5 high profile signings made by Real Madrid after each of the last 5 World Cups

#3 Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus to Real Madrid), 2006

Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro led his side to World Cup glory in 2006

The 2006 World Cup saw one of the greatest Azzurri defence to ever play in the World Cup with Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso in the full-back roles and one of the greatest centre-back pairing ever in football history with Alessandro Nesta and Fabio Cannavaro in the middle.

Impeccable when breaking up attacks, perfect in terms of anticipation and solid in the air, at just 5 foot 9 inches tall Cannavaro wasn't built to be one of the world's greatest centre back to grace the game of football and certainly never expected to be named the world's best player.

The Azzurri defence marshalled by Cannavaro only yielded two goals throughout the tournament with one of them being an own goal, equaling the record set in 1998 by France. His impregnable performances for Italy in the 2006 World Cup earned him the nickname "Muro di Berlino" or the Berlin Wall.

The World Cup celebrations were cut short for the Azzurri as the reigning Seria A champions and captain Cannavaro's club, Juventus, were booted from the Italian top division and stripped of their 2 titles for its role in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

With an option either to stay with the club in the Seria B or transfer, Cannavaro opted for the easier route as he along with Juventus Fabio Capello joined Real Madrid with El Capitano been given the number 5 shirt previously worn by Zinedine Zidane.

Fabio Cannavaro played 106 matches for Los Blancos scoring 1 goal while winning 2 La Liga titles and 1 Spanish Super Cup.