5 players Real Madrid gave up on too quickly

Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder were sold too easily by Real Madrid

Real Madrid is a club full of superstars, and that has always been the case. Los Blancos have the financial strength to sign any player on the planet, and they also have an academy that has produced many world-class players over the years.

Despite this, their transfer strategy has often failed and is considered by many as a major reason behind them falling behind Barcelona domestically in recent years. The club has the habit of buying top players and then selling them out of the blue. The sale of players such as Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria were baffling to most people as they were among the best players in the Real Madrid squad.

While Los Blancos have experienced unwavering success in the UEFA Champions League, they have won just two league titles in the last 10 years, which is unacceptable for a club of their stature.

Some of the promising players from Real’s Castilla also suffer a similar fate. Many stars and academy graduates from Real Madrid have found success elsewhere, and this list includes players who have won the treble – something Real Madrid have never achieved.

Here are five players who Real Madrid sold without giving them a fair chance, as they went on to taste success elsewhere.

5. Samuel Etoo

Eto’o is the first player to win the treble twice

In 1997, Real Madrid signed a young Samuel Eto’o for the club’s youth setup. He trained with the Real Madrid B side and later had disappointing loan spells with Leganes and Espanyol before finally finding his feet with Mallorca while on loan again.

Eto’o signed for Mallorca on a permanent deal in 2000 and spent four full seasons with the club, and he became a fan favourite due to his goal-scoring abilities. With him in the side, Mallorca won the 2003 Copa del Rey – the club’s only major honour till date.

Four good seasons with Mallorca didn’t go unnoticed, and the Cameroon international was signed by Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona. In his first season with the club, he won the league title, and it was just the start of a trophy-laden spell with the Catalan club. He was part of Barcelona’s League and Champions League-winning side of 2005/06 and also a part of the treble-winning side of 2008/09.

Eto’o moved to Internazionale following the treble-winning season with Barcelona and went on to repeat the feat with the Italian club. This made him the first player to win the treble twice, and he is still the only player to achieve the feat with two different clubs.

4. Esteban Cambiasso

Cambiasso won five league titles in succession with Internazionale

Esteban Cambiasso is a product of Real Madrid’s academy. The Argentine spent four seasons in Argentina with Independiente and River Plate after leaving the Real’s youth setup before returning to Real as a first-team player in 2002. During his second stint with Real Madrid, Cambiasso won the La Liga title, but he was mainly used as a back up to Claude Makelele.

In 2004, he left Real to move to Italy to play for Internazionale, and he spent a decade with the Milan club. It was with Inter that Cambiasso made a name for himself as a hardworking defensive midfielder, and during his time there, he was always a first-team regular.

Cambiasso won five straight league titles with Inter from 2005/06 to 2009/10, and in addition to this, he also won four Coppa Italia titles. The biggest achievement for him with Inter was the Champions League trophy he lifted in 2010, and in the process, he became one of the very few players to have won the historic treble.

3. Wesley Sneijder

Sneijder won the Champions League with Internazionale in his first season with the club

In 2009, Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema among many other players to revamp their squad. To balance the books, many big names were shown the exit door, and among them was Wesley Sneijder.

Sneijder moved to Internazionale, who were managed by Jose Mourinho and quickly became an important and influential player in the Italian team. He had a huge hand in Inter’s treble-winning campaign of 2009/10 and scored a brilliant equaliser against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

His exploits with Inter and with the Netherlands during the 2010 FIFA World Cup gave him a good chance of winning the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or, but sadly he could only finish fourth behind Messi, Iniesta and Xavi.

The Dutchman also won another Coppa Italia title in 2010/11 and the FIFA Club World Cup before leaving the Italian giants for Turkish giants Galatasaray. He has so far won two league titles and two Turkish cups with Galatasaray and could add to that in the coming years.

2. Walter Samuel

Real Madrid sold Samuel after just one season

Argentine international Walter Samuel signed for Real Madrid in 2004 from AS Roma after impressing with the Italian club during his four-year stay there. Real Madrid forked out €25 million to acquire the services of Samuel, but his time with the club from Spanish capital lasted just one season as he struggled to make an impact the club expected.

Samuel followed in the footsteps of compatriot Cambiasso to leave Real Madrid for Internazionale. He spent nine years with Inter and was able to replicate the form he showed with Roma. During his time with Inter, he was an integral member of the side that won five league titles on the trot.

He appeared in 42 games across all competitions during the 2009/10 season when Inter won the treble. Samuel also picked up four Coppa Italia titles as well as four Supercoppa Italiana winners medals in addition to one FIFA Club World Cup winner medal with Inter.

He left Inter to join Swiss giants Basel in 2014 and won the Swiss Super League in his debut season with the club.

1. Arjen Robben

Robben scored the winning goal in the 2013 Champions League final

Selling Arjen Robben is one of the most ridiculous decisions made by Real Madrid in recent years, and their loss turned out to be a huge gain for Bayern Munich. Robben was one of the many players who were sold by Real Madrid before the start of the 2009/10 season, and it made very little sense as the Dutchman was one of the key players for Real in the previous two seasons.

In his first season with Bayern Munich, Robben won his first Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal, thus equaling his trophy count with Real Madrid in just one season. He also scored a career-best 23 goals across all competitions in the same season.

Robben was one of the key members of the Bayern Munich squad that won the treble in 2012/13 and scored the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund. He has continued to be a crucial player under Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, and Niko Kovac and retired at the end of the 2018-19 season as a club legend.

Edited by Staff Editor