Real Madrid paid $100 million for these two players and now they're worth $2 billion

Real Madrid chiefs decided some time ago that it was time to renew the squad with young players who could become stars in the short term. That's why they spent a fortune to sign players under the age of 20, even though they knew they wouldn't be able to play in the main team for some time.

This is how stars like Federico Valverde, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga, who today are key players in Carlo Ancelotti's team and shine in La Liga and the Champions League, came to the Spanish side.

But undoubtedly the best examples are Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes. Both arrived at Real Madrid at a very young age and with just a few games in their previous clubs. For 'Vini' they paid almost $50 million to Flamengo in 2018, while Rodrygo cost about the same amount of money when he arrived from Santos in 2019.

In their first seasons in Spain, they did not have too much participation with the first team nor did they show great performances. In fact, both played a few games with Real Madrid Castilla, the club's subsidiary team competing in Spain's third division. But little by little they started to earn a place and now they are stars. In fact, in the 2021/22 season they were key to Real Madrid winning the Champions League: Rodrygo scored two goals against Manchester City in the semifinals and Vinicius netted the winning goal in the final vs Liverpool.

Now they are worth a fortune

Things not only went well for Real Madrid on the pitch, but also off it. The purchases of Vinicius and Rodrygo helped improve the team and were useful in winning titles, but they also meant big business. After paying almost $100 million, today both players are worth a fortune: their exit clauses are worth $1 billion.