Real Madrid was unable to compete financially with Manchester United to lure world-record signing Paul Pogba, according to former president Ramon Calderon.
Having already spent £56 million ($74 million) on Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the summer, United splashed out £89 million (£118 million) to bring Pogba back to Old Trafford.
Madrid and manager Zinedine Zidane, Calderon says, were keen to make the signing but were unable to match the formidable spending power of Jose Mourinho's side.
"There's a big difference, and that's the TV rights," Calderon told Newsweek. "The Premier league gets five times more money than La Liga. That's going to be a problem, not only with coach[es] but also players.
"We have seen this year with Pogba as a target for Real Madrid but they couldn't [sign him]. Normal behavior of the current president [Florentino Perez] is spending more money than anyone else, and Zidane said that he want the player but they didn't because they couldn't."
Real Madrid is used to being the powerhouse when it comes to expensive player acqusitions having broken the world transfer record five times since the turn of the century.
Pogba's transfer usurped Gareth Bale's £85 million ($113 million) switch from Tottenham Hotspur to the Bernabeu in 2013, also overseen by Perez.
Four years earlier, during Calderon's presidency, Madrid broke the record twice in one summer by signing Brazilian Kaka from AC Milan for £56 million ($74 million), and then Cristiano Ronaldo from United for £80 million ($106 million).
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
