Real Madrid Transfer Rumours: 10 Big Name Stars Lined Up to Become Galacticos

Real Madrid are known to historically be one of the biggest spenders in the transfer market. Yet recently, the club has spent relatively little.

Despite spending €30 million on Fabio Coentrao this past summer, Real Madrid's total spending for the summer was (only) €55 million, a fairly modest sum for Los Blancos, especially compared to the €74.5 million spent the year before and the massive €259 million spent the year before that.

Furthermore, Real Madrid went through the month of January without making a single signing.

Some have argued that Real Madrid's inactivity is attributable to the fact they are very content with their current squad. With the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Kaka all available up front, it's hard to argue that there's room for improvement.

Yet, until the club wins the Champions League, no one at Real Madrid will be satisfied with the team's progress. Jose Mourinho loves to go out on top, and if he does leave Real Madrid, he'll almost certainly  do it on the heels of a Champions League title.

Here are 10 players who can give his squad the extra bit of magic needed to go all the way.

Robin Van Persie

Let's get the biggest rumor out of the way first.

According to ESPN, Robin van Persie told Spanish newspaper MARCA that he was "excited" to hear of interest from Real Madrid and that he'd be excited to play with Los Blancos. (He has since vehemently denied ever speaking to the newspaper.)

RVP quickly added that he did not think Arsenal would be willing to negotiate his sale, but after the club's miserable performances over the last week, that may not matter too much anymore.

RVP is very much in control of the situation. With only a year left to go on his contract, it's up to him if he moves or not. If he decides not to sign a new contract, Arsenal will be forced to sell him so as to earn a transfer fee before it is too late.

For now, RVP likely won't comment on speculation as he tries to help Arsenal salvage their season with a fourth place league finish.

But in the summer, expect the Robin van Persie transfer saga to take center stage, with Barcelona reportedly interested in the striker as well.

Gareth Bale

Another player set to be in the middle of a Real Madrid-Barcelona tug-of-war is Gareth Bale.

Tottenham Hotspur have had an excellent season, and Gareth Bale has been the team's best player.

Despite this, many do not believe Tottenham have yet established themselves as one of Europe's big clubs, and are trying to expedited the gap time between Tottenham's rise to glory and Tottenham's establishment as an elite European club to snatch up the club's best players.

Again, like RVP, Bale has been linked more with Barcelona than Real Madrid, with Barcelona scouts reportedly traveling to London on several occasions.

Nevertheless, Real Madrid are reportedly also chasing the Welsh winger. Honestly, Gareth Bale is hardly needed at Real Madrid since they have Marcelo, Fabio Coentrao and Angel di Maria, who all play on the left side on the field, but Bale would be a quality addition nevertheless.

At the very least, Real Madrid's interest should force Barcelona to spend more on Bale if they do indeed decide to seriously pursue him in the summer.

Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard is pretty much a staple in every rumors article these days.

The fact is, no one knows where this guy is actually going. One day its Spurs. The next day it's Arsenal. And then there's the persistent Spain rumors.

Again, this is a transfer saga to wait and see on.

If Real Madrid have a successful season, Hazard likely won't be on Mourinho's radar.

But should they falter, Hazard could inject freshness and youth into the team as they prepare for next season's campaign.

Lucas Moura

It seems as though every major European club has been linked with a move for Sao Paolo's Lucas Moura, and Real Madrid are no exception.

Remarkably, Lucas' stock has risen so much that the Metro article describes him as a "£34 million-rated player." That a 19-year-old can be worth so much despite having only played domestically in Brazil is mind-blowing.

When you manage to earn 10 caps for the Brazilian national team only halfway to your 20th birthday though, that sort of thing can happen.

Borja Valero

Real Madrid love bringing back their youth products. They've done it with Alvaro Arbeloa, Esteban Granero, Jose Callejon, Alvaro Negrado and, now, they reportedly want to buy Borja Valero back too.

Valero is a very late bloomer, having slipped all the way down to West Bromwich Albion before his 2010-11 season with Villarreal established him as one of the best center midfielders in the game.

This season Villarreal have struggled, and even if the club do avoid relegation, Valero will be keen to move on, especially if a big club is interested in his services.

Valero is generally a midfielder more inclined to attack than defend; a more offensive Xabi Alonso if you will. This season he's been used as a utility man at Villarreal, playing as a left midfielder, right midfielder, defensive midfielder and attacking midfielder.

