Real Madrid's Most Influential Transfers of All Time

While Real Madrid divide the football world with their continued pursuit of the [under/fairly/over] priced Gareth Bale, let's delve into their past transfers.

As a club, Los Blancos have never been afraid to sign off a mammoth cheque in order to land the object of their desires.

They've never been overly concerned about shopping from their rivals either, although it's proved more difficult recently.

But who have been some of their most influential signings of years gone by?

The following slides reveal some deals that will continue to live long in the club's history...

Hugo Sanchez

Lured across the city of Madrid in 1985, Hugo Sanchez swapped Atletico for Real.

The Mexican had endured a slow start at Los Rojiblancos, but by the time he jumped ship he had well and truly found his goalscoring boots.

Five Pichichis and five La Liga titles were testament to his influence at the club during Madrid's dominance prior to Barca's Dream Team taking control in the early 90s.

In 283 appearances in the white of Madrid, Sanchez scored 207 goals—some of which earned him the European Golden Boot in 1989-90.

There were plenty of other good players at Madrid during his time with the club, but Sanchez's signing proved a real coup.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Florentino Perez stamped his mark on Real Madrid when he returned in 2009 by splashing more than just his loose change on Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester United, who had their hand forced by the player's desire to leave the club, allowed the Portuguese international to swap England for Spain for £80 million.

And although Real Madrid have only won La Liga once, and failed to get their hands on the Champions League since his arrival, his performances have accelerated them back into Europe's fast lane.

His consistency and goalscoring feats have been phenomenal and, but for a diminutive Argentinian in Barcelona, could have had four more Ballon d'Ors to add to the one he won at Real Madrid.

The future isn't clear between player and club, but few would argue he's deserving of more domestic and European success at the Bernabeu.

The Galacticos

Most of these guys deserve a slide of their own, but they're so often defined by the term 'galacticos' that they'll remain under that collective term here.

They arrived one by one, each summer being joined by another star.

Luis Figo, in the most controversial move, arrived from Barcelona in 2000, Zinedine Zidane followed from Juventus for a world-record fee in 2001 and Ronaldo was picked up from Inter Milan in 2002.

What they all had in common was that they were past winners of the Ballon d'Or, which goes some way to describing Michael Owen's involvement at the club in the 2004-05 season.

David Beckham was also labelled a 'galactico' when he was signed in 2003; Roberto Carlos, signed from Inter Milan in 1996, and Raul, who was lured from Atletico as a teenager, were also part of this select group. 

Alfredo Di Stefano

A transfer that defined an era: Real Madrid's capture of Alfredo Di Stefano from the claws of Barcelona.

Having played a few games in Spain on tour with Colombian side Millonarios in 1952, Barca, suitably impressed with Di Stefano's obvious talent, moved to bring him to Camp Nou.

After the Argentinian had played a few friendlies for Barca, Real Madrid decided they wanted him too.

From there it all got a bit murky, via ESPN.

Los Blancos eventually secured him permanently though, and he was part of the Madrid side that won five straight European Cups.

He scored 216 goals for the club and now, at the age of 87 and etched in the club's history, can still be found representing Real Madrid. 

Ferenc Puskas

Signing a 31-year-old Hungarian wouldn't be likely to fill Madrid fans with joy these days. However in 1958, the signing of Ferenc Puskas proves a stroke of genius from Real.

After refusing to return to Hungary in 1956, Puskas spent time playing in unofficial games for Espanyol and winning the attention of clubs like AC Milan and Manchester United.

Due to a variety of problems though, including his weight, age and nationality, it wasn't until Real Madrid took a chance on him that he returned to competitive football.

And despite his age, Madrid got plenty out of him.

Puskas scored 156 goals in 180 appearances for the club and was part of three European Cup successes and five Spanish titles.

He even represented Spain at the 1962 World Cup, having previously played for Hungary.