Top 5 most expensive Real Madrid transfers | OneFootball

There is no denying that Real Madrid are one of the behemoths of world football, with over 90 trophies won in their history.

Some monumental deals have been secured by the Galacticos president Florentino Perez, who has been at the forefront of bringing some of the greatest footballing talent on planet Earth to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the first player that comes to mind in recent years that has taken the Spanish capital, and world football by storm. But surprisingly, he doesn’t top this list.

Here are the top 5 most expensive signings in the history of Real Madrid.

Who are the most expensive Real Madrid players?

5. Zinedine Zidane – £46 million

For someone to be signed for £46m two decades ago was a huge deal, considering it is still a huge amount in this market. Zinedine Zidane made the jump to Spain after four successful years at Italian giants Juventus.

The Guardian reported that he became the most expensive player in the world and was also believed to be the best player in the world back in 2001.

Zidane would be pivotal for many years at Real Madrid, scoring 49 goals and assisting 67 in 225 appearances.

The former Ballon d’Or winner won 6 trophies during his time at Real Madrid, including a UEFA Champions League. Zidane’s performance in 2003 saw him win the BEST FIFA Men’s Player award.

4. James Rodriguez – £63 million

James Rodriguez changed the landscape of football in 2014 after his incredible World Cup campaign. The Colombian star finished as the top goalscorer, was nominated for the Best Player award and was named in the Best XI.

His performance on the international stage saw him secure a move from AS Monaco to Spanish giants Real Madrid a few weeks later, according to The Guardian, for a reported £63m transfer fee.

Rodriguez had a successful first season, getting 13 goals and 13 assists in La Liga, but after this would be relatively quiet in Spain before moving to Bayern Munich in 2017.

During his time at Madrid, Rodriguez won nine trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two UEFA Super Cups.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – £80 million

Arguably one of the best players to put on a Los Blancos shirt, Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid from Manchester United for a world record fee of £80m, according to BBC Sport.

During his time in Madrid, Ronaldo had an outstanding goalscoring record, scoring 450 goals and getting 150 assists in 438 appearances.

Ronaldo’s performances for Los Blancos saw him pick up four more Ballon d’Or awards, with two coming consecutively in 2013 and 2014 as well as another two consecutively on 2016 and 2017.

The Portuguese forward’s move to Madrid created the greatest rivalry of the modern era between himself and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, as the two players consistently went head to head to resolve the argument of who truly was the best player in the world.

To this day, that is still a sensitive subject for some football fans…

2. Gareth Bale – £85.3 million

We have Gareth Bale just missing out on top spot here, who made the switch to the Galacticos for an astronomical £85.3m, according to The Mirror.

After an incredible spell at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Real Madrid broke the world record transfer fee in 2013 with the arrival of the Welshman at Los Blancos.

Bale would live up to the price tag after being integral in numerous cup finals, with the most notable being in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final when he scored an outrageous overhead kick to defeat Liverpool. This is despite a controversial end to his time at the club with fans essentially turning against him.

During his time at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale scored 106 goals and assisted 66 in 256 games picking up 15 trophies which included 5 UEFA Champions Leagues and 3 La Liga titles.

1. Eden Hazard – £88.5 million

And at number one, and after 7 unbelievable years at Chelsea, Eden Hazard left Stamford Bridge to join Los Blancos in a huge money move worth £88.5m, The Guardian revealed.

At the time, it seemed worth it due to his impact on the pitch for the six-time Premier League winners, as well as on the international stage for Belgium, where he was given the captain’s armband.

Due to injuries, Hazard’s career has been very up and down, and he hasn’t been able to have a good run of games to find the form that Premier League fans are so familiar with.