Generally though, Valero is best in the center of midfield.

Valero isn't really a big enough player to stick out among Real Madrid's Galacticos, but the same things were said about Jose Callejon and he's managed to make himself a key player under Jose Mourinho.

If Esteban Granero is sold, or Nuri Sahin is loaned back to Borussia Dortmund to regain his form, Valero might be a good acquisition. Otherwise, this transfer wouldn't make much sense.

Nicolas Gaitan

Real Madrid enjoy a really good relationship with Benfica, having bought Fabio Coentrao and Angel di Maria from the Portuguese club in recent years. They also sold Ezequiel Garay to the club this past summer.

Nicolas Gaitan could be the latest player to switch from the Primeira side to Real Madrid.

Gaitan's playing style and position is almost identical to Angel di Maria, so that may discourage Real from spending too much on him, but they are reportedly interested.

He is also capable of playing at right wing and as an attacking midfielder, so his versatility may prove useful to Los Blancos in the event that Mourinho and company sign him.

Mario Gotze

The Mario Gotze-to-Real Madrid rumors have died down since Gotze got injured halfway through January.

Nevertheless, there is plenty to suggest that Real Madrid will be interested in him come this summer.

For one, Mario Gotze is one of the few non-Barca players in the world who could probably walk into Los Blancos' starting lineup.

Secondly, seeing Gotze and Mesut Ozil link up on a regular basis would be spectacular. They could very easily become the Andres Iniesta and Xavi of Real Madrid, and no, that is not an exaggeration.

Borussia Dortmund will try with all their might to hold onto Gotze, but of all the names mentioned on the list thus far, Gotze's could be the one to actually enhance Madrid's offense even further.

Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero is settled at Manchester City. Gonzalo Higuain is settled at Real Madrid.

Yet, despite this, the transfer rumor mill refuses to allow these two Argentinians to rest in peace.

The latest rumor claims that an Aguero-Higuain swap is in the works.

Take this rumor with the lightest grain of salt you can find.

Both strikers are great (though Aguero is arguably better), but the competition for starts up front is equal at both clubs, and neither striker would really gain much with a move.

Yann M'Vila

The speculation on Yann M'Vila's future has died down significantly since a move to Arsenal failed to materialize last summer.

Nevertheless, while M'Vila's agent confirms that M'Vila is quite content at Rennes, he has once again opened the door for a move abroad in the summer, with Arsenal and Real Madrid being his likely destinations.

Both Arsenal and Real Madrid could benefit from M'Vila's quality. The defensive midfielder is strong, determined and would inject much needed leadership at Arsenal.

For Los Blancos, the French international would complement Xabi Alonso well, as neither Lassana Diarra nor Sami Khedira have displayed the defensive tenacity necessary against the best offense of Europe.

His transfer fee will likely be significant, but the investment could prove worthwhile.

Arsene Wenger

It's quite an interesting state of affairs when more transfer rumors surround your team's manager than players.

But that's the current state that Real Madrid find themselves in.

Many rumors have been spread indicating that Jose Mourinho could leave Real Madrid for Chelsea or Inter Milan, leading Mourinho to plead with the fans of both clubs to support their current managers.

If Mourinho were to leave though, Arsene Wenger has been repeatedly linked with a move to Madrid.

Life at Arsenal has become very difficult for Wenger, and inheriting such a talent-laden club may afford him the opportunity to focus strictly on game management and avoid transfers.

Additionally, Real Madrid's youth academy has been collecting dust for years now, so Wenger could be the man to come in and change all that.

In all honesty though, Wenger at Real Madrid would be one of the biggest jokes in world football history. The most frugal manager in world football coaching the biggest spendthrifts in world football—what a combo.

I know I'd tune in for many more Real Madrid games, though. Without a doubt.

Opinion

These transfer rumours are, for the most part, the ones most prevalent in the media today.

However, any Real Madrid fan knows that, with the exception of a couple of these players, these aren't really the names their squad needs to be investing in this summer.

Yann M'Vila would be an excellent addition to Los Blancos, while Gotze would be an interesting gamble that might pay off (but, again, would likely require a massive transfer fee).

Other than those two, Real Madrid's offense is already so loaded with world-class talent that it would be better to stick with what it has.

What do you think? Who would you like to see brought in by Real Madrid in the summer? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below, and thanks for reading!