5 strangest signings by Real Madrid

#1 Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano was surplus to requirements at Real Madrid

Antonio Cassano was just 20 at the time when he had a series of fallouts with AS Roma and fell out of favour with coach Fabio Capello. Searching for a window of opportunity to pounce on and exit the club, the Italian couldn't have been more delighted to find out about Real Madrid's interest in him.

Los Merengues were quick to come to his rescue, as they shelled out €5 million in January 2006 to make him only the second Italian footballer ever to set foot onto the hallowed Bernabeu pitch.

Now, there are two facts that make this transfer deal as enigmatic as it appears to the supporters. The first is, Real Madrid had a fearsome trio of Raul, Ronaldo and summer signing Robinho in the attacking department, with the ever graceful Zinedine Zidane watching their backs as the creative lynchpin. Reading those names is bound to set you thinking whether Cassano was really needed to make an impact.

Secondly, you would expect any Real Madrid striker to have 30+ goals in a season, right? The Italian, during his seven years at Bari and Roma, hadn't crossed the 20-goal mark even once, with 18 being his highest tally until he joined Real Madrid. Why did they sign him then? The mind boggles!

As expected, the move turned out to be a horrible mistake, with Cassano netting only 4 goals in two seasons at the club, before joining Sampdoria in 2007.

Quite a tough task to find a positive that resulted out of this strange deal.

Have your say. Any additions to our list you'd suggest? Omissions? Which strange Real Madrid signings would make your list? Comment below.