Also, it’s worth mentioning that several of these players (i.e. Drenthe, Pepe) were matters of speculation, having never played in Leagues comparitive to La Liga or Serie A. And while Pepe is finaly just begining to justify the money that was spent on him (he still has a long way to go – but there’s promise) Drenthe is yet to impress in his performances, and may turn out to be a more hype than actual skill.

I would hardly disagree with Dudek, Saviola, Heinze, and Robben were an absolute waste of money so far. Drenthe has age on his side and was not expected to produce much, while Pepe and Baptista are starting to show their worth. Metzelder came as a backup, while Soldado and Balboa, who could both easily start in other La Liga teams, havent figured much unfortunately. Real have not yet gotten a solid transfer policy, but I see it shaping up little by little, this winter will see Drenthe and Soldado out on loan, and possibly Saviola sold off at a profit.

It’s been interesting over the past couple of years to watch the rise of a new class of player—the superstar benchwarmer. It’s got to be one of the strangest consequences of the rich getting richer in the European domestic leagues. There are players who don’t even seem like they particularly want to start, as long as they can make a fortune by watching from the bench. Robben excepted, I wouldn’t have put anyone on the Real list in that class, but maybe they’re recent converts.

Of course it works out beautifully for the rich clubs, because not only do they get super-talented backups, they also keep super-talented players out of the hands of other clubs.