Forward Kylian Mbappe has become the latest addition to Real Madrid’s “Galácticos,” recruited by President Florentino Perez.
According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, there were 12 players considered superstars at the time President Perez brought them to Real Madrid, and Luis Figo was the first case. On July 24, 2000, Perez, along with the legend Alfredo di Stefano, attended the launch ceremony for the historic transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid. The Portuguese midfielder kicked off Perez’s ambition to build a “Galacticos” team, with a world record transfer fee at the time: $65 million.
The 2000 Ballon d’Or winner, Figo scored 58 goals in 245 matches for Real before ending his career at Inter Milan. One year later, Perez broke the world transfer record again by introducing the $80 million midfielder Zinedine Zidane from Juventus. In his very first season, the French midfielder scored a classic volley goal to secure a 2-1 victory for Real against Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final. The following year, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
The 1998 Ballon d’Or winner scored 49 goals in 230 matches for Real, ending his career at the club in 2006. He later returned to lead the team to three consecutive Champions League titles in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Perez maintained the trend of signing a star attacker each summer, by bringing Ronaldo to Bernabeu on August 31, 2002, after paying Inter $48 million. The deal was finalized at 11 PM that day, just an hour before the transfer window closed. “The Phenomenon” scored 104 goals in 177 matches for the Royal Club, winning the La Liga top scorer title in the 2003-2004 season. The 1997 and 2002 Ballon d’Or winner parted ways with Bernabeu in 2007 to join Milan.
On June 17, 2003, Perez caused a stir again by spending $38 million to sign then 28-year-old midfielder David Beckham from Man Utd, even though the club had already reached an agreement with Barca. The English midfielder scored 20 goals in 155 matches for Real and was named the team’s best player for the 2005-2006 season. Although he never won the Ballon d’Or, Beckham was the captain of the England national team at the time and was considered one of the top superstars in the world.
Compared to the signings of the aforementioned players, Perez only spent $13 million to sign Michael Owen from Liverpool on August 12, 2004. The 2001 Ballon d’Or winner was expected to be the fifth consecutive superstar brought in by Perez to enhance the “Galácticos,” but he turned out to be the most disappointing player. The English striker only played one season in Spain, scoring 16 goals in 45 matches, before returning home to join Newcastle.
During the presidency of Ramon Calderon from 2006 to 2009, which did not yield any Champions League titles, Perez returned to the top leadership position of the club and began building the next generation of “Galácticos,” starting with the announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo on June 11, 2009. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner at that time also broke the world transfer record with a fee of $105 million.
He became Perez’s most successful signing, becoming the club’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals in 438 matches, helping the team win the Champions League four times. During his time at Real from 2009 to 2018, Ronaldo also won four Ballon d’Or awards, competing for many years with Lionel Messi.
After nine glorious years with Ronaldo at the Bernabeu, Perez sold the Portuguese forward to Juventus for $109 million, still making a profit even though he was already 33 years old at the time.
Three days before unveiling Ronaldo, Perez also introduced midfielder Kaka from Milan for a fee of 71 million USD. The 2007 Ballon d’Or winner did not succeed as expected, scoring only 29 goals in 120 matches before returning to Milan in the summer of 2013.
Perez had to go to Karim Benzema’s house to convince the striker to leave Lyon and join Real. The French forward made his debut at Bernabeu on July 1, 2009, for a fee of $38 million, and spent most of his career supporting Ronaldo’s brilliance. Benzema’s most successful years came after Ronaldo left, allowing him to become the leading star and win the 2022 Ballon d’Or.
After 2009, Perez also brought in Angel di Maria, Mesut Ozil, and then Luka Modric, but these players were not yet at the superstar level at that time. It wasn’t until the summer of 2013 that Real Madrid once again made a splash in the transfer market by breaking the world record to bring Gareth Bale to the Bernabeu for $110 million. The Welsh midfielder, along with Ronaldo and Benzema, contributed to helping Real win the Champions League four times. He also scored 106 goals in 258 matches before retiring in Los Angeles.
After the successes of Ronaldo and Bale, Perez continued to build the “Galacticos” with another superstar from the Premier League, midfielder Eden Hazard. To bring the Belgian midfielder to the team on June 9, 2019, Real had to pay Chelsea $125 million, breaking the club’s transfer record at the time. However, this deal was a failure, as Hazard only scored 7 goals in 76 matches at the Bernabeu over four seasons, before retiring.
The next superstar signed by Perez was more successful when Jude Bellingham debuted at the Bernabeu on June 7, 2023, at the age of 20, with a transfer fee of $112 million. By then, he was already the best player of the Bundesliga season with Dortmund. In his first season playing for Real, Bellingham scored 23 goals in 42 matches, helping the team win their 15th Champions League title.
Kylian Mbappe became the 12th superstar Perez brought to the Bernabeu, even without a transfer fee. The 26-year-old forward won the 2018 World Cup and was the top scorer of the 2022 World Cup with the French national team. He is expected to form the third generation of Perez’s “Galacticos” alongside Bellingham, Vinicius, and Rodrygo.
Real Madrid’s official website crashed after announcing the signing of Mbapp