The pressure is on at Real Madrid after a disastrous campaign last season, its worst arguably since the turn of the millennium. The club is throwing money at the problem. For the first time in five years—when it made its last galactico signing, the 2014 FIFA World Cup star James Rodriguez—Real Madrid have spent big in the transfer market.
Some 50,000 Real Madrid fans flocked to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in June to witness the unveiling of Eden Hazard. Elsewhere, the squad has been bolstered by defenders Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao as well as attacking players Luka Jovic, Rodrygo (a deal that was negotiated last year) and Kubo, an exciting 18-year-old Japanese playmaker who may well go on loan to Real Valladolid.