Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the best football/soccer players of all time and one of the best athletes in sports. His stints at English giants Manchester United, Spanish giants Real Madrid, and Italian giants Juventus have made him a household name and he has displayed great performances for the majority of his career, no matter what club. But his stint at Real Madrid was the most successful part of his career. He helped Real Madrid have their most successful period in the 2010s and definitely earned his world record setting price tag ($90 million) in hindsight. He was notable for his pace, skills, physicality, and ability to shoot from any range. He scored 450 goals in 438 appearances and is the club's all time top scorer, breaking records during his 9 year stint at the club whether as a left winger/forward or a central forward. He helped Real win 4 Champions League trophies in 2014 and a 3-peat in the years 2016-2018 with him also developing a great trio with Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale with each using their best skills and attributes to score goals and win important games for the club. Cristiano has the most goals in a single Champions League campaign (17 goals in the 2013/14 season), won 4 more Ballon D'or awards during his Madrid stint, had 61 goals in the 14/15 season, the most for his career in a season, the all time top scorer in Champions League history (143 goals in 180 appearances) and also scored 69 goals in the 2013 calendar year, the most for his career in a single year.

Ferenc Puskás

Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian was a central forward. He was tasked to score many goals throughout his career. He joined Real Madrid in 1958, where his most successful club career would happen. He would contribute to their success in 1950s-60s, helping Real win their 3rd,4th,and 5th European cups and 5 consecutive league titles in the first half of the 1960s. He scored 242 goals in 262 appearances. He holds the records for scoring the most amount of goals with 7 goals in 3 European Cup/Champions League finals with 4 being against German club Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 final, and holds the record for being the oldest player to score for Real Madrid in an official Spanish league match

Alfredo Di Stefano

Di Stefano was an Argentine player that played as a central forward. He would be one of the first notable players for Madrid and in football around the 1950s. He spent 11 years at the club, contributing to the first period of success in their history. Di Stefano would form a duo with Puskas, with both helping each other and their teammates win league titles, other domestic trophies, and European Cups in the 1955-60 seasons. He was the leading top scorer for Real Madrid in the league itself for around 4 consecutive years (1955-1959). He also scored 7 goals in 5 European Cup/Champions League finals.

Hugo Sanchez

Hugo Sanchez was a Mexican central forward for the club in the 1980s. He would join a Madrid that was on the decline in 1985. In his 7 year stint, he and 5 academy-graduate players at the time helped Real Madrid bounce back in the domestic league and tournaments. While he didn't win the European Cup/Champions League with the club, he still had a successful with him being the top scorer for Real Madrid and in the league itself for 4 consecutive seasons, which held the record for amount of times a player in the Spanish league was the highest scorer in the league until it was broken in 2021. He also held the record for having the most goals (38) in a single campaign in the 1989/1990 season until it was broken by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2011. Although, the most impressive thing and a record that hasn't been broken is that he scored all of these goals with one touch, meaning from any range or position in the field, he shot at goal with him touching the ball only once.

Raul

Raul was a Spanish football player that was from the Real Madrid academy and not bought from another club. He's one of the most notable homegrown player, but what makes him stand him out is that he stayed and was consistent for 15+ years at the club. He helped the team with his clinical finishing in the goal box and scored some important goals that helped Madrid win trophies (6 league titles and 3 Champions League wins) throughout most of his stay at the club whether as a starter or a substitute player. He stayed from 1994 to 2010, holding the record of the club for having the most appearances for them and is the 5th top scorer in Champions League history with 71 goals in 142 appearances.

Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas isn't like the other players where they're tasked to score, pass, assist, or carry the ball forwards, he had the tasks to stay in position at the end of the team's third in order to protect the goal and prevent the other team from scoring (Goalkeeper). Like Raul beforehand, Casillas came from the club's academy and was integrated into the first team in 1999. Casillas was integral to helping his club Real and the Spanish national team in winning many trophies. He had the nickname of "San Iker" (Saint Iker) because of the incredible saves he was able to do for Real Madrid and Spain. His saves and consistency over the years made him be considered for one of the best goalkeepers of all time and was the best goalkeeper at times(2007-12). He's second in most appearances for the club (725 appearances for the club) and made himself a legend throughout the majority of his career.

