The football scene has always witnessed fierce competition between Real Madrid and Barcelona to sign the most prominent football stars of all time. Among these conflicts, the story of Johan Cruyff, the legend of Ajax and Barcelona, stands out, who was on the verge of joining Real Madrid before his destination changed to Catalonia to become a symbol of the Blaugrana.
There are many accounts about Cruyff’s move to Barcelona and refusal to join Real Madrid, as some believe that the player himself preferred to play for the Blaugrana, while others attribute it to economic reasons.
The beginning of the story
The roots of the story go back to 1970, when the Spanish Football Federation decided to suspend the signing of foreign players after Spain failed to qualify for the 1962 World Cup. In 1973, the ban was lifted and things returned to normal.
At that time, Vic Buckingham, the Barcelona coach, advised the club’s management to sign Cruyff, but the management did not respond. Cruyff continued with Ajax, winning the Champions League in 1971, 1972 and 1973, becoming the most prominent star in Europe, which prompted Santiago Bernabéu, the president of Real Madrid, to plan to sign him.
However, things were not easy. While Bernabéu succeeded in snatching many stars and depriving Barcelona of them, Cruyff’s story was different, as the player’s rights were owned by Ajax, who refused to give him up.
According to the French newspaper “L’Équipe,” Real Madrid offered 30 million Spanish pesetas, but Barcelona decided to pay 50 million with an annual salary of 5 million. The deal cost about 90 million pesetas, making Cruyff the most expensive player in the world.
This deal sparked widespread criticism against Santiago Bernabéu, questioning how money could be the reason for Real Madrid’s failure to sign Cruyff.
Opinions differed about the reason for the failure to complete the deal. Some said that Bernabéu refused to pay this large sum, while others indicated that the Ajax management preferred to deal with Barcelona and facilitate matters for them, while some believe that the decision came from Cruyff himself.
There is another reason that has not received enough attention, which is the “Santiago Bernabéu” stadium construction project, which opened in 1975, which may have been an obstacle to completing the deal.
In February 1974, Cruyff shone in the Barcelona shirt in El Clásico and led the team to a 5-0 victory over Real Madrid, confirming to Real Madrid that investing in him was the most important decision Barcelona had made in its history.
A historical moment in El Clásico
During one of the famous El Clásico matches, Cruyff received the ball outside the penalty area, dribbled with great technical skill, and then sent a dropping ball that completely passed the goalkeeper and was on its way to the empty net.
While the fans were celebrating the goal, a strong wind blew, unexpectedly returning the ball into the air, causing it to fall outside the goal amid everyone’s astonishment.
This goal was about to become one of the most beautiful moments of El Clásico, had it not been for that wind that changed the ball’s path.
Cruyff joined Barcelona and became a legend of the club, leaving an indelible mark on its history.
Cruyff the coach: The birth of “Tiki Taka”
After retiring from football, Cruyff returned to Barcelona in 1988 as a coach, to begin a football revolution that changed the club’s identity forever. Under his leadership, El Clásico was no longer just a competitive match, but became a “conflict of philosophies” between fun, attacking football based on possession and passing, and a more realistic style at Real Madrid.
Cruyff led the “Dream Team” that won four consecutive league titles (1991–1994) and achieved the first Champions League title in the club’s history in 1992.
In El Clásico, his team dominated with style before the result, providing technical displays that made the world watch Barcelona in a new way.
Cruyff and the eternal legacy in El Clásico
Cruyff’s influence was not temporary, but continues to this day. The style of Pep Guardiola, Xavi Hernández and Luis Enrique are all an extension of Cruyff’s philosophy that is rooted in “Camp Nou.”
Johan Cruyff was not just a great star or coach in the history of El Clásico; rather, he was a symbol of transformation. He transformed Barcelona from a club looking for an identity into a school of football, and made El Clásico a battle between creativity and discipline, between art and winning.
Perhaps the wind did not record his lost goal in one of the Clásicos, but it did not prevent his spirit from blowing in every pass and goal scored by Barcelona to this day.
source: 961 today
