Jude Bellingham shows Real Madrid’s shift from signing Galacticos to Golden Boy nominees

Real Madrid’s makeover from Ballon d’Or collectors to Golden Boy explorers is one of the most remarkable in football this century.

There was a time when President Florentino Perez came closest to being a chief scout by the television channels to see who was playing. The process of identifying the next signing often focused on watching Perez go to the World Cup or Ballon d’Or ceremony and sign the winners – usually breaking the transfer fee record.

Real Madrid’s transformation into the club likely to be ahead of the pack in pursuit of the next best thing has one lead architect: June Calafat.

Calafat grew up in Mostoles, the hometown of Iker Casillas just outside Madrid. He was a decent six-on-the-side player, but he was much better at spotting talent in others, seeing not just who was good, but who would get better and better and make it to the top.

He was at the club on a limited South American assignment when Madrid missed Neymar and had to make sure it never happened again.

Neymar underwent a medical to join Madrid in 2013, but the Santos star ended up at Barcelona as they could better navigate their way through the maze of commissions to bring the player in.

President, Perez was annoyed and sought revenge by making sure the next Brazilian wonder boy all ended up in Madrid. Calafat became Real Madrid’s head of international football and that was his mission.

Vinicius came in for 60m with 45m from Flamengo and Calafat also played a big part in the club signing Rodrygo Goes for a similar fee.

It was big money for kids and Rodrygo had only played 11 games for Santos, although he had scored 10 goals, but it was a ‘don’t let the next Neymar slip away’ operation and it worked.

There was another motivation behind the transfer policy change. The financial crisis meant that Madrid struggled to compete with the clubs driven by the wealth of the petrol state. They didn’t get richer, so they had to get smarter.

Fede Valverde came through in Uruguay’s Peñarol after standing out in the country’s legendary ‘baby football’ starting games from the age of 6. He was spotted by Calafat when he was 19 and he was persuaded to move to a Spanish-speaking country rather than England, where several big clubs promised him a fast-track route to the first team.

Not all youth deals have been successful. Brazil U-23 international Reinier Jesus is currently on loan at Girona and has not had much more success than he had on loan at Borussia Dortmund. Martin Odegaard and Take Kubo did well, but had to leave for that. But otherwise it’s almost 100 percent success rate.

This year, Madrid signed Felipe Endrick from Palmerias for 60 million euros. The 16-year-old will remain in Brazil for the rest of the season. And Calafat’s influence now extends beyond the borders of South America.

Any deal Madrid wants to make will depend to some extent on its ability to win over the player and his family.

He has been the man who has maintained the lines of communication with Mark Bellingham, the England player’s father, and if the deal closes this summer, his imprints will once again be triumphant.

In 2005, Bellingham would have been unwise to go to Real Madrid as a 19-year-old. The club was flooded with record signings, but failed to progress past the quarter-finals of the Champions League and was a no-go zone for young talents wanting game time.

Things have changed and the 14-time Champions League winners have a young squad to take them into the next decade. When Bellingham joins, he will be alongside Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni plus Valverde, Rodrygo and Vinicius. All under 25 and all brought to the club by Calafat, and revolutionizing the way Real Madrid sign players.