Real Madrid

Lore & Background

Real Madrid is one of the most successful football clubs in the world and the most decorated club in Europe. In Spanish domestic football, the club has won 71 trophies; a record 36 La Liga titles, 20 Copa del Rey, 13 Supercopa de España, a Copa Eva Duarte and a Copa de la Liga. In International football, Real Madrid have won a record 35 trophies: a record 15 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, a record six UEFA Super Cups, two UEFA Cups, a joint-record two Latin Cups, a record one Iberoamerican Cup, and a record nine world championships. Madrid has been ranked joint first a record number of times in the IFFHS Club World Ranking. In UEFA's club ranking, Madrid ranks first in the all-time club ranking. As one of the three founding members of La Liga never relegated from the top division along with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid has many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi Madrileño with Atlético Madrid. The club established itself as a major force in Spanish and European football during the 1950s and 60s, winning five consecutive and six overall European Cups. This success was replicated on the domestic front, with Madrid winning 12 league titles in 16 years. This team, which included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Paco Gento and Raymond Kopa, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest of all time. Real Madrid is known for its Galácticos policy, which involves signing the world's best players, such as Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to create a superstar team. In 2009, Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a record-breaking £80 million (€94 million) from Manchester United; he became the club's and history's all-time top goal-scorer. In addition to signing star players, Real Madrid develops homegrown talent through its academy, La Fábrica, which has produced notable graduates such as Raúl, Iker Casillas, and Dani Carvajal, and has supplied the highest number of players to Europe's top five leagues. Real Madrid was recognized as the greatest football club of the 20th century, receiving the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. Real Madrid has the highest number of participations in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (55), a tournament in which they hold the records for most wins, draws and goals scored. Real Madrid is the only club to have won three consecutive titles in th

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hummed over Benito Villamarín on a cold Tuesday night. Thousands of voices rose in unison, a sea of green and white drowning out the visiting noise. On the pitch, the ball moved quickly between midfielders, each touch weighted with history. When the whistle finally blew, the roar was not just for victory, but for defiance against the inevitable giants who had come to Seville expecting an easy night.

Reader's Guide

Real Madrid's origins go back to when football was introduced to Madrid by the academics and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, which included several Cambridge and Oxford University graduates. They founded (Sociedad) Sky Football in 1897, commonly known as La Sociedad. In 1900, conflict between members caused some to leave and create a new club, Nueva Sociedad de Football. Among the dissenters were Julián Palacios, recognized as the first Real Madrid president, Juan Padrós and Carlos Padrós. In 1901, this new club was renamed as Madrid Football Club. On 6 March 1902, after a new board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded. The Padrós brothers summoned other football enthusiasts to a meeting in the back room of Al Capricho. The brothers proposed the name, Madrid Football Club, which was unanimously accepted. The membership fee was set at two pesetas a month, and the color of the shirt was chosen to be white in honour of the English team Corinthian. In 1905, Madrid FC won its first title after defeating Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final. The club became one of the founding sides of the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 4 January 1909. After moving between several grounds, the team relocated to the Campo de O'Donnell in 1912. In 1920, the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after King Alfonso XIII granted the title of Real to the club. In 1929, the first Spanish football league was founded. Real Madrid led the first league season until the last match, a loss to Athletic Bilbao, meant they finished runners-up to Barcelona. Real Madrid won its first league title in the 1931–32 season and retained it the following year. On 14 April 1931, the arrival of the Second Spanish Republic caused the club to lose the title Real and the royal crown on its emblem, going back to being named Madrid Football Club until the end of the Spanish Civil War. Football continued during the Second World War, and on 13 June 1943, Madrid beat Barcelona 11–1 in the second leg of the Copa del Generalísimo semi-finals. The first leg, played at the Les Corts in Catalonia, had ended with Barcelona winning 3–0. Madrid complained about all three goals that referee Fombona Fernández had allowed for Barcelona, with the home supporters also whistling Madrid throughout. The newspaper Ya reported the whistling as a 'clear inten

Did You Know?

• Real Madrid's 2026–27 season is the club's 96th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football.
• The 2026–27 season is the first since 2012–13 without Dani Carvajal and the first since 2020–21 without David Alaba.

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