Thanks to their status as one of world football's most prestigious and wealthiest clubs, Real Madrid are generally able to sign their most desired transfer targets more often than not. As Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have found to their cost.
In 2009, Los Blancos parted with a then-world record sum of £80m to land the Red Devils' golden boy Cristiano Ronaldo before smashing the record four years later to snap up Gareth Bale from Spurs for £85m.
The allure of pulling on the famous all-white strip of Real Madrid proved too difficult to resist for both Ronaldo and Bale and, while they are without a doubt the most high-profile players to swap the Premier League for the La Liga giants, they are by no means the first or only ones to do so.
During the Premier League era, 24 players have departed the English top-flight in order to represent Real Madrid, but have they all enjoyed success after making their career-defining moves?
Cristiano Ronaldo
Signed from: Manchester United (2009)
Fee: £80m
Real Madrid appearances: 438
Honours won: Champions League x 4, La Liga x 2, Copa del Rey x 2, Club World Cup x 2, Uefa Super Cup x 2
Hit or Miss? Hit
Real obliterated the world transfer record to secure the services of Ronaldo but he proved to be well worth every single penny.
The Portuguese superstar netted 450 goals in 438 games for the club and is their all-time leading marksman. After establishing himself as one of the best players of all time, he swapped Madrid for Turin and Juventus.
David Beckham
Signed from: Manchester United (2003)
Fee: £25m
Real Madrid appearances: 155
Honours won: La Liga
Hit or Miss? Hit
After a spectacular falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Beckham decided to move to Spain and become one of the poster boys for the 'Galacticos', joining Real Madrid despite interest from Barcelona.
His first three years were ultimately fruitless, but Beckham ended his time at the club by winning La Liga.
Jonathan Woodgate
Signed from: Newcastle United (2004)
Fee: £14.2m
Real Madrid appearances: 14
Honours won: None
Hit or Miss? Miss
Due to chronic injury problems, Woodgate had to wait 13 months to make his Real Madrid debut and when he finally took the field he endured a torrid time, scoring an own goal and getting sent off.
After just two years, he left for hometown club Middlesbrough.
Steve McManaman
Signed from: Liverpool (1999)
Fee: Free
Real Madrid appearances: 152
Honours won: Champions League x 2, La Liga x 2, UEFA Super Cup
Hit or Miss? Hit
McManaman embarked on a new challenge after spending nine years at Liverpool by joining Real on a free transfer.
The shaggy-haired winger was a big hit at the Bernabeu and famously scored a brilliant volley in the Champions League final win over Valencia in 2000.
Michael Owen
Signed from: Liverpool (2004)
Fee: £8m
Real Madrid appearances: 45
Honours won: None
Hit or Miss? Hit
Signed in a cut-price deal with his contract at Liverpool winding down, Owen impressed despite being unable to dislodge either Ronaldo or Raul from the starting XI.
In his season-long spell in Spain, Owen netted 16 goals in 45 appearances.
Thomas Gravesen
Signed from: Everton (2005)
Fee: £2.6m
Real Madrid appearances: 49
Honours won: None
Hit or Miss? Miss
Arguably the least glamorous signing that Real Madrid have ever made, Gravesen was signed from Everton midway through the 2004-05 signing to provide some steel to a midfield packed full of flair and creativity.
He never quite cut it at the Bernabeu, though, and was sold to Celtic.
The running joke among Everton fans is that Madrid mistook Gravesen for their other bald midfielder at the time, Lee Carsley.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Signed from: Manchester United (2006)
Fee: £10.2m
Real Madrid appearances: 96
Honours won: La Liga x 2
Hit or Miss? Hit
Similarly to Beckham, a breakdown in his relationship with Sir Alex led to Van Nistelrooy swapping Manchester for Madrid. Despite approaching the end of his career, the Dutchman impressed, scoring 64 goals in 96 matches in total.
