Real Madrid have been known as the club which coughs up the most amount of cash in the transfer market over the years. However, their philosophy has changed over the years, and they are more of a future-oriented club now than they were a few years back in time.
The club has made some world-class acquisitions in young and budding talents in recent years with the incomings of the likes of Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior, Dani Ceballos, and Rodrygo.
All said and done, there’s no shying away for Los Blancos and its supporters about the unsuccessful signings the club has made over the years.
Here’s a snap-shot of a fan favourite at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The 4th Official has a look at some of the worst signings the club has made since the turn of the century.
Lucas Silva
Lucas Silva signed for a fee of €15 million in the winter of 2015 when Carlo Ancelloti was in charge of proceedings at the Santiago Bernabeu. The player made only nine appearances in the Real Madrid shirt before being loaned out to Marseille and Cruzeiro.
A lot more was expected from the Brazilian midfielder who had just bagged the Best Midfielder award in Campeonato Brasileiro before arriving in the Spanish capital. However, the player’s fairytale move to the Santiago Bernabeu came to an end recently when the club and the player mutually agreed to rescind Silva’s contract a year prior to the actual date.
Danilo Luiz
Danilo is another Brazilian on the list who failed to fulfill his potential post a €31.5 million switch to Real Madrid from Liga NOS side, Porto. The player was made the scapegoat by the local press in Spain and by the Los Blancos faithful. The player has been quoted saying –
‘An error, no matter how small, goes viral. A mistake becomes very great even if it is small. But, of course, when you do something good, it is also very great.”
Danilo was largely an understudy to Dani Carvajal in the side and failed to make any sort of positive impact whenever given a chance in the absence of the Spaniard. It was later observed that Danilo played every minute of every defeat Real Madrid suffered in the 2015-16 campaign.
Javier Saviola
Even though Saviola arrived at Real Madrid on a free transfer from Barcelona, he was an absolute disappointment. During his two seasons with the club, the Argentine attacker managed only five goals with twenty-eight appearances under his belt.
The player’s poor work rate and lack of zeal ensured his departure from Madrid. He joined Benfica in a deal worth just €5 million. Saviola could have been just signed by Real Madrid to take a dig at their eternal rivals, Barcelona. Who knows?
Some notable mentions
Antonio Cassano
Ricardo Kaka
Pedro Leon