Real Madrid soccer team
The second, and current, era has a similar background to the first, with Florentino returning to the Real Madrid presidency in 2009 after a period of relative decline at the Bernabeu.
Pep Guardiola brought Barcelona the treble in the 2008-09 season, and the Catalan giants were playing an exciting type of soccer that soon became known as "passing". When it came to the Spanish Primera Division, things started to change in Barcelona's favor.
Florentino replaced Calderon in 2009 and immediately set about solving the problem by signing Kaka from AC Milan, acquiring Benzema from Lyon, picking up Alonso from Liverpool and, most importantly, signing Manchester United's Crowe.
The total cost of acquiring the four was 225 million euros, which is Florentino's new and improved
Battlestar Galactica
Di Maria and Ozil joined from Benfica and Werder Bremen respectively in 2010, and Modric moved from Tottenham in 2012.
Signing Cairo from Manchester United, Real Madrid broke the world transfer record again in 2009, and again in 2013 when Gareth Bale joined from Tottenham Hotspur for €100 million. Isco was another new addition that summer, signing from Malaga, with Kroos joining in his 2nd year from Bayern Munich.
While not all of Florentino's second Galacticos build-up, has lived up to expectations, with domestic dominance remaining unrealized over the last decade, the introduction policy has certainly laid the foundations for Real Madrid's recent hegemony over European soccer, which has seen them win four Champions League titles.
During this time, Real Madrid's policy on signings has changed significantly, with more young, promising players becoming targets for purchase before the big names.
