Real Madrid legend Raúl González reflects on the Galacticos era in an interview with ESPN. Although marked by global stars, this period was not as glorious in terms of trophies as one might think.
There was a time when Real Madrid embarked on a crazy plan to bring together the best players in the world. Florentino Perez succeeded in this gamble by bringing together at Real Madrid stars such as Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham, Luis Figo, Ronaldo Nazario and Raúl González, among others. But not everything went exactly as Florentino Perez would have wished.
🥳 Wish Champions League legend Raúl González a happy birthday!
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In a former interview with ESPN, Raúl González shared his impressions of the Galacticos era, a period that left its mark on Real Madrid’s history but also raised questions about the club’s sporting record. The current La Castilla coach regrets the repeated failures of the Casa Blanca club during the Galactic era. ‘I don’t remember when people started calling us the Galacticos. I think it was after Ronaldo and Beckham arrived,’ explained Raúl.
While this era has helped strengthen the club’s international image, it has not been as prolific as hoped in terms of titles. And that is something Raúl González regrets even today. ‘What I want to say is that yes, it was a great experience to be able to play with all those players, but in reality we didn’t win as much as people think. We didn’t even win the Champions League. David Beckham only won La Liga once, and that was after Fabio Capello told him he wouldn’t be playing again. But he did play, and we ended up winning the league quite heroically. But that was in 2007,’ he added.
Galacticos, a lesson for Real Madrid’s future
Florentino Perez will soon be stepping down as president of Real Madrid. But before he leaves, the manager has embarked on yet another crazy plan to overhaul Real Madrid. Drawing inspiration from the failures of the Galactic era, the President of the White House is showing himself to be intelligent in his recruitment, even though he has always loved bringing together the best footballers in the world.
Florentino Perez’s strategy of snapping up talented youngsters with great potential has attracted the likes of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes and Endrick. He has also signed young European stars such as Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouameni. The free arrivals of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alphonso Davies have even been announced for the end of this season. It’s going to be a great-looking team that’s likely to dominate Europe for at least a decade.
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