Real Madrid have had some great players over the years. Some of them have been home runs but others have flopped terribly. It’s not very difficult to distinguish the signings that have turned out to be legends of the club,
But their are certain players who stand out for more reasons than just their performance and achievements at the club. Some signings marked the beginning of an era or even the end of one.
With that in mind here are the 5 signings who are the most important to Real Madrid's history
#5. Zinedine Zidane
Since Zinedine Zidane took over as manager Real Madrid have been breaking one record after another and not mention they have only lost 4 games in that time. It’s incredible what he has managed to with the club in just a short space of time.
But he is still known for his ability as a player and what he contributed to the club. He was only at the Bernabeu for 5 seasons but his impact was so great it left a mark in the history of the club.
He was already one of the world’s best players before coming to Madrid but he became a legend at the club because of how he managed to make players around shine even more. Pulling the strings from the centre his grace and composure on the pitch was matched by none.
He was the one player who was able to most frequently create something from nothing. In 150 appearances he managed 37 goals and 44 assist meaning he scored or assisted every other game.
Now sitting int he manager hot seat, he has earned even more of legendary status given his instant impact and how he has managed to give more importance to the young stars coming through their academy.
#4. Claude Makelele
You would have heard Zidane’s famous quote when Real Madrid decided to sell Claude Makelele and signed David Beckham. He said, “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”
That in itself sums up how important Makelele was to Real Madrid. He was signed from Celta Vigo in controversial circumstances and turned out to be a bargain at 14 million Euros. In just three seasons he helped the club become the best team in the world.
Makelele was a one-man show in midfield allowing his teammates to do what they pleased knowing they had him to sweep up any of the opponents attacks. He defined the central defensive midfield position and set the benchmark for the future generation of destroyers.
The fact that the Real Madrid players were so distraught and upset with the sale to Chelsea was just the top of the iceberg. Madrid entered a period of descent after his exit. They won La Liga twice in the next seven years while the little midfielder went on to great things with the Blues.
#3. Cristiano Ronaldo
No list of Real Madrid greats will be complete with Cristiano Ronaldo. He is probably the club’s best ever player in terms of pure statistics if not in terms of honours. He became the most expensive player in 2009 when he was signed for a record fee of 94 million Euros.
Looking at the success Barcelona were enjoying with Lionel Messi, Madrid needed an answer to counter them. Ronaldo was one of the two best players in the world then and had just lost the UEFA Champions League final to Barcelona with Manchester United.
It was the perfect opportunity for the Portuguese to go head to head with Messi and also help Real Madrid compete with the ridiculous strength of Barcelona. 8 years and so many appearances later, Ronaldo is now their record goalscorer both in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
He has helped Madrid to a La Liga title and two Champions Leagues in that time. At 32 he is still going strong and is nowhere close to retiring. In an era where there are players like Leo Messi signing Ronaldo was essential to try and rival that dominant team.
#2. Alfredo Di Stefano
The transfer story of Di Stefano was a fascinating one. Originally he was supposed to sign for Barcelona according to several sources but ended up at Real Madrid. The reason behind that was then dictator of Spain.
Di Stefano’s status at Real Madrid is not matched even by Ronaldo. The legendary Argentinian was probably the one player who was bigger than the club itself during that period. but Barcelona will never forgive Madrid for the way they managed to poach the player away from them.
The details of the transfer is too complex to go into but the short version is Barcelona worked extremely hard to try and secure his signature but Real Madrid with the help of political influence in Argentine and Colombia managed to steal him from the Catalans.
Real Madrid enjoyed the most successive period in their club’s history while Barcelona were left to always be second best. DI Stefano went on to become Real Madrid's top goalscorer of all time, a record later broken by first Raul and then Ronaldo.
He won 5 UEFA Champions League titles in a row with Los Blancos while Barcelona were forced to wait for 50 years before lifting their first European cup.
#1. Luis Figo
There is no signing in the history of Real Madrid who had a greater impact on La Liga than Luis Figo. The Portuguese legend was the symbol of Barcelona and was loved by the fans to the point they considered him one of their own.
The player won the La Liga title with Barcelona in two successive years and was on course to win the Ballon d ‘Or in 2000. He was without a doubt the world’s best player. But Florentino Perez then a property businessman had dreamt up a villainous plan to bring the one player Barcelona thought would never leave.
So in the summer of 2000, in arguably the most controversial transfer of all-time. Perez drew up a pre-contract for Figo behind closed doors and the forward thinking there was no way he would become Madrid president signed it knowing full well the consequences.
In an unlikely victory, Perez was voted in as Madrid president and Figo signed for a world record fee of 38 million Euros. His every visit to the Camp Nou since then was treated with jeers and the famous Pigs head that was thrown onto the pitch is probably one of the most iconic images in La Liga history.
But Figo was Madrid’s first-ever Galactico and that term has ever since been synonymous with football.
