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Florentino Perez has been the Real Madrid president since the last nine years. This is his second tenure as President with the world’s biggest club. Perez took the underwhelming Real Madrid squad and made a revolutionary change since his arrival at the club.
The 71-year-old is hailed as one of the best presidents in club football and while he may not have a likeable personality, nobody can take his shrewd and sensible decisions away from him. Several managers and players have come and gone, but Perez deserves as much credit as probably Cristiano Ronaldo or Zinedine Zidane for helping the club reach where it is now.
Here, we have a look at five of his best deals as Real Madrid’s president. It needs to be noted that these deals are after 2010, which marked the turn of the decade.
#5 Raphael Varane
Florentino Perez’s one of most important and bargain signings was that of Raphael Varane. Now a World Cup winner with France, the 25-year-old was signed back in 2012 upon Zinedine Zidane’s recommendation.
The 71-year-old president signed Varane for a transfer fee of just €10 million. Varane’s signing was a subject of huge doubts even in the Real Madrid board. However, Perez asked everyone to trust his vision and keep faith in Zidane, who is a club legend.
From there on, Varane went on to improve under Jose Mourinho without looking back. The former Lens man is among the top Real Madrid players and one of the world’s best defenders. He currently has one of the most decorated trophy cabinets among footballers.
The Frenchman went on to collect 4 Champions League titles in just seven seasons with the club apart from two La Liga titles. He has won a sum of fifteen titles with Los Blancos in seven years. Also a starter since the last three or four seasons, Varane is a world champion and candidate to captain Real Madrid in the near future.
#4 Luka Modric
Real Madrid announced the signing of Luka Modric in the summer of 2012. Having signed the Croatian for €30 million from Tottenham Hotspur, the Spanish media defamed Florentino Perez and went on to vote for Luka Modric as the worst signing of 2012/13.
However, the soon to be 33-year-old has come a long way since being the subject of hatred in the media. He is now one of the world’s best midfielders of the world. In 2018, he is the candidate to claim the FIFA’s The Best Award and also the Ballon d'Or ahead of players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.
Luka Modric’s accolades consist of a total of 14 major club trophies including four UEFA Champions League titles. He has also won numerous awards for being the best midfielder across different competitions.
The worst signing of 2012 is now the outright best midfielder in the world. He is Real Madrid’s engine and an indispensable member of the squad against almost every single opponent. His ability to run the game has been unparalleled in the last few years.
#3 Toni Kroos
Real Madrid made the signing of Toni Kroos in 2014’s summer. The club signed the now 28-year-old just a few days after the Germans had won the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Needless to say, Kroos was amongst the best players in the FIFA World Cup and in my opinion, a worthier candidate for the Golden Ball over Lionel Messi.
Florentino Perez managed to sign the then 24-year-old Kroos for just a €25 million fee. He displayed his fantastic business mind and dealt in a diplomatic way with Bayern Munich. Kroos was soon to be out of contract at Bayern and was unhappy with the personal terms of the contract extension offered to him. Thus, Los Blancos were able to get him for a bargain price with the Bavarians not wanting to let the player leave for nothing.
Kroos is today, alongside Luka Modric one of the best midfielders in the world. The World Cup winner has a passing ability that very few possess. In his last four seasons at the club, he has been a UEFA Champions League winner on 3 occasions whilst also having eight other trophies to his credit.
He is still just 28 and comfortably has four to five more years in front of him. Also, his fitness is among the best at Real Madrid. This helps him recover in time after a match and be ready for a fixture three or four days later.
#2 Marco Asensio
Florentino Perez invested in Palma de Mallorca’s Marco Asensio in the summer of 2015. Having paid a transfer fee of just €3.5 million for him, Madrid decided to loan out the Mallorca Islander to Espanyol. This ensured that he was exposed to good playing time and got experience in the Spanish League itself rather than being developed in a foreign league.
After being utterly impressive in his first year, it was decided that Marco Asensio would straightaway be inducted into Madrid’s first team. And oh boy, did he make good use of the opportunity. In his first two seasons with Madrid, he scored over 20 goals and provided a series of assists.
Marco Asensio was amongst the top players for Real Madrid despite not being a regular. Subsequently, he went on to become one of the world’s best young players. After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Asensio has been widely tipped as the best in-house option to ascend the Portuguese’s throne.
The 22-year-old has won two Champions League medals in two attempts with the Santiago Bernabeu outfit in addition to six other trophies. He could soon be the man to replace Ronaldo having already shown his attacking flair in 2018 pre-season. Also, his scorching left foot is bettered by very few players in world football.
#1 Thibaut Courtois
Florentino Perez’s best deal was his latest one as Real Madrid president. The 71-year-old invested in Thibaut Courtois who was on their radar for a long time. He ensured that the club signed him for a fee of only €35 million euros plus a loan deal for Mateo Kovacic.
In an inflated market where goalies such as Alisson and Kepa went for over €70 million per head, this is another piece of business from Florentino Perez. While Courtois has not yet featured even once for Madrid, he is sure to be an asset for the club. Also, Courtois is a 2-time Premier League and Golden Glove winner and comes to Real Madrid having won the Adidas Golden Glove following his exploits between the sticks in Russia.
