The defensive midfielder spent five years as a Real Madrid player, joining from Celta Vigo in the summer of 2000.

Unsurprisingly, his arrival was somewhat overshadowed by the bigger names who also joined during Florentino Pérez first summer as president—most notably Luís Figo.

The four-cap Spain international made over 50 league appearances for Madrid and can count the 2001–02 Champions League among his honors.

After a contract dispute with Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, Milla eventually made the controversial move to Madrid on a free deal in 1990.

The holding midfielder lasted seven seasons at the Bernabéu and was an important player in two league title wins.

Like Milla before him, Laudrup crossed the Clásico divide after a falling out with Cruyff, moving to Madrid in 1994.

Famously, he has won El Clásico 5–0 with both Barça and Madrid. Perhaps more impressively, he remains well-liked by both sets of fans.

The Dane won one La Liga title in two seasons at the Bernabéu.

The versatile Austrian arrived at Madrid from Bayern Munich as one of the best in the world back in 2021 and went on to play a key role in the 2021–22 La Liga and Champions League successes.

The four seasons after were a case of diminishing returns for Alaba who suffered badly with injuries, most notably a torn ACL in 2023. He left at the end of his contract in 2026.

The ‘Blonde Angel’ was one of the first really high-profile stars to trade Barcelona for Real Madrid, making his eyebrow-raising switch in 1988.

Age and injuries meant he wasn’t quite the force he had been in Catalonia, but Schuster’s technical class and creative prowess gelled well with Madrid’s young stars and he helped deliver two league titles in as many years.

He later returned to lead the club to another title as manager in 2007–08.

One of the most high-profile ‘Bosman’ deals of the 1990s, McManaman was that rare example of an English player finding success in Spain.

The flying winger joined from Liverpool in 1999 and held his own into the first Galáctico era, even marking his debut season with a goal in the Champions League final.

Unquestionably the most expensive ‘free’ transfer in soccer history, club president Florentino Pérez made Mbappé his white whale, eventually landing the World Cup winning-forward from PSG in 2024—after a draining will-they-won’t-they transfer saga.

The French No. 9 became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy (awarded to La Liga’s top scorer) in his first two seasons in the league since Mario Kempes in the mid-70s. However, despite the many, many goals Mbappé is still yet to win a major trophy in Madrid.

There has been off-field distractions too, with some arguing that Madrid were actually better off before the arrival of one of the game’s true superstars.

Already known as an athletic and rock-solid defender during his time at Chelsea, Rüdiger further enhanced his reputation after moving to Real Madrid in 2022 and went up another level to become one of the world’s top center backs.

The Germany international played a pivotal role in the 2023–24 La Liga and Champions League victories and has developed into one of the club’s locker room leaders, making close to 200 appearances across four seasons.

He signed a one-year contract extension ahead of the 2026–27 season.