Jose Antonio Reyes
Signed from: Arsenal (2006)
Fee: Loan
Real Madrid appearances: 38
Honours won: La Liga
Hit or Miss? Hit
While Reyes was ultimately unable to earn a permanent contract at Real, he will forever be fondly remembered by the club's supporters after he scored two goals in their La Liga title-clinching win against Mallorca in 2006-07.
Gabriel Heinze
Signed from: Manchester United (2007)
Fee: £8m
Real Madrid appearances: 48
Honours won: La Liga
Hit or Miss? Miss
A rugged, all-action style defender, Heinze generally performed pretty well for Real but he was largely a stop-gap in the left-back position, sandwiched between the imperious Brazilian pair of Roberto Carlos and Marcelo.
Arjen Robben
Signed from: Chelsea (2007)
Fee: £25m
Real Madrid appearances: 65
Honours won: La Liga
Hit or Miss? Hit
In 2009, Real opted to sell their Dutch trio of Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart in order to make room for the impending arrivals of Ronaldo and Kaka.
Despite being forced out, the Chelsea winger impressed in Madrid before becoming one of the world's best at Bayern Munich.
Jerzy Dudek
Signed from: Liverpool (2007)
Fee: Free
Real Madrid appearances: 15
Honours won: La Liga, Copa del Rey
Hit or Miss? Hit
Dudek was signed as Iker Casillas' understudy and he fulfilled that role dutifully during his four years in Madrid.
The Polish shot-stopper was clearly popular in the dressing room as he was treated to a big send-off when he retired in 2011.
Lassana Diarra
Signed from: Portsmouth (2009)
Fee: £18m
Real Madrid appearances: 117
Honours won: La Liga, Copa del Rey
Hit or Miss? Miss
Diarra wasn't necessarily a flop at Real but he didn't really offer much return on the £18m investment made by the club, as he was restricted to a bit-part role throughout his four years.
Xabi Alonso
Signed from: Liverpool (2009)
Fee: £30m
Real Madrid appearances: 236
Honours won: Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey x 2
Hit or Miss? Hit
A year after helping Spain win Euro 2008, Alonso completed a return to his homeland following five successful seasons with Liverpool. He immediately became a key player at the base of midfield and was key to Real lifting La Liga in 2012 and the Champions League in 2014.
Alvaro Arbeloa
Signed from: Liverpool (2009)
Fee: £3m
Real Madrid appearances: 238
Honours won: Champions League x 2, La Liga, Copa del Rey x 2, Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup
Hit or Miss? Hit
Arbeloa rose through the ranks at Castilla but like so many young players found it impossible to break into Real's first team.
After establishing himself elsewhere, Arbeloa returned in 2009 and helped the club win numerous trophies during a seven-year stay.
Ricardo Carvalho
Signed from: Chelsea (2010)
Fee: £6.7m
Real Madrid appearances: 77
Honours won: La Liga, Copa del Rey
Hit or Miss? Hit
Jose Mourinho's most trusted lieutenant, Carvalho linked up with his compatriot for the third time in Madrid following spells at Porto and Chelsea.
He was a regular in his first season before injuries and the rise of Raphael Varane, which relegated him down the pecking order before he eventually left for Monaco in 2013.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Signed from: Manchester City (2011)
Fee: Loan
Real Madrid appearances: 22
Honours won: Copa del Rey
Hit or Miss? Hit
His stay in Madrid spanned only six months but Adebayor made some important contributions in that time, scoring crucial goals in both the Champions League and Copa del Rey, before returning to parent club Manchester City.
Luka Modric
Signed from: Tottenham (2012)
Fee: £30m
Real Madrid appearances: 333
Honours won: Champions League x 4, Copa del Rey, Club World Cup x 4, Uefa Super Cup x 3, La Liga
Hit or Miss? Hit
Initially, Modric struggled with the weight of expectation in the notoriously demanding Bernabeu, famously being named 'La Liga's Worst Signing' in his debut campaign.
However, since then the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner has become one of Real's most important players, setting the tempo delightfully in midfield.
