Galáctico

Galáctico

Galácticos (Spanish for galactics, referring to superstars) are expensive, world-famous football players recruited during the "galácticos" policy pursued during Florentino Pérez's presidency at Real Madrid, where in his first tenure between 2000 and 2006 he purchased at least one galáctico in the summer of every year. The club's second galáctico era began in 2009 with Pérez's return to the presidency, and is considered to be more successful both economically and in terms of on-pitch achievements.The term itself carries both positive and negative meanings. Initially, it was used to emphasise the greatness of signing superstar players and the construction of a world-class team. Later the term attracted a more negative connotation; galáctico becoming synonymous with prima donna and used to deride the transfer policy and side (or team) built under it, following media perception that the policy at Real in the early 2000s had failed to deliver expected levels of success. The term has occasionally been used to describe other teams, both in football and in other sports, that have been perceived to follow a similar policy. For example, British rugby union commentator Martin Gillingham called French club Toulon "rugby's galácticos" in 2012 due to a wave of signings of international stars by owner Mourad Boudjellal.

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