The Whites have had mixed fortunes when it comes to signing players directly from the Portuguese league. From key players like Pepe, Militao, Di María... to more questionable ones like Secretaria and Coentrao...
The arrival of Álvaro Carreras to Real Madrid marks the return of a player who played for La Fábrica. However, it was at Benfica , in the Portuguese league, where he made his breakthrough and became a super-elite player . The full-back earned his place at the Águilas by showcasing his talents as a long-range full-back with attacking potential capable of producing strong performances in the Champions League and the Portuguese competition.
Real Madrid haven't had many opportunities to find their way into the Portuguese league , a competition where the big clubs survive by scouting young talent. However, the signings that have come to the club directly from the neighboring country have left a different mark . Some of the best signings in their recent history came from there, but others failed to live up to the expectations they had been given.
Three former Benfica players
A good example are the three players who have arrived from Benfica so far. From there came Di María , an exquisite player who cost 33 million in the 2010-11 season and captivated the Bernabéu during his four seasons there, including the Champions League final in Lisbon. A final in which Coentrão , who arrived a year earlier for 30 million , also started . A full-back with enormous potential who combined some good performances with others that were far more questionable. Injuries prevented him from continuing. Far more significant was the arrival years earlier, in 1998-99, of Edgar , a promising youngster who never made his debut and ended up becoming a star at Málaga .
From Military to Secretary
Currently, the only player in the first team who arrived from Portugal is Militao, a center-back who was paid 50 million to Porto and who became a world-renowned figure in the position. Arriving in the 2019-20 season, his market value reached 70 million. He has won 13 titles with Real Madrid, including two Champions League titles, but serious injuries in recent years have hampered his career.
Also arriving from Porto was perhaps the most lucrative signing in Real Madrid's recent history, Casemiro , considered a member of the best Real Madrid midfield in recent history. The 6 million euros paid for him were more than worth it for a stellar midfielder who won four Champions League titles, among many others . To top it all off, he left more than 70 million euros in Real Madrid's coffers. A real coup.
Pepe was another of the big signings from the northern Portuguese giant. He cost 30 million in 2007-08. He played for ten seasons, leaving an indelible mark on a Real Madrid team where he played 334 matches, won three Champions League titles, and 14 titles in total . For many, he's a legend.
A career in Real Madrid that Danilo , who arrived as a great promise and made a few appearances, but never quite gelled as expected despite an investment of 31.5 million , couldn't match . A right-back in which Secretário also failed to succeed in the 1996-97 season, the only one he played in Real Madrid and in which he failed to shine under Capello.
Pioneer Giudicelli
But to find Real Madrid's first signing from the Portuguese League, we have to go back many years, specifically to the 1935-36 season, when Giudicelli arrived from Sporting CP. He barely played a single game for Real Madrid, but this international player with the Verdeamarelha , of Italian descent, went down in history as the first Brazilian player in Real Madrid's history . Years later, in 1947-48, Manuel Rocha , an Argentine striker who had played for Boca Juniors, joined the club from Os Belenenses and played for Real Madrid in the Eva Duarte Cup, the precursor to the Super Cup.