Real Madrid's 5 most expensive signings and how they fared for Los Blancos

With Eden Hazard’s arrival at the Bernabeu being completed, Real Madrid are back in the Galactico business. After a lacklustre year with no silverware, Florentino Perez would be desperate to bring back Los Blancos back to winning ways. The early signs of squad rebuilding came when Zinedine Zidane was brought back which resulted in an unfortunate end to Santiago Solari’s stint at Real Madrid.

It was rumored that Zidane returned to the helm on the promise of quality signings and Perez delivered exactly that. The list started with Luka Jovic from Frankfurt for €60 million plus bonuses. Jovic’s hype did not vanish completely as Real Madrid announced the signing of their long-term target Eden Hazard. An initial fee of €100 million along with nearly €40 million in bonuses will make the Belgian forward the most expensive player in the club’s history. Let us take a look at the 5 most expensive signings made by Real Madrid and how they fared.

#5 Kaka: €67 million

We start our list with Brazillian midfielder, Kaka. Purchased in the same year as big signing Cristiano Ronaldo, it was believed Kaka always arrived in the shadows to the Portuguese superstar. A legendary figure and 2007 Ballon D’or winner at AC Milan, Kaka was signed for a hefty amount of nearly €70 million. Unfortunately, injuries got the better part of his career as he was sidelined for spells ammassing to nearly eight months. Mesut Ozil's prominent rise didn't help his cause either as the German was Jose Mourinho's go-to attacking midfielder.

As each season flew by, Kaka failed to regain his form and goalscoring touch. Even under the tutelage of his former boss Carlo Ancelotti who kick-started his career at Milan, Kaka failed to impress. Finally, he departed for the Rossoneri in 2013 having scored 29 goals and providing 32 assists in 120 appearances for the club.

#4 James Rodriguez: €75 million

In what appeared to be a perfect checkbook signing from Florentino Perez, James Rodriguez arrived at Santiago Bernabeu after being crowned as Player of Tournament in the 2014 World Cup. James' performance for his country made Perez splash €75 million for him which made him the most expensive Colombian player in history. But things did not go well for the Colombian midfielder.

After having a decent first season at Los Blancos, James soon fell down the pecking order under new manager Zinedine Zidane. He went from being a starter in league matches to being reduced to an unused substitute in Champions League. His reduced playing time saw him playing for 1858 and 1824 minutes in total for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 season respectively.

The final nail in the coffin was when James saw that he has been omitted from the matchday squad of 2017 UCL Final after which he requested a loan move at Bayern Munich. Although things seem to fall back in place for the Colombian, with the re-appointment of Zidane as manager of Real Madrid, his chances of staying in Madrid appear to be very slim.

#3 Zinedine Zidane: €77.5 million

The present manager of Real Madrid comes in at number 3 in the list of most expensive transfers. Zidane was signed by Perez in 2001 for a world record fee of 150 billion Italian Lira which came down to €77.5 million. Signing on a four-year contract, Zidane became the latest addition to Perez’s Galactico squad.

Zidane’s time at Real Madrid was more than the infamous Champions League final goal against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampstead Park. He was a rare breed of players standing out in a Galactico team consisting of Luis Figo, David Beckham, Raul, and so on. A rare blend of magnificence mixed with the ability to produce moments of magic is what made Zidane a world class player that he is renowned for today. The mercurial Frenchman is one of Real Madrid's most decorated players (and managers) in their illustrious history.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo: €94 million

If anyone has any doubt as to which is the best piece of business done by Florentino Perez, it has to be that of Cristiano Ronaldo's purchase from Manchester United for €94 million. Since arriving in 2009, there hasn’t been a single honor that he hasn’t delivered to the club.

From Copa Del Rey to Champions League to Club World Cup, he has given it all during his nine-year stay at the club. His time at Real Madrid saw him rivaling with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi as to who was the better player on the pitch. A total of ten Ballon D’ors were won between the two sports icons.

Real Madrid have seen a dip in their form after his departure to Juventus last season. Of all the transfer deal Perez ever negotiated, this was the best piece of business that he has conducted.

#1 Gareth Bale: €100.8 million

For three seasons, his transfer fee was the highest one in the transfer market until Paul Pogba signed for Manchester United from Juventus at €105 million. Gareth Bale has gone hot and cold at times and has definitely lacked consistency over the years.

For six years, he has had over 31 injuries that have made him miss a total of more than 100 games for Real in all competitions. But this is the same Bale that has won the Copa Del Rey by converting an impossible chance, outrunning Marc Barta from the halfway line. Bale also has scored the winning goal in two Champions League Finals which has seen Real secure the tenth and thirteenth Champions League trophy respectively.

The first was a 110th minute winner against Atletico Madrid and the second was two goals against Liverpool, becoming the only substitute to score twice in the final. He is such a big match player that he holds the record of scoring in every tournament final that Real has qualified for during his stay. Presently, his future is in jeopardy as Zidane has openly disclosed that he will not field Bale not even as a substitute.

Edited by Sai Teja