Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insists the club has always had a Galacticos policy. "It is a model we have always used at Madrid, not only in the so-called galáctico era," Perez told The Times. "We have always had Di Stéfanos [the world's top players], Amancios [the best Spanish players] and Raúls [quality players from the lower ranks]. And it makes sense financially - [Zinedine] Zidane was a cheap signing as his arrival allowed new commercial deals and new arrivals. It is a model that feeds itself. We don't have rich people to put money into the club."

Real plan to spend €300 million (about £262 million) and will try to do in one summer what normally would take three years, by getting two superstars and assembling a star-studded squad.