Prior to that, Madrid boasted a team of Galacticos in the 1950s and 1960s, with players such as Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Raymond Kopa. It featured the likes of Romario, Michael Laudrup and Hristo Stoichkov, and was known as the 'Dream Team'.

Johan Cruyff's Barcelona side of 1988 to 1996 could be said to have featured plenty of Galacticos. Of course, the idea of assembling a team of superstars predates the Perez presidency and is not exclusive to Real Madrid. The term was popularised during the 2000s during Florentino Perez's first term as president of Real Madrid when he and the club aggressively pursued a recruitment policy that prioritised the signing of such players. Galactico is the Spanish word for 'galactic' and it is used to describe footballers who are deemed to be superstars or boast ability levels that are 'out of this world'.Īs well as being supremely talented, a Galactico tends to be famous the world over and usually commands a hefty transfer fee.

But what exactly is a Galactico? Goal takes a look at the origin of the term as well as the signings who became poster boys of the transfer policy.