Real Madrid are a huge club and have made big signings which regularly have a big impact and helped them win many trophies at home or in Europe.
Think Zidane, Kroos, Benzema, Ramos and MOdric – now lets look at the other end, players that did not work out for one reason or another
List
Jonathan Woodgate
He was a great defender for Leeds but was sold on the cheap to Newcastle due to Leeds financial issues, even at that time he had a few injury issues.
At Newcatsle this continued, he showed his class for them but only played 28 league games in 2 seasons
So no-one expected Real Mdrid to jump in and sign him for £13.4 million and he was even injured when he did sign for them.
He made his debut on 22 September 2005, in a league match against Athletic Bilbao, he scored an own goal and was later sent off for a second bookable offence. In total he played 9 games.
Eventually he went on loan and then was signed for Middlesbrough for a fee of £7 million
Walter Samuel
Real Madrid paid €25 million for his transfer in 2004. He had helped Roma win Serie A and was an impressive presence in them winning the title in 2001
Samuel failed to make the same impact at Madrid. He was one of the three non-EU players of the team, along with Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos. It was rumoured this stopped Samuel Eto’o moving to Madrid.
He played 30 games for Real Madrid
In August 2005, he returned to the Serie A with a transfer to Inter Milan for a reported €16 million fee – 9 million down
Antonio Cassano
He parted ways with Roma and signed with Real Madrid for just €5M – this would be a common theme – issues with managers and team mates.
Just four months into his tenure with the club he began gaining weight which resulted in Madrid fining him for every gram he remained over his playing weight.
It got worse being suspended due to his “disrespect” of the manager Fabio Capello, even the President said his attitude was “unsustainable in the last couple of months”
Sampdoria took Cassano on a one-year loan, agreeing to pay €1.2 million of his €4.2 million salary
Julien Faubert
This was a loan signing but a truly bizarre one as he wasn’t even a stand out player at West Ham
He signed on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season for a reported fee of £1.5 million with an option for Real to purchase him on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
During his loan with Real Madrid, he missed training when he mistakenly thought he had the day off.
His loan spell finished with only two appearances and back to West Ham he went – bizarre
Elvir Baljic
Baljić’s performances at Bursapor and then Fenerbahçe in Turkey made the player a target for various European clubs.
Despite this the €26 million transfer to Real Madrid by then president Lorenzo Sanz during the summer of 1999 was a major surprise
Just before the start of the season he suffered a rupture of both pairs of cruciate ligaments in his left knee
He only played 11 times for Real Madrid scoring 1 goal. In 2002 his contract was terminated and he transferred to Galatasaray
Whether he would have been more of a success if it wasn’t for the serious injury is probably true but was he worth the transfer fee which remmeber was in 1999 – no.
Freddy Rincon
An absolute legend playing for Colombia, he played 84 games and scored 17 goals for the national team
He joined Real from Napoli for six million at Jorge Valdano’s request, but he did not make an impact at Real Madrid. He played 21 matches for Real Madrid.
He then went back to Brazilian football and played for a few teams, mainly Corinthians
Tragically he died from injuries after being in a car crash in 2022, he was only 55
Thomas Gravesen
He played for Denmark during Euro 2000, he then went to Everton and quickly became a favourite amongst the fans. Gravesen played a key role in Everton’s rise toward the top of the 2004–05 Premier League table.
With his contract due to expire, Everton sold Gravesen to Real Madrid in January 2005 for £2.5 million – an amazingly low fee for a key player like him.
The tough tackling midfielder had a reputation for reckless tackles and having a bad temper, and clashed with Brazilian teammate Robinho. He played 34 games and scored 1 goal.
Gravesen joined Celtic, where he signed a three-year deal for a fee of around £2 million.
Nicholas Anelka
A talented young player at Arsenal but he had serious attitude problems and to be blunt was very poorly advised.
In the summer of 1999, Anelka moved to Real Madrid for a £22.3 million transfer fee. He failed to score for Real Madrid in his first five months at the club
He was suspended after refusing to train, because of a disagreement with head coach Vicente del Bosque.
Anelka was sold to Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth £22 million – Real Madrid did well to minimize their losses – his issues continued there
