When spending £80m on a superstar forward, breaking the previous transfer record in order to push the deal through, a lot is expected of that player. Time to settle is out of the equation - he is there for the here and now, rather than the future.
A case in point in many ways is Gareth Bale, whose impressive debut campaign - scoring crucial goals in two major cup finals - was not enough for him to truly win over Real Madrid supporters.
Finding the net occasionally was all well and good, but they wanted more. That has been no such problem for Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who made his long-awaited La Liga debut for the Spanish giants on this day in 2009.
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Two months after seeing the transfer saga draw to a close, with Manchester United finally relenting and allowing their superstar forward join his dream club, Ronaldo was able to put on the famous Los Blancos shirt and run out for a slice of competitive action.
The opponents on the day, Deportivo La Coruna, refused to roll over and tried their utmost to ruin the party for CR7. It was the man who the Portuguese surpassed as the world's most costly player, Brazilian playmaker Kaka, who started the game as the focal star.
Some poor defending allowed Kaka to carve open the oppositions' backline, with the ball falling nicely to a third Madrid debutant in Karim Benzema. The Frenchman could only hit the post with his effort, but Raul - a man who needs no introduction when it comes to making an impact - was there to tap home the game's opening goal.
Underlining Depor's ability to cause problems, just four minutes later the scores were level when an unmarked Riki was able to nod the ball past Iker Casillas. Then came the debut goal from Ronaldo, as Daniel Aranzubia brought down Raul inside the box, allowing the former Man United man to stroke home his first of many Madrid goals into the bottom corner of the net from the spot.
Mexican midfielder Jose Guardado stunned the home faithful when levelling up for a second time soon after the restart, yet this new Galacticos side - boasting €250m worth of summer signings - managed to steal the win on the hour through an unlikely source.
Forget Xabi Alonso, Benzema, Kaka and Ronaldo, it was another new recruit who found the winner - Lassana Diarra. The £18m signing from Portsmouth made no mistake when rounding Juca and firing into the bottom corner.
This new chapter in Madrid history was underway with a winning start in front of 78,000 spectators and even now, some six years on, Cristiano Ronaldo is still proving to be the star of the show.
Real Madrid XI: Casillas; Arbeloa, Albiol, Garay, Marcelo; Diarra, Alonso, Ronaldo, Kaka; Raul, Benzema
Deportivo XI: Aranzubia; Laure, Lopo, Ze Castro, Filipe Luis; Juca, Rodriguez; Alvarez, Valeron, Guardado; Riki
