Real Madrid’s $1 billion outlay for the players who helped win a record-extending 10th Champions League last weekend may just be the start of the soccer club’s spending.
Real rallied on goals by Sergio Ramos,Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the final in Lisbon two days ago. Ronaldo, an 80 million-pound ($134.7 million) signing from Manchester United (MANU) in 2009, and Bale, who arrived from Tottenham last year, cost more than the entire Atletico squad, according to data ontransfermarkt.com, which tracks player trading.
Asked if soccer’s richest club by sales will pare back transfer spending after ending a 12-year wait for the European cup, Real director Pedro Lopez said “that’s enough,” before adding a proviso, “but the summer is just starting.” Teams have until September to acquire players.
Real president Florentino Perez said the elite European title takes “some pressure off” although fans will soon be asking for an 11th title.
“The European Cup is in our DNA,” Perez said. “Finally, we’ve achieved our obsession but after this year people will want another, and then another.”
Perez, who started his third four-year term as team president last year, was speaking to reporters after the final before leaving Benfica’s Estadio da Luz stadium with Lopez in a chauffeur-driven black Audi A8.
After becoming Real president in 2000 on a promise to sign Luis Figo from Barcelona, Perez hired other so-called galacticos including Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham partly to boost sales. Real won the 2002 title under Perez but it has taken more than a decade to add another.
Changes in Minutes
“That’s football,” Lopez said, when asked why it had taken so many years. “The result of the match changes in a minute.”
Real was eliminated in the semifinals in the last three seasons under previous coach Jose Mourinho.
Atletico was leading 1-0 on Diego Godin’s first-half goal with two minutes of normal time remaining before Ramos leveled with a 93rd minute header.
Bale’s header made it 2-1 after 110 minutes when he reacted first to Atletico goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois parry of Angel Di Maria’s shot. Marcelo, a substitute, ran unchallenged through Atletico’s defense to add a goal with a 15-yard shot. Just before the final whistle, Ronaldo was brought down in the penalty area and converted the resulting penalty kick to make it 4-1.