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West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has revealed that David Beckham’s Real Madrid jersey was his favorite as a kid. But he was quick to admit that Ronaldo Nazario was his favorite Galactico.
Throughout their illustrious history, Real Madrid have had the knack of signing the most renowned players in the world. During his first spell as president of the club [2000–2006], Florentino Perez kicked off the Galactico program, an initiative to bring the world’s best players to the club.
During that time, Perez signed the likes of Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, David Beckham and Michael Owen, drawing eyeballs from around the globe.
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Rice was admittedly one of the followers of the great Galacticos and had Beckham’s No. 23 shirt in his possession. In an interview with GOAL (via Managing Madrid), the West Ham star opened up about his love for his compatriot's Real Madrid jersey. Holding up the shirt, he said:
“This [Beckham, 23] was my favorite shirt as a kid, I remember going on holiday with my brothers and my family and non-stop wearing this shirt. It’s iconic, with Becks on the back. Probably my favorite kit of all time.
“So many good players, obviously Becks was the icon, to have this shirt and to have his name on the back was a dream as a kid.”
Although he rated Beckham as one of the elites, Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario was Rice's favorite Galactico growing up. When asked whether or not Beckham was the best player at Madrid, the England international said:
“I wouldn’t say he was the best player in that team, obviously I’m going to have to go with R9 [Ronaldo]. I was only young then, so for me just looking at these players, you’d see them on YouTube, you’d see the clips they do, the key moments they have in games. He was a massive part of that, some of the assists he got for those players was top. So, yeah, I’d put Becks up there but R9 was my favorite.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the most successful Galactico for Real Madrid
At the start of his second spell as president in 2009, Perez revived the Galactico policy, headlining it with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka’s transfers.
Ravaged by injuries, Kaka could not live up to expectations at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ronaldo, on the other hand, cemented his name in Real Madrid folklore.
Between 2009 and 2018, Ronaldo scored 451 goals in 438 appearances across competitions for Los Blancos, becoming their leading scorer in history.
He helped the club to four Champions League trophies and two La Liga titles, amongst other honors, creating a legacy that seems destined to stand the test of time.
