With high expectations for Kylian Mbappe to take the world by storm when he eventually joins Real Madrid, here's a look at several top signings who arrived at Los Blancos with big expectations and flopped, including Eden Hazard.
Eden Hazard
Widely considered the biggest Los Blancos flop of the modern era, Hazard's time at the club is memorable for all the unflattering reasons. The Belgian became Real's most expensive transfer of all time in 2019 when he penned a five-year deal from Chelsea worth a staggering €120.8 million (R2.3 billion) including add-ons. However, it was all downhill from there, as Hazard would go on to make a shockingly low 76 appearances for the club in four years before he canceled his contract with a year remaining and announced his retirement. The former attacker scored only seven goals during that period, which is fewer than he scored for Chelsea (110), Lille (50), and the Belgium national team (33).
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Robinho
In 2005, Robinho joined Los Merengues in a deal worth €24 million (R475 million) from Santos, which was quite a huge fee for a 21-year-old who had never played in Europe before. The Brazilian was one of the highly sought-after talents at the time and he would go on to be Michael Owen's replacement at Madrid, during the same window in which Luis Figo also left the club. Although he would get consistent game time, Robinho went through several dry patches without scoring, including a four-month goal drought in LALIGA between November 2006 and March 2007. The winger also encountered several disciplinary breaches, as he was sanctioned by the club after he and teammate Julio Baptisa returned late from international duty without an excuse. Robinho also came to blows with then-colleague Thomas Graveson. According to The Guardian, he also had an unmistakable tendency of partying a lot and staying away longer from the team during international breaks due to parties in Brazil.
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Kaka
Kaka arrived in Spain in the 2009/10 season after winning the 2008 Ballon d'Or award. Considered the best playmaker in the world at the time, many anticipated the attacking midfielder to flourish at Real, as he was signed alongside goal-scoring machine Cristiano Ronaldo during that window. But unlike the Portuguese superstar, Kaka got off to a poor start at this club, missing 15 games in all competitions that term through injury and non-selection. In his second season, he missed 39 games in total, including matches where he sat on the bench for the whole game. In his final season at the club, he was an unused substitute in 22 matches in all competitions, paving the way for his return to AC Milan.
Luka Jovic
The Spanish giants broke the bank to bring in the Serbian striker, paying a whopping €63 million for his services after one stellar season with Eintracht Frankfurt. That would prove to be an unsuccessful gamble, as Jovic scored just 2 goals in 27 matches during his first season in 2019/20. During his second season, he was sent out on loan back to Frankfurt after not scoring a single goal for Real in the half of 2020/21. In his final season, he scored one goal only, bringing his total number of goals for the Madrid outfit to a measly three goals in three seasons.
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