El Derbi Madrileño

Lore & Background

The rivalry between the two clubs started at the very beginning of the twentieth century. Madrid Foot-Ball Club (founded 1902), the most powerful club in the Spanish capital, kept on making mergers and acquisitions of the best smaller clubs in the city, which subsequently disappeared. At the same time, Madrid FC also signed the best players from the clubs it did not absorb, which also made those clubs defunct when they were unable to compete against the Whites.

The main exception to this pattern was Athletic Club Madrid (founded 1903), who were able to keep most of their best players thanks to the financial aid of their 'parent', Athletic Club Bilbao, and so became the last stand against the Madrid FC supremacy in the capital. Many supporters of the clubs that had vanished due to the Real (a recognition given by the King of Spain to his favoured clubs, bestowed upon Madrid FC in 1920, rescinded by the Second Spanish Republic in 1931 and then restored by General Francisco Franco in 1940) therefore became supporters of the Red-and-whites, many harbouring dislike towards the 'royal' club and triggering the rivalry.

However, in terms of competitive honours won, Real Madrid were far above Athletic Madrid (who remained so named even after their separation from the original Basque club) until after the Spanish Civil War. After the war, during the early Francoist period, Atlético became associated with the military air force (and thus renamed Atlético Aviación), although the alleged preference of the regime for the club is subject to discussion, as after winning their very first league title in 1940, Atlético's coach Ricardo Zamora was jailed on charges of being a communist.

Reader's Guide

All matches as of 20 September 2026. Primera División matches: Head-to-head ranking in La Liga (1929–2026): Total: Atlético Madrid with 21 higher finishes, Real Madrid with 68 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2025–26 season). Domestic cups: In domestic cups, the two have been finalists on five occasions in the Copa del Rey in 1960, 1961, 1992, 2013 (all Atlético wins) and 1975 (Real Madrid win). In 1985, they met in the two-legged final of the Copa de la Liga with each winning their home leg, although Real Madrid prevailed on aggregate.

In 2014, they met in the two-legged final of the Supercopa de España: the first leg, at the Santiago Bernabéu, finished in a 1–1 draw, while the second leg, at the Vicente Calderón, ended in a 1–0 Atlético victory. With a 2–1 aggregate score, the rojiblancos won the title. They would once again meet in the one-legged final of the Spanish Super Cup in the 2019–20 season, with Real Madrid prevailing 4–1 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Copa del Rey matches as of 18 January 2024. Copa de la Liga matches. Supercopa de España matches as of 8 January 2026. European competitions: The two clubs met in the semi-finals of the 1958–59 European Cup.

Atlético had qualified as La Liga runners-up; the Spanish champions, Real Madrid, had already qualified as European Cup holders. The tie finished 2–2 on aggregate, and Real Madrid won the play-off game held in Zaragoza. Real then went on to win the trophy for the fourth consecutive time. The two clubs met in Lisbon for the 2014 Champions League final, making it the first time two clubs from the same city played in the final.

Real Madrid won 4–1 after extra time, earning their tenth European Cup after having last won in 2002. They met again in the quarter-finals of the 2014–15 Champions League. The score was 0–0 at the Vicente Calderón and 1–0 in favour of Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. The two rivals met again in Milan for the 2016 Champions League final.

After a 1–1 draw, Real Madrid won 5–3 on penalties. They met each other again in the semi-finals of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.

Did You Know?

• They also met in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, again the first time two clubs from the same city met in that event; it was won by Atlético.
• On 27 July 2019, the two clubs faced off in an off-season exhibition match in the United States, setting a record for the highest-scoring Madrid derby, with Atlético winning 7–3.
• Atlético's supporters accepted the nickname 'Indios' joyfully and have been using it until today.