Galácticos

thumb|160px|Zinedine Zidane and [[David Beckham with Real Madrid in 2003. Both are examples of the Galácticos policy.]] ''''' (Spanish for galactics''', referring to superstars) are expensive, world-famous football players recruited during the "galácticos" policy pursued by Florentino Pérez during his presidency at Real Madrid, where in his first tenure between 2000 and 2006, he purchased at least one galáctico'' in the summer of every year. The club's second galáctico era began in 2009 with Pérez's return to presidency, and is considered to be more successful both economically and in terms of on-pitch achievements.

The term itself carries both positive and negative connotations. Initially, it was used to emphasise the greatness of the superstar players being signed and the construction of a world-class team. Later, the term developed a more negative connotation, with galáctico becoming associated with prima donna and being used to deride the transfer policy and team built under it, following media perception that the policy at Real in the early 2000s had failed to deliver the expected levels of success.