Real Madrid Cf: Association Football Club in Madrid, Spain

It was started in 1902 and competes in La Liga (the Spanish top league). The "Real" in the club's name is Spanish for "royal", because it was blessed by the King of Spain in 1920.

Real Madrid

Full name	Real Madrid Club de Fútbol
Nickname(s)	Los Blancos (The Whites) Los Merengues (The Meringues) Los Vikingos (The Vikings) La Casa Blanca (The White House)
Founded	6 March 1902; 122 years ago (1902-03-06) as Madrid Football Club
Ground	Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
Capacity	81,044
President	Florentino Pérez
Head coach	Carlo Ancelotti
League	La Liga
2020–21	La Liga, 2nd of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Real Madrid has won La Liga 34 times and the Copa del Rey (King's Cup) 19 times, the most out of any team in the league. It has also won the UEFA Champions League a record 14 times and the UEFA Cup twice.

Real Madrid was recognised as the FIFA Club of the 20th Century on 11 December 2000, and received the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit on 20 May 2004. In June 2017, the team succeeded in becoming the first club to win the Champions League twice in a row. In 2018, Madrid made history by becoming the first club in recent history to win the Champions League three times in a row. They beat Liverpool F.C. 3–1 in the final.

Since it began, Real Madrid has since spent all of its history in La Liga, and has never been relegated down to a lower level. This shows how strong they have been just to stay in the top flight of Spanish football. In the 1940s, the club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva were rebuilt after the Spanish Civil War. The club became a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. In the 1980s, the club had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe (known as La Quinta del Buitre). They had won two UEFA Cups, five Spanish championships in a row, one Spanish cup and three Spanish Super Cups.

The club has bought many footballers, including David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Michael Owen, and Kaká. The most expensive player is Gareth Bale who was bought for 85.3 million pounds from Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.

The club's traditional home colours are all white. Its crest has been changed several times in attempts to modernise or re-brand. The current crest is a modified version of the one first adopted in the 1920s. Real's home stadium is the 81,044 capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, where it has played since 1947. Unlike most European football clubs, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club since it was opened. Real is the world's most valuable club. Real Madrid has won 34 La Liga titles.

El Clásico

There is a strong rivalry between the two strongest teams in La Liga, which are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, where the game between them is known as "El Clásico" ("The Classic").

Madrid Derby

The club's nearest neighboring club is Atlético Madrid, and matches between them are known as "Madrid Derby". A strong rivalry is shared between fans of both teams.

Current Squad

As of February 14 2024

•   record
• ^S shared record

Contracts

Former position