David Beckham's decision to leave Real Madrid and further his career in the United States signals the death knell of the Galactico era in which the club signed a succession of the world's most glamorous players.
When Beckham joined Real from Manchester United in 2003 he followed in the footsteps of three of the biggest names in the sport: Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo.
But, as it transpired, fate was to be unkind to the assembled greats whose collective brilliance somehow failed to land any silverware for three successive seasons. A fourth season without a trophy beckons.
Figo joined Real from arch-rivals Barcelona in 2000 as a result of what had been an audacious election-winning gambit by presidential candidate Florentino Perez.
Real won their first league title in four years after signing of the Portuguese winger and the move helped convince Perez that he throw the coaching manual out of the window
and construct a winning team based on high-profile attack-minded players.
Zinedine Zidane was next on Perez's hit list, the Real chief first displaying his interest in the France playmaker when he passed him a note written on a napkin in a Monte Carlo restaurant.
In the end it took a world record $66 million to prise the midfielder from the grasp of Juventus.
The pay-off was immense, however, as the Frenchman went on to score a sublime winning goal as Real claimed a ninth European Cup with a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League final in Glasgow in May 2002 at the end of his first season.
The following season Perez took advantage of Ronaldo's spat with Inter Milan coach Hector Cuper to make off with the striker after he had provided proof of his recovery from a career-threatening knee injury by firing Brazil to victory in the 2002 World Cup.
Like Zidane before him, Ronaldo took time to settle but even though the cracks were beginning to appear, the Brazilian steered Real to the league title by scoring 23 goals in the season.
Buoyed by yet more success, Perez turned down the requests for some defensive reinforcements and decided instead to sign Beckham, the jewel in the crown of his Galactico project.
But the truth was that Real were already on the decline when Beckham arrived at the Bernabeu.
The team went into meltdown at the end of Beckham's first season and have not managed to recover.
Figo was the first Galactico to spot the problems, opting to leave for Inter Milan at the beginning of last season after the club stalled over his contract renewal.
Worn down and frustrated by Real's constant failure to live up to their billing, Zidane decided to bring forward the date of his retirement to the end of last season.
Ronaldo began rocking the boat last year, making it clear that he was unhappy at the club following criticisms of his fitness and hinting that he wanted to leave.
In the end, the Brazilian decided to stick it out, but his weight problems, frequent injuries, failure to produce the goods on the pitch and influence on the rest of the dressing room have made Real determined to offload him.
Beckham has announced his departure first, but Ronaldo could leave Real before him if the club gets it way.
The Galactico era is well and truly over.
By Simon Baskett
When Beckham joined Real from Manchester United in 2003 he followed in the footsteps of three of the biggest names in the sport: Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo.
But, as it transpired, fate was to be unkind to the assembled greats whose collective brilliance somehow failed to land any silverware for three successive seasons. A fourth season without a trophy beckons.
Figo joined Real from arch-rivals Barcelona in 2000 as a result of what had been an audacious election-winning gambit by presidential candidate Florentino Perez.
Real won their first league title in four years after signing of the Portuguese winger and the move helped convince Perez that he throw the coaching manual out of the window
and construct a winning team based on high-profile attack-minded players.Zinedine Zidane was next on Perez's hit list, the Real chief first displaying his interest in the France playmaker when he passed him a note written on a napkin in a Monte Carlo restaurant.
In the end it took a world record $66 million to prise the midfielder from the grasp of Juventus.
The pay-off was immense, however, as the Frenchman went on to score a sublime winning goal as Real claimed a ninth European Cup with a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League final in Glasgow in May 2002 at the end of his first season.
The following season Perez took advantage of Ronaldo's spat with Inter Milan coach Hector Cuper to make off with the striker after he had provided proof of his recovery from a career-threatening knee injury by firing Brazil to victory in the 2002 World Cup.
Like Zidane before him, Ronaldo took time to settle but even though the cracks were beginning to appear, the Brazilian steered Real to the league title by scoring 23 goals in the season.
Buoyed by yet more success, Perez turned down the requests for some defensive reinforcements and decided instead to sign Beckham, the jewel in the crown of his Galactico project.
But the truth was that Real were already on the decline when Beckham arrived at the Bernabeu.
The team went into meltdown at the end of Beckham's first season and have not managed to recover.
Figo was the first Galactico to spot the problems, opting to leave for Inter Milan at the beginning of last season after the club stalled over his contract renewal.
Worn down and frustrated by Real's constant failure to live up to their billing, Zidane decided to bring forward the date of his retirement to the end of last season.
Ronaldo began rocking the boat last year, making it clear that he was unhappy at the club following criticisms of his fitness and hinting that he wanted to leave.
In the end, the Brazilian decided to stick it out, but his weight problems, frequent injuries, failure to produce the goods on the pitch and influence on the rest of the dressing room have made Real determined to offload him.
Beckham has announced his departure first, but Ronaldo could leave Real before him if the club gets it way.
The Galactico era is well and truly over.
By Simon Baskett
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