Do Real Madrid have any galacticos and does it matter?

Once upon a time, it was difficult for neutrals to warm to Real Madrid. For all the glamour associated with the bright lights of the Bernabeu and the magnificent all-white kit, something about their approach to team-building somewhat cheapened everything.

In the first period of this century, Real Madrid broke the world record transfer fee five times in a row. In 2000 they signed Luis Figo, in 2001 Zinedine Zidane, in 2009 Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, and in 2013 Gareth Bale. That doesn’t even include their signings of Ronaldo in 2002 or David Beckham in 2003, when “galactico” culture started to feel like a serious issue and Real started underachieving.

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It’s now striking to look at the list of the most expensive transfers of all time and realise that Real Madrid aren’t anywhere to be seen in the top 10. Barcelona feature three times, PSG and Chelsea twice, while Manchester United, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid once apiece. Which prompts the question — do Real actually have any galacticos?

Defining precisely what makes a “galactico” is open to interpretation, but it’s not the same as simply being a good player. Claude Makelele, for example, was very much not a galactico because of his relatively modest status, and his functional role in the side. Raul Gonzalez probably was, despite the fact he was an academy product rather than a glitzy signing.

But Real Madrid probably don’t have any true galacticos now, not in the true sense. Their squad can be broken down into various sections, all of which point to logic, intelligence and patience, rather than simply splashing the cash on big names.

The first section features the academy products. None of these players are amongst Real Madrid’s best footballers, but if Real’s policy was once about “Zidanes y Pavones” (superstars and academy products), it is the latter who feature more prominently. Thirty-three-year-old Nacho and 31-year-old Lucas Vazquez both came through the club’s youth system and have remained ever since. They’re not always in the starting XI, but they offer a sense of permanence.

Dani Carvajal also fits into this category — although he had a period away with Bayer Leverkusen, he was a cantera player, and one who had a buy-back clause during his time in Germany. Mariano Diaz, similarly, had a season with Lyon, but had worked his way through Real’s C and B teams before becoming a first-teamer.

The second section contains the signings from South America. Other top European clubs have had less success when signing players directly from Latin American countries in recent years, with Premier League clubs often preferring to sign those with European experience. But Real Madrid have made astute purchases of youngsters Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo.

None of them could be considered unknowns — there’s hype about any promising player these days — but all adapted quickly and played a crucial role in Real’s European Cup victory last year. Centre-back Eder Militao is a slightly different case, having spent a season at Porto and been signed for a sizeable fee. Again, it’s not quite galactico territory.

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The third section is comprised of those signed for big sums of money, but at a young age, so they should offer longevity and resale value. Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni didn’t come cheap, at an estimated £30million and £80million respectively. But they were considered future greats, and young enough to be nurtured into precisely the type of midfielders Real want. Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio, who arrived for more modest fees, are also in this mould.

The fourth section is the two free transfers. Signing quality centre-backs was once Real Madrid’s blind spot, but now they don’t simply sign good defenders, they sign them for nothing. David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger were both approaching 30 when they arrived from Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively, and Real have learned not to pay big money for players of that age. On a Bosman, though, both made sense.

The fifth section is the world-class players who have been around for ages. Karim Benzema won the most recent Ballon d’Or, but is coming up to 14 years at Real Madrid, an extraordinarily lengthy spell considering Real’s previous determination to sign superstars. Always a talented player, Benzema has truly shone in recent seasons, notably after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo — in other words, the absence of a galactico unlocked his true potential.

Another Ballon d’Or winner, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos are broadly similar cases. Modric was an outstanding Premier League midfielder when he joined in 2012, while Kroos was excellent for Germany’s World Cup-winning side upon his transfer in 2014. But as with Benzema, their longevity and familiarity with Real’s methods is the defining feature of their status in this side, not their reputation upon arrival or transfer fee. They all feel like quiet, hard-working professionals rather than individualistic superstars.

That leaves very few players who have actually started a league game for Real Madrid this season. We can safely say that back-up goalkeeper Andriy Lunin is not a galactico, nor is left-back Ferland Mendy.

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Maybe the biggest contender for true galactico status is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. He wasn’t an academy product, nor signed as a youngster or from a lesser league. He was an established world-class operator, 26 years old, signed for a large sum of money, and he’s gone on to produce excellent individual performances to help Real to win trophies, most notably in last year’s 1-0 Champions League final win over Liverpool. But can a goalkeeper really be a galactico?

And that leaves just one other player who has started in La Liga for Real Madrid this season — a player who is unquestionably a galactico. The 11th-most expensive player of all time, signed at the age of 28 from one of Europe’s major clubs, where he was a borderline legend.

That man is Eden Hazard, an attacker who has sadly managed just four league goals in nearly four years for Real Madrid. Nothing symbolises the anti-galactico nature of this side like the most obvious galactico becoming the club’s forgotten man.

It’s worth considering, too, the nature of Real’s manager. On one hand, Carlo Ancelotti is the ultimate superstar coach, a European Cup specialist who has worked at an elite club in every major European league. But it’s also worth remembering his managerial spells before Real: he was sacked from Bayern because the players thought his methods were dated, he underachieved at Napoli and he’d most recently finished 10th with Everton. It wasn’t like Real had recruited Pep Guardiola.

It remains to be seen how long Real Madrid remain like this. Rumours continue about the potential arrival of Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, all of whom would obviously be galacticos.

But building a winning side isn’t about signing good players. It’s also about having a defined culture, about familiarity between players and about developing them into precisely what you want. That often beats galactico culture on the pitch — and brings more plaudits from neutrals too.

(Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

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