Galácticos

Zinedine Zidane (left) and David Beckham (right) were two prominent galácticos.

Galácticos (or superstars) is a Spanish term used to describe expensive, world-famous Real Madrid football players, having either positive or negative connotations. This term came into use to describe the policy pursued in the first tenure of Florentino Pérez's presidency at Real Madrid, where he purchased at least one galáctico in the summer of every year. The plural galácticos has been used to describe both the transfer policy, the Madrid side during Pérez's presidency, and the players bought under it.

The term itself carries both positive and negative meanings. Initially, the term was used to emphasise the greatness of signing superstar players and the construction of a world class team. Later the term attracted a more negative connotation; galáctico becoming synonymous with prima donna and used as a term to deride the transfer policy and side built under it, following media perception that the policy at Real had failed to deliver expected levels of success.

First gálactico era

The first galactico era is considered to be synonymous with the presidency of Florentino Perez between 2000–2007, or from Real Madrid's signing of Luís Figo to the departure of David Beckham at the end of 2007. However the origins of the Galactico policy date as far back as the 1950s when the architect of the policy, President Santiago Bernabeu Yeste after whom the club stadium is named, signed star players the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Gunter Netzer, Raymond Kopa, Jose Santamaria, Carlos Santillana and Francisco Gento in succession, to archive Real Madrid's finest era of dominance. The Florentino Perez era brought:

The galácticos

The principal galácticos were:

• Luís Figo (£38.7 million from Barcelona) - joined in 2000
• Zinedine Zidane (£46 million from Juventus) - joined in 2001
• Ronaldo (£30 million from Internazionale) - joined in 2002
• David Beckham (£25 million from Manchester United) - joined in 2003

In addition, Michael Owen (£8 million plus Antonio Núñez from Liverpool - joined in 2004) is considered by some to be a galáctico. However, most consider his transfer not as impactful, money wise or in terms of his initial importance to the team (he figured mostly as a substitute).

Several other players were often considered to be a part of the galácticos legacy due to their influence on the team during that period despite either being signed previously to the reign of Pérez or being graduates of the Madrid youth system, these often included:

• Raúl - Graduate of youth system
• Iker Casillas - Graduate of youth system
• Roberto Carlos - Signed pre-Pérez

Robinho was also signed during Pérez's first term as president but is not generally regarded as a galáctico due to the fact that he wasn't considered an established world-class player when he first arrived in Madrid, but rather a promising youngster with huge potential.

Pérez becomes president

Though Real Madrid had already won two European Cups (1998, 2000) under the presidency of Lorenzo Sanz; Sanz lost his re-election bid to Pérez. Pérez had won, partly by promising expensive new signings and an aggressive new transfer policy, in particular to sign Luís Figo from rivals FC Barcelona.

Pérez sold Real's then training ground Ciudad Deportiva for €480 million; this allowed Real to clear their debts, build a replacement training complex (at a fraction of the cost) and have significant funds for investment in the playing side. The deal was later investigated by the EU on competition grounds on the prompting of several unnamed clubs - no charges were brought.

After the purchase of Figo, for a world record transfer fee, Pérez sought to buy at least one world-class superstar player (a galáctico) each summer during the transfer season. The galáctico policy was initially called Zidanes y Pavónes. It was broken a year later by the purchase of Zidane from Juventus. The name Zidanes y Pavones came from Zidane and Francisco Pavón, a youth product from Real Madrid — the idea was to sign one major superstar per year and promoted youth players from within.

Initial Success

Immediate success followed, with Real winning La Liga in 2000–01 and 2002–03 and claiming the UEFA Champions League in 2001–02, with Zidane scoring the winning goal in the final. After winning the 2002–03 La Liga title, Real Madrid added another galáctico - David Beckham from Manchester United.

The galácticos' policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club's high marketing potential around the world, especially in Asia. Its economic model led it to finally overtake perennial leader Manchester United as the world's richest club by revenue in 2005–06. Real Madrid became the biggest club in the world due to the fame of its galácticos and the resources they generated.

