Real Madrid have been associated with the ‘Galactico’ nickname ever since Florentino Perez’s first spell as president, but in recent years, their investments in young players are looking highly productive.
Diario AS highlight that in the summer of 2019, Real Madrid spent €355m on players, including Eden Hazard, Rodrygo Goes, Luka Jovic, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy. At one point or another, Rodrygo, Militao and Mendy have all settled in and become starters, but the €225m spent on Mendy, Jovic and Hazard look less than impressive.
Since, Los Blancos have decided only to invest major money in young players with a chance to be special, and it is paying off. Since they have spent €240m in the last four transfer windows, with just nine transfers being made during that period.
Arda Guler is yet to feature for Los Blancos, and Joselu has become a useful option for Carlo Ancelotti in his early games. The rest have become starters, albeit some due to injuries.
Fran Garcia and Jude Bellingham have been guaranteed starters so far, while Antonio Rudiger has settled into a starting role in the absence of Militao. He joins David Alaba, who arrived on a free and has been a key part of the defence since he came to the Santiago Bernabeu.
In front of them is Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has been signed on loan, but appears to have won the number one place from Andriy Lunin.
Equally Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga were investments in promising young players, but looks as if they will be starters this season.
While that 2019 window contained some major misses, the investments in Vinicius Junior, Militao, and Rodrygo were all early evidence of the shift, which is ultimately paying off now. Head of Scouting Juni Calafat has been given increased power in recent years to find and sign the best young talents at the top of the game, and so far it is paying dividends.
