Real Madrid are the most decorated club in football history.
Fifteen Champions Leagues, with transfers that defined eras.
But for every Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s been many failures.
And now, Perplexity has been asked to settle the debate once and for all.
Perplexity AI reveals the five worst transfers in Real Madrid history
According to TouchlineX, these are the five worst signings in Real Madrid history, as ranked by Perplexity AI.
5. Franco Mastantuono
The Argentine teenager arrived from River Plate with enormous hype surrounding him.
Dubbed one of the most exciting young talents in South American football, the expectation was that Real Madrid had pulled off another coup in the emerging talent market.
But the move hasn’t gone to plan.
Integration has been difficult, and the player who looked so devastating in Argentina has yet to translate that form to European football.
At his age, there’s still time.
However, the early signs haven’t justified the considerable investment.
4. Reinier Jesus
Signed from Flamengo in January 2020 at just 18 years old, he arrived as one of the most coveted teenage prospects in South American football.
Real Madrid paid around €30 million for him.
He never played a single competitive minute for the club.
Reinier eventually left on a free transfer, with his time at Madrid amounting to precisely nothing.
3. Nicolas Anelka
Fresh off a remarkable season at Arsenal, winning PFA Player of the Year and the Golden Boot, Anelka arrived at the Bernabeu carrying enormous promise.
He took five months to score his first goal.
He did manage a Champions League winner’s medal in 2000, but left after just one season having scored two league goals.
2. Kaka
He arrived the same summer as Cristiano Ronaldo, fresh off winning the Ballon d’Or.
The expectations were enormous.
But injuries derailed almost everything, where he managed 120 games across four years.
Kaka won trophies, but it never felt like the career-defining chapter it should have been.
1. Eden Hazard
There was never any real competition for the top spot.
Hazard joined from Chelsea in the summer of 2019 as the supposed successor to Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacy.
However, he managed seven goals in 76 appearances across four years.
He then retired aged just 32.
A player of genuine world-class quality, completely undone by a spell in Spain that simply never worked.
Want to get the latest transfer news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