Real were expected to continue their level of dominance in the domestic and European game after 2002, with the signing of Beckham expected to strengthen the team. However, following seasons would see limited success on the pitch, with Real failing to win any trophy for next three seasons after their 2003 league title. In the same period, rivals FC Barcelona won the 2006 UEFA Champions League and successive La Liga titles, with Real failing to progress in European football or attain domestic success.

Perceived Failure

Several reasons have been proposed in the media for the failure of the galáctico policy:

• A lack of interest in defensive talent harmed the team, as potential transfers were overlooked because Pérez did not want to pay large wages to defensive players. Claude Makélélé departed the team shortly after the signing of David Beckham when the club refused to raise his relatively low salary, despite being widely considered as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and a key to the team. Negotiations to sign Patrick Vieira from Arsenal in 2004 failed for similar reasons. The defensive players signed by Pérez during this period, namely Wálter Samuel, Thomas Gravesen, Cicinho, Carlos Diogo, and Pablo García all flopped while playing for the club. Even Sergio Ramos, who joined Real for €27 million in the summer of 2005 from Sevilla FC, failed to shine until Pérez's departure in 2006. Francisco Pavón, the poster boy for Zidanes y Pavones policy, never lived up to expectation and left the club in 2007.

• The shock sacking of coach Vicente del Bosque, twice Champions League winner and shortly after Real's 29th league championship in the 2002–03 season. It was widely believed that there was a political split, with del Bosque and his players (Fernando Hierro, Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Claude Makélélé) on one side, and Pérez on the other. Three of the aforementioned players had backed a significant wage raise for Makélélé and all of them left the club shortly after del Bosque. More importantly, del Bosque was able to balance the many different modern player egos in the star studded team, considering that several galácticos were competing for the same position and had their playing time reduced. Consequently, the superstar players placed together failed to form a cohesive footballing unit — having a large number of very talented, renowned individual footballers did not effectively translate into a great footballing team.

• Lack of stability and interference by Pérez. A week after the arrival of Manchester United player David Beckham, Carlos Queiroz who was an assistant manager at Manchester United, replaced the exiting Vicente del Bosque. Queiroz was allegedly forced to pick the star players, regardless of form or performance on the pitch and having limited input into tactical decisions. Quieroz was sacked after only one trophyless season in 2003–04, with Real suffering in subsequent years from high turnover in non-playing staff, with four managers and four directors of football in the four years following del Bosque's sacking in 2003.

• The galácticos policy meant that players were picked not according to form, but rather according to their reputation. The aim was to collect the best players in the world. There were also allegations that some, in particular Beckham, were picked because of their marketing potential off the pitch. This ultimately led to what Steve McManaman later described in his autobiography as the "Disneyfication of Real Madrid." This also led to galácticos' in poor form, getting increased minutes over more successful bench players, such as the 2004–05 season where Michael Owen scored four more league goals than Raúl, despite receiving significantly less playing time and being in better form throughout the season. Owen would leave the club after only a year in Madrid.

• Signings for non-footballing (marketing) reasons. David Beckham, a natural right winger, joined the club in 2003 partly due to Beckham's huge popularity in Asia when Real Madrid already owned another right winger, Luís Figo, meaning that one or the other was forced to play out of position in many games (Beckham in central-defensive midfield or Figo on the left wing). One director was, reportedly, quoted saying that Beckham was signed for his good looks and Ronaldinho, who joined Barcelona the same summer, was too "ugly" to play for Real Madrid. Shortly after Beckham joined the club, the team began a summer tour in Asia and the United States, cashing on Beckham's worldwide appeal. Some compared the tour with the first visit of The Beatles to the US in 1964. Ronaldinho would lead the powerful resurgence of Barcelona while Real Madrid failed to win any trophy for three straight seasons. Ronaldinho was the terror of the Real Madrid defenders as they failed to keep him from scoring.

• Poor transfer decisions. Though Real Madrid owned 50% of Samuel Eto'o's contract with RCD Mallorca since 1998 and had first preference over his signing if he chose to leave Mallorca, Pérez sold their rights to Eto'o in 2004, arguing that Madrid already had the best two strikers in the league (Ronaldo and Raúl) and that there was no place for another non-European Union player. Eto'o himself also ruled out a move back to Real Madrid thinking that he being a forward would be a surplus at Real Madrid. Yet, Real Madrid signed another forward, Michael Owen, the same summer. Eto'o would help Barcelona to the 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2008–09 La Liga titles as well as the 2005–06 and 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. Meanwhile, Owen, the alternative signing to Eto'o, left after one season after failing to ensure a starting berth for Madrid.

