Real Madrid's 8 Worst January Transfer Window Signings
Since the introduction of the winter transfer window in the 2002-03 season, Real Madrid's signings have been in a completely different league to the business they tend to do in the summer—and not in a good way.
They've rarely tasted success by indulging in the January sales, so it's unlikely they'll be looking to get their hands burnt again over the next two weeks.
For every summer Toni Kroos, there has been a winter Thomas Gravesen; and for every summer Cristiano Ronaldo, there has been a winter Antonio Cassano.
You can count on two hands the number of signings Los Blancos have made in the January window since its introduction—the names of which fill the following slides and reveal why they may be reluctant to do business in the first month of the year these days.
8. Diego Lopez
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Diego Lopez was more of a political signing than anything, although it is true that Jose Mourinho did need to improve on his back-up goalkeeper Antonio Adan.
Signed from Sevilla, Lopez came in and immediately took the place of Iker Casillas, who was injured initially but was also being punished for complacent form and a feud with Mourinho.
Under the Portuguese coach, Lopez remained in between the posts and performed well.
When Mourinho left, Carlo Ancelotti came in and kept Lopez as his No. 1 stopper in La Liga.
However, the Italian opted for Casillas as his keeper in the Copa del Rey and Champions League—the two competitions which Madrid won that season.
Following the arrival of Keylor Navas last summer, Lopez swapped Spain for Italy, signing for AC Milan.
7. Lassana Diarra
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It's unthinkable now to imagine Real Madrid paying Portsmouth almost €20 million for a holding midfielder, but that’s what happened in 2009 before the English club tumbled from the Premier League to League Two.
Lassana Diarra was the man they forked out on, and despite having a low profile when he arrived, he did well at the Bernabeu.
During almost three years at the club, he wore the No. 6 and the No. 10 shirts and was a part of the Jose Mourinho side which won La Liga, taking it away from Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010.
With increased competition from the likes of Sami Khedira, though, and minutes harder to come by, he left for Russia after just a few appearances in the 2012-13 season.
6. Casemiro
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Signed on loan from Sao Paulo in 2013, Casemiro was originally placed in Real Madrid Castilla’s squad.
However, the Brazilian midfielder impressed enough to be handed a first-team debut under Jose Mourinho in a league match against Real Betis—and it was a very assured first outing for the club.
He remained involved with the first team after Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment, but struggled to get games ahead of the likes of Xabi Alonso and Asier Illarramendi.
In search of more minutes to aid his progression, he's spending the current season on loan at Porto.
5. Thomas Gravesen
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One of the stranger transfers in the history of the January transfer window (there's a stranger one to come) saw Thomas Gravesen swap Everton for Real Madrid, breaking up the Lee Carsley/Gravesen hard-man midfield duo on Merseyside.
While it was strange, it wasn't a complete disaster.
The Dane scored against Espanyol in one of his first appearances for the Spanish club and did not look overly out of place.
After six months, he looked set to flee, though, but a change of manager ensured he remained in the Spanish capital for another year.
He did eventually leave after that season, however, signing for Scottish side Celtic after making more than 30 appearances in the famous white shirt of Real Madrid.
4. Emmanuel Adebayor
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In a bid to add some variety to his forward line, Jose Mourinho signed Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City in 2011.
The Togolese striker had been sensational at times during his days with Arsenal, but he had gone off the boil in the north of England.
He stayed with Real Madrid for half a season, scoring eight goals in his 22 appearances for the club and coming on as a substitute in the Copa del Rey final success over Barcelona.
Five of those goals were spread over two matches.
Three came on the final day of the season against Almeria; and two came against his future club, Tottenham Hotspur, in the Champions League.
3. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
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Klaas-Jan Huntelaar arrived at Real Madrid in the January window of 2009, but he never lived up to his €20 million price tag.
Perhaps the reason the Dutch striker never really got going was that he had only just returned from injury when he joined.
Despite that, he did manage to find the net eight times in his 20 appearances for Los Blancos.
After less than a year at the club, though, he was on the move again, with AC Milan paying around €15 million to take him to Italy.
2. Antonio Cassano
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Antonio Cassano's problems focused more off the pitch than on it during his time with Real Madrid.
He was signed from Roma in 2005, becoming the second Italian to play for the club after Christian Panucci, but he was never able to fulfill his potential at the Bernabeu.
After scoring three minutes into his debut in a cup match against Real Betis, it was largely downhill from there.
Weight problems led to fines from the club, while they also suspended him for disrespecting his manager, Fabio Capello.
He did manage to hang about for 18 months, although his final six months were hampered by an ankle injury, and he returned to Italy having made just 29 appearances.
1. Julien Faubert
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Imagine if Twitter had been more prominent in 2009?
When Arsenal tried to sign Luis Suarez in the summer of 2013, Liverpool owner John W.Henry posted a message saying: "What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?"
The outcry, when Real Madrid signed Julien Faubert on loan from West Ham, would have been significantly louder.
Memes, vines and jokes would have left Europe with a lot of unproductive offices that day.
The Frenchman went on to make just two appearances for Los Blancos, becoming more well-known for a couple of other events.
He forgot to turn up for training once, believing he had the day off, and was pictured falling asleep on the bench in a league game against Villarreal.
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