As the transfer market neared the end, there was still hope that a surprise Real Madrid signing would happen. It didn’t, so it became the window with the least expenses since 2003, according to AS, a Spanish sports newspaper.
That summer, under the “one Galactico per year” rule of the first Florentino Pérez era, Real signed David Beckham for 25 million euros. The former Manchester United man would be the only signing for a team that won La Liga the previous season.
Fast forward 13 years and Los Blancos signed Álvaro Morata for 30 million euros. Fábio Coentrão and Marco Asensio also joined but were free because they were out on loan.
This further supports the idea that the club has changed the way they build a team. With the signing of fitness coach Antonio Pintus, Zinedine Zidane hopes to make use of the squad depth.
One big problem for Madrid these past few years is that the players arrive extremely fatigued to the crucial April-May period. With Pintus, the boss wants most players to be in solid shape when that moment comes.
Because frequent rotations are expected, it’s understandable that this market wasn’t as exciting for Madridistas. This squad just won the Champions League and fought for La Liga after being ruled out of the race in December.
For now, these are the men that will stay. Should Zidane fail to distribute minutes appropriately, come January, the story may change and movements could occur.
