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Real Madrid normally get it spot on with their high-profile signings. The list of great players who have plied their trade at the Santiago Bernabeu is staggering to say the least.
Just look at Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos... But like everything else human, Real Madrid have also been prone to error.
In this slideshow, we take a look at 5 signings who flopped at one of the greatest clubs in Europe.
#5 Royston Drenthe
When Royston Drenthe was only 19 years old, he had already played for Feyenoord. Because of his willpower and energy, he became the favourite player of the Feyenoord fans.
Not only the fans were excited about Drenthe, Real Madrid had seen enough as well. In 2007, at the age of 20 years old, the left back went to 'Los Merengues' for no less than 15 million euros.
In the beginning, Drenthe didn't disappoint the fans of Real Madrid at all. He was eager and was a serious competitor for Marcelo. But after a while, the Dutchman started to play less and less.
Eventually, Royston Drenthe could never live up to the expectations of the fans, the club and the football experts. When José Mourinho became the manager of Real Madrid, Drenthe had to leave the club.
Drenthe played 46 fixtures for Real Madrid in 5 years and scored 2 times in that period. After he left Real Madrid, he never reached his old level again.
#4 Nuri Sahin
Nuri Sahin made his debut in professional football for Dortmund when he was only 16 years old. With that debut, he became the youngest debutant in the Bundesliga of all time. When Sahin was only 23 years old, he had already played more than 100 matches for Borussia Dortmund.
The performances of the left-footed Turkish midfielder and the award for 'Best Player of the Bundesliga' stood out among the European top clubs. Eventually, Real Madrid drew the longer straw and bought Sahin for €10 million euros.
Unfortunately, Nuri Sahin could not impress at 'Los Blancos'. The midfielder only played 1 season in Madrid where he played 4 official matches.
#3 Illaramendi
Asier Illarramendi is a product of the youth academy of Real Sociedad. The defensive midfielder made became a key player at Real Sociedad and thanks to him the club reached the Champions League for the first time in ten years. At the LFP Awards, 'Illarra' was named 'Breakthrough Player' and 'Best Midfielder'.
Real Madrid was impressed with Illarramendi as well. The top club paid €32,2 million to Real Sociedad for the midfielder. With this transfer, 'Illarra' became the most expensive Spanish player of all time in the history of Real Madrid.
Asier Illarramendi didn't play as well for Real Madrid as for Real Sociedad. After two years, Illarramendi returned to his former club Real Sociedad for €16 million euros.
#2 Danilo
After becoming a key player at FC Porto, Real Madrid didn't hesitate for a second. Danilo had to be the competitor of Dani Carvajal. 'Los Blancos' were so convinced about the qualities of the Brazilian defender that they paid €31,5 million euros for him.
The fans had high expectations for Danilo and were excited about his arrival. But Danilo didn't succeed at Real Madrid. He stated that he couldn't handle all the pressure from the media and the fans. He didn't play well at all in his Real Madrid period. It became even worse when the Real Madrid fans were calling him out during matches.
After two seasons, Real Madrid decided to sell him to Manchester City for an amount of €30 million euros. Danilo played 41 matches for 'Los Merengues' and scored 3 goals.
#1 Kaka
The last Ballon d'Or winner before Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is Kaka. The Brazilian midfielder was considered as the best player in the world in 2008.
Real Madrid did everything they could to buy the flamboyant player and in the end, they succeeded. In the summer of 2009, Kaka joined Real Madrid for €65 million euros. With that transfer, Kaka became the second most expensive football player of all time.
Kaka didn't play miserably, but it was not the same Kaka as in his time at AC Milan. After a few years, Kaka played less for Real Madrid and he became very unhappy. In 2013 Kaka went back to his former club AC Milan for free. Kaka played 85 matches for Real Madrid and scored 36 times.
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