Michael Essien
Signed from: Chelsea (2012)
Fee: Loan
Real Madrid appearances: 34
Honours won: None
Hit or Miss? Miss
Like Carvalho, Essien was one of Mourinho's 'undroppables' at Chelsea, but by the time he arrived in Madrid the Ghanaian midfielder's powers were beginning to wane as a result of injury problems.
Gareth Bale
Signed from: Tottenham (2013)
Fee: £85m
Real Madrid appearances: 249
Honours won: Champions League x 4, Copa del Rey, Club World Cup x 3, Uefa Super Cup x 2, La Liga
Hit or Miss? Hit
Real broke their own record by making Bale the most expensive footballer of all-time in 2013 and the Welshman set about repaying his fee by scoring pivotal goals in the Champions League and Copa del Rey finals. He was unfairly criticised in his second season but bounced back emphatically.
Two seasons ago, however, he was once again questioned over whether he should be moved on, but his outrageous overhead kick against Liverpool in the Champions League final confirmed his quality.
Javier Hernandez
Signed from: Manchester United (2014)
Fee: Loan
Real Madrid appearances: 33
Honours won: Club World Cup
Hit or Miss? Hit
The 'Little Pea' struggled for game time at Real Madrid but still contributed some important goals, nevertheless, most notably scoring the winner against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final.
Thibaut Courtois
Signed from: Chelsea (2018)
Fee: £35m
Real Madrid appearances: 67
Honours won: Club World Cup
Hit or Miss? Hit
Courtois endured a tentative start to his Los Blancos career, showing only flurries of brilliance between the sticks, but having signed for only £35m – half of the fee Chelsea parted with for his successor – the World Cup Golden Glove winner certainly looked a tidy piece of business. And that potential has now been realised, with the Belgian recently rediscovering his Stamford Bridge form and really beginning to showcase his world-class dexterity at the Bernabeu.
Brahim Diaz
Signed from: Man City (2019)
Fee: £15m
Real Madrid appearances: 18
Honours won: None
Hit or Miss? Miss
Los Blancos paid £15m to prise the young Spaniard away from City, which is certainly not a substantial fee by today's standards, but for a player who has rarely featured in his career, it did seem a hefty sum at the time. That said, the same questions would have been raised about Jadon Sancho and looked how that turned out. Diaz is a promising starlet who has bags of potential, and so should he fulfil the hype, that £15m will look paltry.
At the moment, however, he has struggled to gain significant playing time and looks a spare part in Zinedine Zidane's star-studded squad.
Eden Hazard
Signed from: Chelsea (2019)
Fee: £88.5m
Real Madrid appearances: 15
Honours won: None
Hit or Miss? Hit
It hasn't quite worked out just yet for the Belgian, owing to persistent injury problems, but once the mercurial marvel gets up and running he will become a devastating weapon for Zidane in the final third.
MemeDude69420
426
Hazard hit! Which means dembele and coutinho are also hit! Also Greizmann.
Soccerdude9
126
ronaldo is definitely a hit. Having plenty of titles under his name at Real Madrid. he's definitely a Real Madrid legend.
Johnylo
43
if Hazard is a hit then Coutinho is also a hit, we saw how Coutinho played in his first season at barca but still people consider him as a flop
tumukundebazirapoel1
32
Brahim Diaz and Eden Hazard are yet to prove whether hits or misses, they haven’t played many games to decide
putdmnotuy
15
Diaz id very good player the problem is that real have to many players who are world class players so for him to go and say im going to take over no it dosnt work like that he could only ne sub in and wben he did started he play even harder to start but its hard to compete with your own team mates because in the long run they become your family for me he is a hit and he still has alot to offer for the club
KofiKallypo
15
I don't agree with AF for tagging Hazard a hit. Let's face fact, he hasn't proven anything yet to the club but I think with time, he's going to do so. I pray he will adapt to the team's system of play. He will be a hit, but for now, we can't say he is a hit or a miss. Thanks🙏🏻