England and Liverpool wonderkid Michael Owen joined fellow Englishman David Beckham at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium to become the latest Galácticos to play in La Liga. Real Madrid signed the Liverpool star for £8 million on 13 August 2004 and during his time with Los Blancos he scored 16 La Liga goals from 26 starts.

Following Madrid’s signing of two high-profile Brazilian forwards, Robinho and Júlio Baptista, in the summer of 2005, the speculation arose that Owen would return to the Premier League. Newcastle United broke the club record transfer fee when the paid Real Madrid £16.8 million for Owen’s signature.