Real Madrid have managed to stay consistent in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League thanks to the creative signings they have made over the years. Here are the top 10 goalscorers of all time for Real Madrid in football history.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo - The Portuguese striker played 438 matches for Real Madrid in all competitions between 2009 and 2018, scoring 450 goals.
2. Karim Benzema - The French striker has announced that he will leave Real Madrid as a free agent in June 2023. During his 14 years at the club, he played 647 matches, scoring 353 goals. He scored 30 goals in 42 appearances in the 2022/2023 season. His last goal for Real Madrid came in a 1-1 draw against Athletic Club in round 38 of La Liga.
3. Raul Gonzalez - Spanish winger who scored 323 goals in 741 appearances between 1994 and 2010.
4. Alfredo Di Stefano - Retired Spanish striker is Real Madrid's fourth-highest goalscorer of all time. He played 354 matches for Real Madrid between 1953 and 1964 and scored 269 goals.
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Manchester United came up short in the FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.
As Manchester United's players trailed up the Wembley steps on their walk of woe to receive their FA Cup runners-up medals on Saturday, the gloating fans of their city rivals uncharitably rubbed salt into their wounds.
The chants from a half-full sky blue stadium alerting them to the fact that they aren't particularly good and they know they are - or words to that effect - lacked class and overlooked United's improvement under Erik ten Hag but underlined that to compete on the same level a substantial gap still has to be closed.
United did beat City in the league at Old Trafford in January - and made them sweat for the second leg of the treble in a frenetic finale at Wembley - but the overall comparison remains unflattering.
Phase one of United's rebuild under the determined Dutchman has served to show how much work there is to do in phase two.
“I have my ideas and I already told the club what we have to do for that but I have to work with my staff, with my players to be better next season,” said Ten Hag afterwards.
“We are in the right direction but there are occasions in the game, issues in the game, we have to improve, definitely, if we want to make the next step and win trophies.”
The pile of rubble that Ten Hag inherited has a discernible structure now but United remain hamstrung in important areas.
David De Gea can still be a fine shot-stopper - although he wasn't for Ilkay Gundogan's match-winner at Wembley - but United will never build anything coherent from the back with his cement feet.
Up front Marcus Rashford has contributed 30 goals this season but the next highest scorer is Bruno Fernandes with 14.
They need a top striker too. Add to that a long-standing request for a summer shopping list for United before a midfield upgrade for Fred and a return to action for a friendly against Lyon at Murrayfield on 19 July. An expensive proposition.
Harry Kane, Declan Rice and David Raya could all be rescued, but United would need to spend a lot of money to pull it off and the obvious takeover situation would be a potential handicap. .
Abram Glaser was at Wembley Stadium over the weekend. It remains to be seen if his family will continue to manage United next season.
Investment is also part of the big picture. Success doesn't come cheap. Since Sheikh Mansour took office in 2008, the city's net spending has stood at £1.26 billion.
Despite all the criticism of the Glazer family over the same period, United's figure is a whopping £1.1bn, but it's both smart and big spending that counts.
United don't always hit the mark, much less in terms of reinforcements.
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Anthony are disappointed after making big bucks (Image:
Getty)
Jadon Sancho, for example, didn't look like a £73million player this season. He certainly didn't do that at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Anthony, who missed out on a cup final due to injury, has also failed to live up to his £85m price tag since joining from Ajax.
As for the £80million Harry Maguire, his position as a club captain who is not trusted by his manager to start important matches has ensured his future at Old Trafford is unsustainable.
The next few months will be crucial for United with the decision to replace Mason Greenwood.
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