A Galactico typically is renowned throughout the world for being immensely talented.

In order to entice the best players in the world to the Spanish capital, Los Blancos are renowned for their willingness to spend a lot of money. Eden Hazard said he wasn’t a "Galactico" when he joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2019. The playmaker’s €100 million ($112 million) sticker price and condition, however, convey an entirely distinct impression. Hazard joins a long list of superstars who are Galacticos after Madrid signs them.

What is Galactico?

Spanish has a word for "galactic" which means "related to a galaxy or galaxies," and it is used to describe football players who are regarded as superstars or have extraordinary skill levels. A Galactico typically commands a high transfer fee and is renowned throughout the world for being immensely talented.

During Florentino Perez’s first term as Real Madrid president in the 2000s, when he and the club actively pursued a scouting system that stressed the signing of such players, the phrase became well known.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Madrid had a team of Galacticos that included players like Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, and Raymond Kopa.

Galactico Era of Real

Since Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team,’ led by Cruyff, and later Louis van Gaal’s squad, overtook the domestic scene for much of the 1990s, Real Madrid was compelled to play second fiddle to Barcelona in La Liga.

The first Galactico purchase of the Perez era was Luis Figo, who left archrivals in the summer of 2000 for a then-record 10 billion pesetas (£37.2m/€62m). They won their first LA Liga championship in four years that season and the signing of Figo was a fitting pledge of allegiance. The very next year, Madrid kept up their combative quest for the best players in the world when they completed the signing of Zinedine Zidane from Juventus for 150 billion lire (12.8 billion pesetas, or $77.5 million), another record-breaking sum.

When Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2003, David Beckham joined him. Although Beckham may not have had the same level of impact as Figo, Zidane, or Ronaldo, he captained England and won a European Championship. The next Galactico to join David Beckham at the Bernabeu was an Englishman, Michael Owen, who joined from Liverpool in 2005. However, the policy fell apart a bit in the middle of the decade.

After Perez left in 2006, Robinho and Sergio Ramos may be the last of the original Galacticos.

The term "Galacticos" eventually came to refer to the entire Real Madrid squad during the 2000s, and it was frequently used to describe high-profile pre-Perez signings like Roberto Carlos and Steve McManaman, as well as youth team products Raul and Guti.