Real Madrid’s transfer window in 2009 is unrivalled as the greatest in the history of football.
Most clubs would be delighted to sign just one player who goes on to be a legend, let alone several.
Madrid president Florentino Perez was looking to build a side that was capable of delivering the Decima - their 10th Champions League title.
Their previous European Cup was in 2002 in that famed Galactico era that included Zinedine Zidane, Raul and Luis Figo.
Perez sanctioned a £233million transfer splurge to sign some of the biggest names around in addition to rising stars.
The headline transfer was of course Cristiano Ronaldo who joined for a world record fee of £80m from Manchester United.
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That sort of fee seems to be the norm in 2023, but in 2009 it was an eye watering sum.
However, few could argue it was anything other than money well spent in terms of what he delivered for the club.
Ronaldo scored 450 goals in just 438 games as he became their all-time record goalscorer.
He helped deliver that 10th Champions League title in 2014, followed by three more before his departure.
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Not only did Ronaldo become an undisputed club legend, he established himself as one of the greats of the game.
Four of his five Ballons d’Or came while in the Spanish capital, alongside his 16 trophies won.
Ronaldo was not the only Ballon d’Or winner to sign for Madrid as Kaka was another marquee name Perez brought in.
He was a £56m transfer from AC Milan and one of the most recognisable names in world football at the time.
Despite the gravitas his name brought, he managed just 23 goals in 85 games across four seasons before heading back to Milan in 2013.
The last man-standing of that 2009 cohort was of course Karim Benzema, who announced this month he was leaving Madrid at the end of his contract.
He arrived for just £30m from Lyon as a 21-year-old full of potential and it proved to be an absolute steal for what he went on to achieve.
His 354 goals for the club is second only to Ronaldo, while he won a remarkable 25 trophies.
This included five Champions Leagues and four LaLiga titles and the Ballon d’Or in 2022.
Not bad for a player who the fans initially didn’t take to and were gutted when they kept him over Gonzalo Higuain.
While the headline names came in the attacking department, there were some pretty important additions further back on the pitch.
Xabi Alonso cost £30m to bring him from Liverpool after his falling out with Rafael Benitez.
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The midfielder played more than 200 times for the club before joining Bayern Munich in 2014, not before winning five trophies at the club.
Some of the forgotten names who also joined the club during that transfer window included Alvaro Arbeloa, Raul Albiol, Esteban Granero, and Alvaro Negrado.
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