Roberto Carlos came to Real Madrid in 1996, and quickly established himself as one of the most celebrated attacking left backs in the game.
He was a true Galactico very quickly. But Madrid wasn’t his first stop in Europe. He had previously been at Inter Milan for a year, but he hadn’t settled, with Roy Hodgson as manager playing him out of position.
When the chance came to move to Real, he didn’t hesitate, as he explained in quotes picked up by SempreInter:
“I spoke with Inter president Massimo Moratti and I said to him that I couldn’t keep playing up front because in three months, I had the Copa America and that day I had a meeting with Real president Lorenzo Sanz and in 10 minutes, I left and I came to Madrid. In that time, things were done very quickly.”
It was definitely one of those sliding doors moments, and Inter fans have never forgiven Hodgson for playing the Brazilian on the wing and then sanctioning his departure – although this angle of the story makes it seems a lot more like it was Carlos who pushed for the move.
Either way, the deal was done quickly, and history was set in motion, as the great Galacticos team was assembled.