End of the First Era

The decline in the team's on-field performance had seemingly hit a nadir in the 2005–06 season, exiting in the UEFA Champions League to Arsenal in the Round of 16 without scoring a goal in either leg. Pérez resigned on 27 February 2006.

The final season of the galáctico era is considered to be the 2006–07 season under Fabio Capello, with Capello dropping several of the (previously perrenially selected) galácticos — notably David Beckham — for periods of the season (It should be noted that Beckham was returned to the team during the second half of the season and considered by many to be one of their better performers at the time). The final end of the first galáctico era is considered the departure of Beckham to join Major League Soccer side the Los Angeles Galaxy after the 2006–07 season (a move agreed before his return to the first team). He was the last of the big four to move on, with Figo having joined Internazionale two seasons prior, Zidane retiring after the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and Ronaldo moving to AC Milan half a season before Beckham's departure.

The Second Galácticos

Kaká (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo (right) are two current galácticos.

The 2008–09 season saw Real eclipsed by rivals FC Barcelona, who completed The Treble including beating Real to win La Liga by a wide margin of nine points. Real were humbled in the Champions League 1st knockout round by English club Liverpool — 4th placed finishers in the Premier League the season before — suffering a 1–0 loss at the Bernabéu and a 4–0 drubbing at Anfield. The defeat marked the fifth successive season of early Champions League exits, with Real not making the quarter-finals since 2004. To make things worse, they lost both their El Clásico games, and crashed out of the Copa del Rey to third-level Real Unión. The team was widely derided in the press. Manager Bernd Schuster was sacked midway through the 2008–09 season, with the team perceptibly in decline, despite the efforts of Juande Ramos, who kept the team with 19 successive victories, shortening the deficit to only six points (initially, Barcelona led by 12). It was all brought to an end when a rampant Barcelona later defeated an exposed Real Madrid 6-2 with Lionel Messi, Xavi and Thierry Henry being the stars.

In addition, Real president Ramón Calderón resigned in January 2009 after corruption allegations, and having failed to secure notable transfer targets for the club.

The resignation of Calderón resulted in a presidential election in mid-2009, returning Florentino Pérez to the presidency. Pérez again pledged to go on a spending spree to return the club to European and domestic competitiveness, notably with his vocal claims of an attempt to sign AC Milan's Kaká. Just 24 hours after his appointment, Manuel Pellegrini was unveiled as Juande Ramos' replacement as manager. After much speculation linking him to the club, Kaká was duly signed for a then world record fee of £57 million on 9 June 2009. On 11 June, Manchester United revealed they had accepted a shock offer of £80 million (a new world transfer record fee) for Cristiano Ronaldo. United gave Real until 30 June to complete the deal. On 26 June, Real Madrid and Manchester United signed the final agreement for the transfer of Ronaldo, which became effective on 1 July. That same day, it was confirmed that Olympique Lyonnais had accepted an offer from Madrid for Karim Benzema.

On 29 July 2009, it was announced that Real and Liverpool had reached an agreement for the transfer of Álvaro Arbeloa to the Spanish club. A fee of €4 million, the same amount Liverpool paid for the player in January 2007, had been agreed between the clubs and the player would sign a five-year contract with Real. On 4 August, Real Madrid and Liverpool again agreed terms for the transfer of Xabi Alonso to the Santiago Bernabéu. A fee of €34 million was to be paid by Real for Alonso. Other player that came to Real Madrid were Raul Albiol, Ezequiel Garay, Esteban Granero. Also Antonio Adan became third goalkeeper through the youth system.

The galácticos

The second era of galácticos consists of:

• Kaká (€65m from Milan) - joined in 2009
• Cristiano Ronaldo (€94m from Manchester United) - joined in 2009
• Karim Benzema (€35m from Lyon) - joined in 2009
• Xabi Alonso (€34m from Liverpool) - joined in 2009