The 5 best players Real Madrid never signed but should have

For a club the size of Real Madrid they have had countless legends walk in the doors of the Bernabeu and pull on the iconic all white kit and make history during their time at Real Madrid. Recent legends include the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, earlier ones like Raul, R9, Roberto Carlos and Zinedine Zidane, and even further back to the likes of Hugo Sanchez, Alfredo Di Stefano, and Ferenc Puskas, and many, many more not mentioned.

It's just how history plays out, the biggest and best players always end up playing for Real Madrid at some point in their careers. However there have been instances both in the modern game as well as older where players who are almost the picture perfect Real Madrid player, but the club doesn't end up signing them.

Real Madrid could have looked very different if they signed these players

Real Madrid is a club that loves to sign the best of the best in world football, but these are five of the best players that Real Madrid should have signed but for some reason didn't

1. Robert Lewandowski

One of and if not the best striker of this generation, Lewandowski is one of the most Real Madrid coded players that never ended up playing for Los Blancos. There was a time between about 2015-2018 were Karim Benzema wasn't producing the goals like we were all used to and Real became too reliant on Cristiano and Gareth Bale and could have used a goal poacher like Lewandowski and from what we saw at Bayern Munich and even Barcelona, he would have created and even deadlier attacking trio with Cristiano and Gareth Bale then what we saw with Benzema. Had Real signed the Pole when he was still in his prime at Bayern, it may have been more than a Champions League three-peat from Real Madrid.

2. Paul Pogba

Much like Lewandowski, Paul Pogba is one of the most Real Madrid coded players that never ended up wearing the famous all white kit. When we look back on Pogba's days at Juventus and the flair and flash he played football with it was the perfect kind of style to grace the pitch of the Bernabeu and give the fans the show they paid to see. The Frenchman would have brought a flair not seen at the Bernabeu since the early days of Cristiano Ronaldo, but ultimately he ended up signing for Manchester United despite interest from Real Madrid.

3. Neymar Jr

Once again, one of the most Real Madrid coded players that Real Madrid never signed. Much like Pogba the Brazilians style would have been the perfect style for Real Madrid who love to put on a show and would have been the perfect successor for Cristiano with his flashyness and output. The club even brought in Neymar for a trial when he was still a kid at Santos but we all know where he ended up signing.

4. Franz Beckenbauer

After a couple more modern players let's take a look back at one of the all time greats that was the perfect kind of player for Real Madrid but never ended up playing for the club, Franz Beckenbauer. The German is arguably the best defender the game has ever seen and was a serial winner that fin the culture of Real Madrid to a T. Beckenbauer three-peated the Champions League with Bayern from 1973-76 and had Real Madrid signed him back in the day, Los Blancos would no doubt have more than their 15 Champions League titles.

5. Diego Maradona

And finally we have Diego Maradona, one of the greatest players the game has ever seen. The Argentine was the best player in the world in the mid to late 1980s and would have been an incredible addition to Real Madrid. Partnering Maradona with Hugo Sanchez would have been a lethal attacking duo, one of the best in Real Madrid history and one fans would have loved to see. Maradona played for Barcelona from 1982-84 before his iconic move to Napoli but one would wonder how different the sport would have been had he moved to Real Madrid at some point in his career.