The 5 worst signings in Real Madrid's history

5. Julian Faubert

Julien Faubert's move to Real Madrid was bizarre by anyone's standards

A genuinely bizarre signing for Real’s standards, Frenchman Julien Faubert was signed by Los Blancos in a loan deal from West Ham in January 2009. The move was baffling given Faubert had only recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon a year prior – an injury that had kept the winger out of action at West Ham from practically the moment he’d arrived there.

Faubert had made just 15 Premier League starts in 2008/09, scoring no goals, so quite what kind of player Real thought they were bringing in is anyone’s guess. The Spanish giants paid a loan fee of £1.5m to the Hammers and had an option to sign the Frenchman permanently, but it was hardly surprising when the deal went south quickly.

Faubert infamously missed training due to mixing up his calendar and assuming he had the day off, and was even snapped seemingly asleep on Real’s bench during a match against Villarreal. All in all, his career at the Bernabeu ended with just 2 appearances, and his baffling time at the club ended when he was sent back to West Ham for the start of the 2009/10 season.