho’s place at the club became untenable.
He was sold to Manchester City for £32.5 million on the transfer deadline day in 2008 and is remembered by Madridistas as someone who didn’t live up to his enormous potential.
