Worst Transfers

Kaka

A World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d’Or winner, Kaka is, without a doubt, one of the most talented players to have emerged from Brazil in recent times. Kaka joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of £60,000,000 which was a world-record at the time, adding to the list of Galacticos.

While at Milan, Kaka had won the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007 and the Real Madrid fans were itching to see the Brazilian weave his magic at the Santiago Bernabeu. The last man since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d’Or, failed to do so.

There were some moments of brilliance, but they were too few and far between. 29 goals and 32 assists from attacking midfield in the 120 games did not justify the money that Madrid had invested in him. After four years at Real, he returned to AC Milan on a free transfer and his spell in the capital of Spain was largely deemed as a failure.

Julien Faubert

One of the most bizarre signings in the history of Real Madrid, Julien Faubert joined the Galacticos on loan in January 2009 from West Ham United, with an option of making the move permanent at the end of the season. There were question marks over his qualities upon his arrival at the Bernabeu and those misgivings were proven right given he made only two appearances for Madrid.

His attitude was always a talking point, considering that he skipped training thinking mistakenly that he had a day off. The worst moment, however, came during Madrid’s clash against Villarreal, when the Frenchman was caught sleeping on the Spanish giants’ bench. No wonder Madrid did not make the move permanent.