Sergio Ramos

Sergio Ramos is a Spanish central defender. He was the main defender for Real Madrid for almost 2 decades when he joined in 2005 and stayed until 2021. He has one of the most illasterous careers for a defender, winning the important trophies for both club and country. He's in the top 20 for Real Madrid in terms of goal scoring with 101 goals in 671 appearances, impressive for a defender. But his defending attributes are what also made him great with his tackles, aerial duels, interceptions and clearances that made him one of the best defenders of all time and the best for his generation. He was integral to Real Madrid winning the 3-peat in 2016-2018 with his heroic tackles as he was part of the back 4 defending the goal. He was in the World Best 11/considered one of the best 11 players in the world 11 times ( 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) and was in the World Cup 2010 All Star team for his impressive performances at the great performances at the biggest stages and tournaments in the sport and in sports as a whole.

Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane was an attacking midfielder. He was part of the "Galactico" signing policy, where he was already established prior to joining Real Madrid and was considered the best in his position was bought for a large fee in 2001. He would immediately make an impact as in his first season, he lead the team to the club's 9th Champions League trophy, especially with a stunning goal in the 2001/02 final against Bayer Leverkusen. He was known for his ball touch, dribbling skills, and passing, which he utilitized in his Madrid stint. While not successful in terms of trophy and award cabinet like the others before, he still had a great stint due to his playstyle fitting with the club and contributing to some iconic moments of the club. He is recognized as one of the greatest, if not the greatest midfielder of all time for his achievements and winning the most important trophies in the sport.

Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema is a French central forward. He was part of the big summer 2009 signings that was set to begin a new era for Real Madrid. He was decent or very good for the club with him contributing to the team's trophy wins and league wins with him mostly assisting the other forwards in the first 8 years of his tenure at the club. He had great passing, ball touch and developed a duo with fellow 2009 transfer signing, Cristiano Ronaldo since Benzema assisted or passed the ball to Ronaldo alot. When Gareth Bale joined in 2013, Benzema, Bale, and Cristiano developed into an intimidating trio with them winning 4 Champions League trophies during the time the trio existed at the club(2013-2018) with many goals and were assisting each other almost every game. Benzema provided more assists than any other player Ronaldo had played with before and after his Real Madrid stint. When Ronaldo left in 2018, Benzema stepped up to help the team and was the best forward for the club from 2019-2022. His most impressive season was in 2021/2022, where he had 44 goals in 46 appearances and helped the team win the league and the Champions League and won the Ballon D'or as a result of his impressive performances and output. He's second in terms of all time top scorer of the club with 354 goals in 648 appearances, behind fellow ex-teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. Benzema has the most assists in the club's history, which is impressive considering he's a central forward and not a midfielder or winger, whom are usally known in football/soccer to provide the most assists. He also is in 5th place in terms of record for most appearances for the club (2019-2023), the 4th top scorer in Champions League history with 90 goals in 152 games and one of the few players to have 15 goals for a single Champions League campaign in the 2021/22 season.

Luka Modric

Luka Modric is a Croatian midfielder. He joined in the summer of 2012, arriving with the transfer fee of $30 million. He's known for having great skills, passing range, shooting and being great with set pieces (corners, free kicks, and throw-ins). He has been consistent throughout his Real Madrid stay. He helped and contributed to Real win their 10th Champions League trophy, 3-peat(2016-18),the 2022 Champions League, and the 2024 Champions League with his assists to goals in the 2014 and 2017 Champions League finals. He won the Ballon D'or in 2018 because of his performances for the Croatia national team at the 2018 World Cup and for his performances at Real Madrid. He's the only one that's active as of this writing, most likely in his last season but he has been able to contribute to the team's goals still, which is impressive since he's 39 and has been great in his late 20s and his 30s. He's one of the few players with the most Champions League wins (6) tied with fellow teammates Kroos and Carvajal.