Spree
Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United and Karim Benzema from Lyon – Real Madrid had an amazing transfer window in 2009 but what happened to the other signings in the £220m splurge?
Real Madrid's 2009 transfer window may arguably go down as one of the most exciting in their history.
Cristiano Ronaldo was brought in from Manchester United for a then world record fee of £80million, and Karim Benzema was signed for £30m from Lyon, which may go down as one of the best bargains ever.
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Florentino Perez, the club's president, returned to the club after being sworn in following a three-year absence.
Clearly he was in the mood to establish Los Blancos as a global powerhouse again, having not won the Champions League for seven years.
Ronaldo thrived in his nine years and ended as the club's top scoring player with 450 goals and a shed load of silverware, including four Champions League trophies.
He spent three years at Juventus and returned to Manchester United in 2021 and, although, not terrible, it could be better.
Benzema, meanwhile, has shone for Real Madrid in his absence and recently scored goal no. 311 for the club and also helping them knock PSG out of the Champions League in sensational style with a hat-trick.
Alongside Ronaldo and Benzema, six other players were signed.
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Kaka from AC Milan, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa from Liverpool, Alvaro Negredo from UD Almeria, Esteban Granero from Getafe and Raul Albiol from Valencia were all brought in to revamp the squad.
Whilst some thrived and helped the club extend their record in Europe and in LaLiga, others were not able to put down a marker in the famous white shirt.
In total a staggering £220m was spent on that talent, and now 13 years later talkSPORT looka at what happened.
Kaka (£56m)
The Brazilian, a world record signing for two whole days before a deal was agreed with Man United for Ronaldo, had a mixed time at the Bernabeu.
Injuries sadly blighted Kaka from showing the class that won him the Ballon d'Or and the Champions League in 2007.
He lasted four years in Spain and made 120 appearances for the club scoring 29 goals and providing 39 assists.
In 2013 he returned to the San Siro for one season, before spells at Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo and Major League Soccer side Orlando City took him to retirement in 2017.
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Alvaro Negredo (£4.2m)
Whilst he technically counted as a signing for Los Blancos, Negredo never played a competitive minute for the club.
He was signed from Almeria before being shipped to Sevilla the same summer.
It did represent good business for the club though as he was sold for £12.5m.
Even though he is now 36 years old, Negredo is still plying his trade with LaLiga side Cadiz and has shown he has still got an eye for goal with nine strikes in 30 appearances.
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Alvaro Arbeloa (£3.5m)
An astute signing to say the least, the former Liverpool right-back proved to be a bargain for the club.
Arbeloa's career in the Spanish capital lasted seven years and was very successful.
He made 238 appearances for the club and helped them win two Champions Leagues, one LaLiga title and two Copa del Reys.
The 39-year-old then returned to England for the briefest of spells, playing for West Ham in the 2016/17 season before calling time on his career at the end of the campaign.
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Xabi Alonso (£30m)
The Liverpool icon spent five years in Madrid and was also part of the squad that secured 'La Decima' in 2014 - Real's 10th champions League triumph.
He also won a league title and two Copa del Rey trophies.
He then joined Bayern Munich after winning the European Cup that season and in 2017 he retired from playing.
Now he is in the coaching scene and in charge of the club where it all began for him, Real Sociedad, where he is the manager of the 'B' team.
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Raul Albiol (£12.8m)
The centre-back tasted four years of football at Real before being sold to Napoli in 2013.
In total he recorded 118 appearances for Los Blancos.
Similarly to Negredo, he is still playing in Spain's top division where he is a key figure for Villarreal despite his tender age of 36.
Albiol is also on course to win the Champions League with the high-flying Liga side.
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Esteban Granero (£3.5m)
Granero began his career at Real, who included a buy back clause in his contract when they sold him to Getafe in 2008.
He spent three years at the club, making 96 appearances before being sold to Queens Park Rangers in 2012.
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A spell in England was cut short after one season in which he returned to Spain in 2013.
The central midfielder then spent some time at Real Sociedad and Espanyol before retiring in 2021 for Marbella FC.
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