Jude Bellingham has been amazing since signing for Real Madrid, but he’s not the only well-known player to excel immediately at a new team.

Jude Bellingham now resides at the Santiago Bernabeu. The English midfielder scored the game-winning goal against Getafe last weekend. As he celebrated in front of 90,000 adoring supporters, the majority of them joined in a stirring, if somewhat corny, rendition of “Hey Jude” as Los Blancos finished the match.

Despite only having been in the Spanish city for two months, Bellingham already stands out as one of the best purchases in recent memory. These claims are, of course, a little premature. From here, a lot may go wrong. However, this 20-year-old took Zinedine Zidane’s number and has lived up to the promise. That is not a simple task to complete.

Naturally, he is hardly the only player in recent memory to excel right away at a major club. The most successful teams in Europe have used fresh talent to achieve success.

Newcomers can – and have – made a significant impact from day one, as we have previously seen with the signings of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson that carried Liverpool to back-to-back major trophies or the extra edge that Erling Haaland brought to a Man City side that so desperately desired a Champions League title.

But who has generated the most buzz for a top team? And exactly how far have they brought their team? GOAL examines the ten most significant signings from the previous ten years.

Luis Suarez, July 2014, Barcelona to LiverpoolSuarez intended to join Arsenal at the end of the 2012–13 season, but Liverpool’s management persuaded him to stay for at least one more season. Naturally, he would go on to have one of the best offensive campaigns in league history at that moment, scoring 31 goals in 33 starts and helping Liverpool to an unexpected second-place finish.

Then it was obvious that he would leave. He also performed admirably in Catalunya. Suarez was the striker Barca was in desperate need of, and he completed the dangerous “MSN” combination that ravaged Europe for three years.

Suarez scored 25 goals, made 19 assists, and finished the season with three titles, including the Champions League, in his first season following his ban. Naturally, Messi received all the praise for Barcelona that year. However, Suarez’s prolific scoring in the second part of the campaign helped the Blaugrana to numerous significant victories.

Thanks to a productive stretch in Catalunya, he is currently recognized as one of the all-time greats of the game.

N’Golo Kante (August 2016 – Chelsea from Leicester)After winning the Premier League in 2016, Kante’s departure from Leicester shocked the team’s supporters. His departure, however, was unavoidable. Large teams were circling, and Chelsea simply made an offer that was too good for the Foxes to pass up, paying £32 million ($40 million) for his talents.

But the Frenchman had a different problem at Chelsea. Indeed, controlling the midfield for underdogs is one thing. Doing so for a squad that is consistently at the top is a whole different challenge. But Kante breezed through the chore with ease.

For Antonio Conte’s reorganized Chelsea, he and Nemanja Matic created a potent midfield partnership, and he served as a crucial cog in the 3-4-2-1 formation that dominated the Premier League. He won the Premier League during his first season in London, and three years later, he added the Champions League to his collection, securing his place among the all-time greats.

Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, June 2022, according to Erling Haaland

When City purchased the forward from Dortmund by meeting his €60 million (£53 million/$64 million) release clause, they essentially possessed the same lineup that had edged Liverpool to the title just one month earlier.

And it turns out that adding the most productive No. 9 in the world to a squad that is already capable of winning the Premier League is really quite successful. Haaland wasn’t really necessary for Pep Guardiola to win the Premier League; he had already done so for two years in a row without a known striker. Haaland was instead added to City to offer them a competitive edge in the Champions League.

He actually did that. Haaland was the ideal acquisition for City at the ideal time. Guardiola’s failure to bring the Champions League to Manchester was beginning to draw criticism, and with his contract set to expire at the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, it appeared like his time at the Etihad Stadium may be coming to an end. However, Haaland gave City life by scoring 56 goals and assisting in his team’s historic triple, which was the result of Sheik Mansour’s unrelenting investment.

Inter Miami (Lionel Messi, July 2023)Although Messi may not have chosen Miami as his first destination, he has spent the last two months acting as though he was made to wear South Florida pink. Perhaps it was inevitable that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner would succeed in America. He is the greatest player to ever play the game, after all. But no one could have predicted that he would elevate the league’s weakest squad to one of its best.

Since Messi first wore the shirt, the Herons have not lost, and they don’t appear to be losing any time soon. And Messi has been key to their success, tallying 11 goals and providing eight assists over the course of 11 games.

Though it’s possible that his influence on his teammates is even more astounding. Robert Taylor, a left winger, suddenly resembles a resurrected Pedro. DeAndre Yedlin has become his new right-back running partner. Due to a few standout performances behind the Argentine, young American midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi has forced his way into the USMNT picture.

Messi appears to be a brilliant move by David Beckham and company, especially with the addition of the first trophy in franchise history.