In a recent interview, Real Madrid Director Jeronimo Farre revealed why the club signed Cristiano Ronaldo to rival Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, rather than trying to lure Messi himself into the club as they have previously done with superstars like Luis Figo, Brazil’s Ronaldo and so on.

“If Messi hasn’t played in Madrid it’s because we’ve not been able to make it happen. Because he hasn’t been feasible or affordable,” Farre was quoted as saying by Goal, in an interview with El Mundo.
He further added: “The other megastar was Cristiano Ronaldo, and Madrid enjoyed his talent for nine seasons.”
“Real Madrid are the most successful team on the continent. We had our lean times, but we had Alfredo Di Stefano’s cycle with great players who gave us the first five European Cups. Under Florentino’s presidency, we’ve had another brilliant time with Raul, Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, [Gareth] Bale and, above all, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Their contributions have been crucial,” he concluded.
For more than the past couple of decades, Los Blancos have favoured a “galactico” transfer policy wherein the club bids for only the world’s biggest superstars of the sport. The star players themselves, more often than not, get lured by the prospect of playing with other stars, which then lead to them signing with the club.
The “Galactico” transfer policy has been responsible for much of Real Madrid’s recent success, including the four Champions League trophies they won in the past five years.
But Farre admitted that Messi is one of the very few legendary stars who they have never been able to buy, despite the immense success of their transfer policy.