5 worst Real Madrid signings 

Real Madrid have stamped their authority as one of the greatest clubs in the history of world football. Thanks to their immensely rich trophy cabinet, the Spanish club has become the pinnacle of the beautiful game at club football level.

Their success throughout the years is down to the plethora of legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul, Zinedine Zidane and many more, who have donned the famous white shirt. But, not every player has had the privilege of going down as a legend in the club's history books. Some deals have turned out to be disasters that Real Madrid would rather forget about.

That being said, here's a list of the 5 worst players ever to have played for this glorious club.

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#5 Antonio Cassano

Italian forward Antonio Cassano was quite lucky to don the famous white shirt of Real Madrid, albeit for just two years. He was infamous for his acrimonious attitude that led him to part his ways with AS Roma. He jumped at the chance to join Los Blancos when they forked out €5 million in 2006.

Why Real Madrid took a chance with the player is equally mysterious. They had a really good clue about his antiques, while the striker himself hadn't crossed the 20-goal mark even once in his career.

As expected, the move panned out to be horrible, with the club finding it difficult to handle Cassano's attitude. On his part, he found it extremely tough to book a berth in the starting XI and having constant fall-outs with manager Fabio Capello didn't help his case either

From 2006 to 2008, Cassano made only 19 appearances for Los Merengues, finding the net a paltry 4 times in the process. He left the club to join Sampdoria after serving a loan spell with them in his last year with Los Merengues.

#4 Fernando Sanz

Fernando Sanz rose through the youth ranks at Real Madrid

Fernando Sanz rose through the youth ranks at Real Madrid in 1996. However, the Spaniard was never able to establish himself as a starter at the Bernabeu.

What's more astonishing is that the center-back failed to grab a starting spot despite his father Lorenzo Sanz being the Real Madrid president during that tenure. To add to his woes, his brother-in-law, Michel Salgado made quite a name for himself at the Bernabeu.

With only 35 appearances under his belt, Sanz left Los Blancos for Malaga in 1999, where he scored his first professional goal. He retired in 2006 after a 7-year stay with the club.

#3 Julien Faubert

Julien Faubert was found dozing on the bench against Villareal

Another bizarre acquisition. Julien Faubert was lucky enough to play for Los Blancos, albeit he wasn't a proven winner.

Under contract with West Ham United, the Frenchman joined Los Merengues on a six-month loan in January 2009. However, he was never able to make it to the first team, appearing only twice in the famous white shirt during his loan spell at the club.

Faubert also faced criticism for dozing off on the bench in a game against Villareal. A fine example as to how insipid his tenure at Real Madrid was, isn't it?

#2 Jonathan Woodgate

Jonathan Woodgate's career was marred by injuries

Apart from one of the worst, Jonathan Woodgate would also go down as one of the strangest signings Real have ever made in their past. Despite his poor fitness record and absence on the pitch due to recurring injuries, the Englishman found himself in the dressing room at Santiago Bernabeu as Los Merengues forked out £13.4 million to sign him from Newcastle.

Needless to say, the decision backfired rather horribly. Woodgate scored an own goal on his debut against Athletic Bilbao, eventually being sent off in the fixture. At one point, he did establish himself as a regular starter for Real Madrid, but injuries wrecked his chances of becoming a great player at the club.

After 3 seasons, 14 appearances and a loan move to Middlesborough, Woodgate left Real Madrid with just one goal to his credit.

#1 Royston Drenthe

Royston Drenthe finalised a dream move to Real Madrid in August 2007, with Los Blancos paying €14 million to Feyenoord for his services. After marking his debut with an impressive 40-yard screamer, things seemed bright ahead for the Dutchman.

However, the left-winger started appearing less while a young Marcelo continued his growth in the ranks at Bernabeu. The Brazilian stole Drenthe's important minutes on the pitch, with manager Bernd Schuster opting to keep the latter on the bench.

He also suffered from anxiety issues after being booed by the fans in a game vs Deportivo and refused to play for the next three games. Eventually cracking under pressure at the Spanish capital, Royston Drenthe followed the exit door after loan spells with Everton and Hercules.

He scored only 4 times in 65 games for Los Merengues, going down as one of the biggest flops in their illustrious history.