Welcome to another series of talking about football. Today, we would be talking about the 10 greatest Real Madrid players of all time.
The Spanish giant was found in 6 March 1902. They have always won the white shirts and shots since beginning. Although, Barcelona was founded before Real Madrid, but The Galaticos has more European trophies than the Catalonians.
This feat is made possible because of the huge numbers of great players that have graced the club. From Di Stefano to Figo to Roberto Carlos to Ronaldo Nazario, etc. Let’s have a look at the 10 greatest footballers to play for Real Madrid.
10) Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema joined Real Madrid as a 22 year old wonder kid from the French league in the first half of his career. He would help Madrid win four champions leagues and he’ll start all finals.
He was a supporting man for Ronaldo and Gareth Bale but in the second half of his career where Ronaldo was sold saw Benzema step up and went on a legendary run to cement his mark of greatness.
From 2018 to 2023, the second half of his career, he was in the La Liga team of the season five years in a row. He then helped Madrid win another champions league making it his fifth in total where he was the main man.
He scored so many crucial goals and he won the Ballon D’or that same year. So Benzema is at number 10 on the greatest players for Real Madrid.
9) Paco Gento
We are going back to the 1950s for the number 9 on this list in person of Paco Gento. He played for Real Madrid for 17 years making 600 appearances and scoring 183 goals he was part of the first Real Madrid golden generation that won five champions leagues in a row.
He then won his sixth European cup in 1966 with him as a captain. He also won 12 league titles with Real Madrid which to this day is still the most anyone’s won the Spanish league title.
He was a pacey left winger who was known for providing assists and scoring long range goals. For those reasons paco gentle comes in at number nine on the rankings.
8) Iker Casillas
No doubts on this one that one of the greatest goalkeepers of the modern era is Iker Casillas. He came through the Madrid youth ranks and made his debut in 1999 as an 18-year-old.
Within a year, he became the youngest goalkeeper to start a Champions League final and win a Champions League final. He would go on to play for Madrid for the next 16 years, making a total of 725 appearances.
He was a superstar goalkeeper, he was consistent every season, he won five league titles and three Champions League and the third Champions League win came as him as a captain.
So Iker Casillas is at number eight is rightfully deserved.
7) Ferenc Puskás
Puskás one of the greatest footballers of all time, joined Madrid when he was 31 years old. So he was already a legend of the game but Puskás’ incredible goal-scoring record didn’t stop with age.
He was the Spanish league top scorer for four years in a row, he won three European Cups, scoring seven goals in the Champions League finals alone.
In total, he scored 242 goals in just 262 appearances for Madrid and to think he’d done all of this after the age of 31.
People are of the opinion that had he joined at a younger age, maybe Puskás would have been the greatest player ever. Nonetheless, he broke all kinds of records from 31 years old and inserted himself as a Madrid and a football legend.
6) Zinedine Zidane
The sixth greatest player for Real Madrid is yet again another all-time football legend, Zinedine Zidane.
He helped Madrid become a truly global club in the 21st century due to his popularity. He’s only at number six because the peak Zidane was actually during his Juventus days as he only joined Madrid as a 29-year-old. Still, he was an instant hit.
In his debut season, he helped Madrid win the Champions League, where he scored a stunning volley in the final, the winning goal. He didn’t win many trophies after that time in Madrid, as they were an aging squad.
He only spent five seasons in Madrid, making 230 appearances and scoring 49 goals. So even though he spent only five seasons, due to the popularity of his name, and how he made Madrid such a global club, then what he would go on to do as the manager of Madrid, many would agree that been 6th on this list is a great call.
5) Sergio Ramos
At number five, we’ve got the greatest Spanish defender of all time, Sergio Ramos.
Ramos joined Madrid at the age of 19 from Sevilla and he would go on to spend 16 years with Madrid, making a total of 671 appearances, scoring 101 goals. 101 goals as a defender is a crazy achievement.
Ramos was known for his leadership, hard tackling, aerial ability in defending and scoring goals. He won five league titles and four Champions Leagues, including scoring in two of those Champions League finals, both against Atletico Madrid, which makes Madrid fans love him even more.
Sergio Ramos was a leader and a warrior for Madrid. His reliability, always showing up, putting in hard work, and determination defined what it meant to be a Real Madrid player in the 2010s.
4) Raúl
Madrid-born Raul is without no doubts one of the greatest players to every play football. He came through the Madrid youth rankings and this made him even more loved by the fans.
He made his debut in 1994 as a 17-year-old, who would then go on to help Madrid win three Champions Leagues, and he was scoring two of those finals.
Raul was known for forming a deadly partnership with Fernando Morientes and then with the Brazilian Ronaldo.
He would spend 16 years at the club, making a total of 741 appearances, which is a club record for appearances to this day. He also scored 323 goals, which at the time he was an active player, made him all-time top scorer for Madrid.
Raul retired as Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer. However, a certain someone that’s about to come up on the list did break that record. Guess who?
3) Luka Modric
Luka Modric is the only player on this list that’s still playing for the club as of 2024.
When Modric first signed for Madrid in 2012, few expected him to be as good as he’d go on to become. Modric is so high on this list, above the likes of Zidane and Puskas, who are legends of the game because of how important Modric has been for Madrid in each of the seasons they’ve won leagues and Champions League titles.
Not many central midfielders can have the impact that he can have, where he dictates the tempo of the match, he can defend, he can run with the ball, and he can make game-winning plays with his passes.
Modric, in total, helped Madrid win six Champions Leagues, and he started in the finals for five of them. He was vital in all of those tournament wins, and to think that he’s still playing as of 2024 is crazy.
In total, he’s won 27 major trophies with Madrid and that makes him the most decorated player in Madrid’s history.
2) Alfredo Di Stefano
The 2nd greatest player in Real Madrid is the man that built Madrid into the club it is today. That person is Alfredo Di Stefano.
He joined Madrid as a 27-year-old, he helped them win five European Cups in a row, scored in each of those five finals, including a hat-trick on the fifth one in 1960.
Di Stefano as a forward was known for being quick, skillful, and a prolific goal scorer. He would spend 10 years at the club making 396 appearances and scoring 308 goals.
He won eight league titles and five consecutive European trophies. Di Stefano was the first superstar of Madrid, and he comes in at number two.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo
Di Stefano comes in number two because number one is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s in the conversation for being the greatest footballer of all time, with the likes of Messi, Pelé, and Maradona. So he’s without doubt the greatest player that Madrid has ever had.
Ronaldo joined Madrid as a 24-year-old superstar. They knew how good he was, but no one expected him to break all the records that he did.
His first season, he scored 33 goals, which is a great start for any forward but it pales in comparison to the amount of goals he would go on to score.
His goal record in the following seasons goes as like this:
- 53 goals, 60 goals, 55 goals, 51 goals, 61 goals, 51 goals, 42 goals, and in his final season, 44 goals.
Ronaldo redefined what it meant to score prolifically. In total, he scored 450 goals in just 438 games. It’s an insane goal scoring record. The goals he scored weren’t just empty goals, too. He wasn’t stat padding. His goals won them trophies, won two league titles and four Champions Leagues.
He was the top scorer in all four of the Champions League titles they won and the main player. CR7 also won four Ballon d’Or trophies as a Real Madrid player and it was a golden period of Real Madrid.
Those nine years he was at the club, the fans have never seen anything like it, and will probably never see something like that again.
That was the list of the greatest Real Madrid players of all time.
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