Fulham and Real Madrid are two clubs that, on paper, couldn’t seem further apart. The former is a middle-of-the-pack Premier League side more accustomed to looking over its shoulder at the relegation zone than it is to looking up towards title contention. The latter is the planet’s biggest club and the Champions League’s record 15-time champions. This summer, however, the two sides have become somewhat intertwined as the Cottagers have looked to the Bernabeu for inspiration.
Now-former Fulham manager Marco Silva left the club at the end of last season following the expiry of his contract, opting to walk away from West London rather than penning a new deal. The club moved swiftly, appointing Alvaro Arbeloa as the club’s new boss. The Spaniard completed his maiden campaign in senior management last term, and he did so in charge of Real Madrid after stepping up from reserve team manager following the ill-fated six-month reign of Xabi Alonso.
Arbeloa Brings Royal Flair to Craven Cottage
The 43-year-old endured a miserable time in charge of Los Blancos, with dressing room disharmony ultimately resulting in the Spanish giants falling well behind archrivals Barcelona in the La Liga title race. Real President Florentino Perez promptly axed Arbeloa, appointing Jose Mourinho in his place. However, Fulham have provided an unlikely safety net for the inexperienced manager as he looks to salvage his coaching career.
Arbeloa immediately looked back toward the Bernabeu as he forked out £34m to secure the services of highly rated young striker Gonzalo Garcia. The Real academy product shot to prominence last summer as he netted four goals in six games, deputizing for the injured Kylian Mbappe at the 2025 Club World Cup.
2-0 Real at the half on another beautiful setup for another Garcia! pic.twitter.com/ejd0MXXmAx
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) July 5, 2025
He will be joined at Craven Cottage by another young Real star, César Palacios, who has also swapped the Spanish capital for West London for a fee of £8.5m. But, despite the slew of former Real Madrid names now residing at Craven Cottage, online betting sites still aren’t big on Fulham’s hopes for the upcoming 2026/27 Premier League season.
The latest Bovada soccer odds make the Cottagers a 9/2 shot to suffer relegation next season, the fifth shortest odds of anybody behind each of the three newly promoted teams, as well as last season’s surprise package Sunderland.
While this strange new corridor between Real Madrid and Fulham is somewhat unusual, Los Blancos’ dealings with the Premier League certainly aren’t. Over the years, the Spanish heavyweights have continuously snapped up the English top flight’s biggest and brightest talents, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, and Luka Modric all leaving Premier League clubs to head to the Bernabeu. But what about players heading in the opposite direction? Here are the Premier League’s best Real Madrid imports from over the years.
Mesut Özil Joins Arsenal
Back in 2013, Arsenal had never looked further away from title contention. Arsene Wenger had the club fighting for its life to somehow remain in the top four, despite operating on somewhat of a shoestring budget compared to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, both of whom were spending heavily. The Gunners, meanwhile, had to be somewhat more frugal as they continued to make loan repayments on their Emirates Stadium home, but that all changed on transfer deadline day.
The club hadn’t spent a penny all summer, while they had only spent £15m once in the previous four and a half years. Then, suddenly, the Gunners obliterated their transfer record when they signed Mesut Özil from Real Madrid, arguably the finest attacking midfielder on the planet, for a reported £42.5m. Fans were in genuine disbelief when news of the deal broke, with thousands flocking to the Emirates to welcome their new hero, and the German international wouldn’t take long to start repaying the sizable transfer fee.
Özil immediately led the club to three FA Cup triumphs in four years, the first of them ending the club’s nine-year wait for a piece of silverware. The former Werder Bremen man led the Premier League in assists in 2015/16 and scored a slew of stunning goals, with the incredible last-minute winner against Ludogorets in the Champions League one of the competition’s finest ever strikes.
Manchester City Shock the World by Landing Robinho
Manchester City’s emergence as a genuine superpower can be traced back to one specific day. September 1st, 2008. Transfer deadline day.
The Blues had forever lived in the shadow of cross-city rivals Manchester United, and, truth be told, never truly looked like competing with their neighbours. Then, wealthy investors from Abu Dhabi bought the club and their first order of business, within hours of taking over the club, was to sign Brazilian superstar Robinho from Real Madrid for a British-record £32.5m. The move took everyone by storm, none more so than the player himself, who famously thought he was signing for Chelsea, rather than the Blues.
Robinho didn’t truly set the world alight at the Etihad, netting just 16 goals in his two seasons before departing for AC Milan. However, the announcement of the deal is the reason why this transfer will forever live on in legendary status. Lowly Manchester City shockingly signing one of the planet’s very best strikers from the planet’s very biggest club from out of nowhere and announcing itself as the Premier League’s newest gatecrasher will never be forgotten.
