Real Madrid CF

"Real Madrid" redirects here. For the basketball team, see Real Madrid Baloncesto. For other uses, see Real Madrid (disambiguation).
"Los Blancos" redirects here. For the Argentine village, see Los Blancos, Salta.

Real Madrid
Full nameReal Madrid Club de Fútbol[1]
Nickname(s)Los Blancos (The Whites)
Los Merengues (The Meringues)
Los Vikingos (The Vikings)[2]
La Casa Blanca (The White House)[3]
Reyes de Europa (Kings of Europe)[4][5]
Madridistas (supporters)[6]
Short nameRMA
Founded6 March 1902; 122 years ago (1902-03-06) (as Madrid Football Club)[7]
GroundEstadio Santiago Bernabéu
Capacity85,000[8]
PresidentFlorentino Pérez
Head coachCarlo Ancelotti
LeagueLa Liga
2023–24La Liga, 1st of 20 (champions)
WebsiteClub website
Current season
Active departments of Real Madrid
Football Football B Football C Football U-19
Women's Football Women's Football B Basketball Basketball B
Closed departments of Real Madrid
Handball Rugby Volleyball

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol] ⓘ), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club compete in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club have traditionally worn a white home kit. The honorific title real is Spanish for "royal" and was given by King Alfonso XIII in 1920, as well as the crown being added to the club crest. Real Madrid have played their home matches in the 85,000-capacity[8] Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history. Its anthem is the "Hala Madrid y nada más".[9]

Real Madrid is recognised as the greatest football club of the 20th century by FIFA and the best European club of the same era by the IFFHS.[10] In 2004, they were awarded the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit.[11] Real Madrid, along with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, is one of the three La Liga clubs that has never been relegated since the league's start in 1929. The club has notable rivalries, particularly the El Clásico with Barcelona and the Madrid derby with Atlético Madrid. In the 1950s and 60s, Real Madrid became a powerhouse in Spanish and European football, winning five consecutive and a total of six European Cups, as well as 12 league titles in 16 years. This legendary team, featuring players like Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, and Paco Gento, is widely lauded.[12] Real Madrid is famous for its "Galácticos" policy, where they sign top global stars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and David Beckham, particularly during Florentino Pérez's presidency.[13] In 2009, they signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a record £80 million, who went on to become the club’s and football’s all-time top scorer.[14] More recently, the club has shifted its focus to signing and improving young talents like Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, and Jude Bellingham.[15]

In domestic football, Real Madrid has won 71 trophies, including a record 36 La Liga titles, 20 Copa del Rey titles, and 13 Supercopa de España titles.[16] Internationally, the club has claimed a record 34 trophies: a record 15 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 eight FIFA Club World Cup titles.[note 1] The club has the most participations in the European Cup/Champions League and holds records for the most wins and goals scored.[20] They are the only team to win three consecutive Champions League titles, in both the 1950s and 2010s. In June 2024, they won their 15th Champions League title, extending their record, and became the first European club to win 100 trophies across all competitions.[21] Real Madrid was ranked first in the IFFHS Club World Ranking in 2000, 2002, 2014, and 2017[22] and currently tops UEFA’s all-time club rankings.[23] As of July 2024, Real Madrid ranks second in the UEFA club rankings and first for the past decade.[24]

Real Madrid is one of the most widely supported football clubs globally and the most followed on social media.[25] In 2024, the club was valued at $6.6 billion, making it the world’s most valuable football club.[26] That same year, Madrid became the first football club to generate €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in revenue.[27]

  1. ^ "Real Madrid Club de Fútbol" (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Profesional. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Los vikingos arrasan Europa". Ligadecampeones.com. 23 November 1960. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  3. ^ The White House:
  4. ^ "Real Madrid remind the world they are, and always will be, the Kings of Europe". goal.com. 28 May 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Kings of Europe more than ever". marca.com. 27 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  6. ^ "From Handel to Hala Madrid: music of champions". UEFA.com. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Real Madrid turns 106 (I) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "Mundial 2030: España. Santiago Bernabeu (85.000 espectadores)" (in Spanish). Diario MARCA. 5 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  9. ^ Hala Madrid...y nada más (feat. RedOne), 27 May 2014, archived from the original on 25 March 2023, retrieved 23 June 2023
  10. ^ "The FIFA Club of the Century" (PDF). FIFA. 1 December 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  11. ^ "FIFA Centennial Orders of Merit". FIFA. 20 May 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Real Madrid 1960 – the greatest club side of all time". BBC. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  13. ^ Rai, Guillermo. "How to manage Los Galacticos. By Vicente del Bosque". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  14. ^ Bhargav (8 December 2021). "Ranking the 10 greatest Real Madrid players of all time". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Jude Bellingham: Why Real Madrid move makes 'perfect sense'". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  16. ^ "World Football: The 11 Most Successful European Clubs in History". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  17. ^ Press Association Sport (27 October 2017). "Man United retrospectively declared 1999 world club champions by FIFA". ESPN FC. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ibero-American 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ibero-American 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ UEFA.com. "All-time stats & rankings | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Most wins of the football (soccer) European Cup / Champions League (team)". Guinness World Records. 28 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  22. ^ "Former Results". IFFHS (in German). 18 July 2022. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  23. ^ "UEFA Champions League statistics 2022–23 handbook – All-time records 1955–2022" (PDF). UEFA. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  24. ^ "UEFA rankings for club competitions". UEFA. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Social media: Real ahead of Barcelona - CIES Football Observatory". football-observatory.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  26. ^ Ozanian, Mike; Tietelbaum, Justin (23 May 2024). "The World's Most Valuable Soccer Teams 2024". Forbes. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Real Madrid first club in world to report €1bn in revenue". ABC News. Retrieved 24 July 2024.


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