Alfredo di Stefano (1953-1964)
Even the Godfather of Real Madrid has to play second fiddle in this countdown, with Alfredo di Stefano being knocked off top spot as the club's greatest ever player.
There are many who regarded Di Stefano as the best all-round footballer to have ever played the game - the likes of Pele, Sir Bobby Charlton and Eusebio amongst them - and he is arguably the most influential figure in Real Madrid's illustrious history.
Di Stefano was the driving force behind Madrid's domination of Europe in the 1950s, scoring in all five of their successive European Cup final victories from 1955 to 1960, including a hat-trick in the 7-3 triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 - a performance considered to be amongst the best team displays in history.
The 'Blond Arrow' won eight La Liga titles in addition to those five European Cups, also helping the club to the Intercontinental Cup in 1960 and Copa del Rey in 1962 before leaving for a brief spell at Espanyol in 1964.
A two-time Ballon d'Or winner, Di Stefano scored 308 goals in 396 games for Madrid across all competitions - at the time a club record which has since been surpassed by only Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul.
The Argentine-born maestro also won five Pichichi trophies - including four in a row between 1956 and 1959 - despite often finding himself collecting the ball from his own goalkeeper before launching an attack.