Just how did Los Blancos manage to raise such gargantuan sums in this tight market? And, what makes them so sure that they can smash the transfer record twice (maybe three times) in the same year and still come out smelling of roses?

A few years from now, will the same adoring fans and the ridiculously pro-Madrid tabloids (AS and MARCA) berate Floentino Perez for sinking the institution that was Real Madrid? Are Real Madrid going the Leeds United way? Is Senor Perez doing a Peter Ridsdale?

Not likely, according to most financial and marketing analysts. The ethics and morals of such massive deals during times of unprecedented crisis make for an entirely valid argument, but that is reserved for another discussion.

Also, the technical qualities of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo are beyond the scope of this article. I'm assuming that both are untalented/semi-talented, and that all they can do is sell jerseys.

Real Madrid are one of the few clubs in the world (apart from AC Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United and Liverpool) that have the marketing infrastructure to reap the benefits of such a deal. If Manchester City were to try this, they would probably not generate nearly enough financial traction from such a deal.

On the other hand, by all accounts, Real Madrid are comfortably expected to sell a million-and-a-half jerseys in the next two years alone at an average price of €90, recouping nearly all of the fees paid for Kaka and Ronaldo. The crucial fact here being that they already have a global appeal and marketing infrastructure in place to reap the financial benefits from such audacious deals. 

As mentioned earlier, Madrid are not the only ones who have this marketing machine behind them. So, why can't Manchester United offer those numbers for some of their targets? 

The club have a similar global stature and have been far more successful over the last three years in sporting terms. The answer lies in television revenues.

While Madrid can, and have, negotiated their own television contracts, United rely on the English Premier League to do this and consequently share (albeit unequally) their TV revenues with the league's other clubs. To put the effect of this in perspective, United make just half of what Madrid make in TV revenue.

In fact, the Spanish bank that extended the loan for these deals is reported to have said that if any other club or individual can furnish the same collateral (i.e. TV contracts with assured revenues), they would cheerfully extend similar loans to them, too.

Sadly, even if this TV deal business is sorted out, the likes of United and Liverpool aren't likely to be bidding big money for their transfer targets. Their recent takeovers have been fueled by significant leverage, making it far more risky to pull off such mega transfers.

In contrast, Real Madrid are owned by the socios or the members, hence the debt on the club's books is used purely to cater to the ongoing needs of the club and not as a result of an acquisition.

The billionaire-fueled newly-richclubs, like Manchester City, don't have the infrastructure to benefit financially from a mega deal, and the Uniteds and Liverpools don't have too little TV revenue and too much takeover-related debt to pull off such a mega transfer.

Until such time as this changes, Real will continue to make hay. No club is loved or hated by fans around the world in equal proportion. Most of the club's fan base (outside of Spain) is in South America, Portugal and France.

The Kaka and Ronaldo transfers will have the effect of further boosting the Real brand, causing young footballers in these nations to grow up dreaming of Real. This is a less obvious aspect that Senor Perez and Co. refer to when they over-use the phrase investment while discussing these transfers.

So, this whole article seems to underscore what many have voiced openly; Florentino Perez is an evil genius, maybe Satan himself!

Furthering the angst of football-loving Real haters is the thought of Ronaldo and Kaka (and possibly Franck Ribery or Karim Benzema) prancing around the Bernebau turf showing off their stepovers, flicks and DIVES.

So, for the benefit of the millions of Real haters the world over, what CAN go wrong? Lots.

Firstly, Real might alienate a huge portion of their fan base who are shocked by the club's opulent spending with no sensitivity to their fans' personal financial crises.

This is a real risk and one which Perez  might not have anticipated. Another risk (though less probable) is that the Galacticos empire might implode, resulting in a pathetic on-the-field showing, thereby reducing Real to a laughing stock in the footballing world.

This would make it so embarrassing for fans to be caught wearing a Real jersey that shirt sales would virtually dry up, causing Perez's master plan to go bust.

While this would not pauper the Los Blancos, it would shrink their resources severely, making them virtually impotent in future transfer windows.

Only time will tell how this one will pan out. While we're waiting, enjoy the spectacle on offer at the Santiago Bernabeu.