Real Madrid

By any measure of footballing greatness, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, better known simply as Real Madrid, are at or near the top. They are valued at over $6 billion with annual revenues of more than 840 million Euros. They’ve won it all, and they have it all, but as you’ll see, it wasn’t always like that.

Madrid FC was founded in 1902 and became Real (Royal) Madrid in 1920, thanks to King Alfonso XIII. In 1932, they became the first Spanish club to win the league title twice, but then came civil war and World War II. In 1943, Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste, a former player, became club president; if you recognize that name, it’s probably because their stadium is named in his honor.

Bernabéu ran the club for 35 years, until his death in 1978, and in the early part of his reign, they became the biggest club in the world. He rebuilt the stadium and training facilities, and when the European Cup was formed in 1955, Real Madrid won it the next year. Then they won it four more times for a five-year winning streak which has never been equaled and which resulted in the club being given the original European Cup for all time. They won the 1960 final, 7-3, over Eintracht Frankfurt before a crowd of 127,000 in Glasgow’s Hampden Park. That team, often called the best ever, included legendary names such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, and Raymond Kopa.

In all, Real Madrid have won the European Cup, now known as the UEFA Champions League, a record 14 times, including three in a row from 2016 to 2018. They have also won the Spanish La Liga title a record 35 times.

Just a list of some of their players is an encyclopedia of greatness: Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Luis Figo, Robinho, Sergio Ramos, Roberto Carlos, Kaka, Xabi Alonso… There’s a reason past teams have been called Galacticos.

There are two great rivals for Real Madrid, one across town and the other across the country — and across some kind of cultural and political divide which we can barely grasp.

Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid share El Derbi Madrileño, or the Madrid Derby. Aside from being in the same city, the history of the derby is about class (Real with the more prosperous fans) and politics (General Franco preferred Atletico until Real started winning everything), although today it’s just one big club and one intergalactic club in the same city.

In all, they have played over 200 times, with Real having the better record and Atletico managing more draws than wins.

The bigger rivalry, called El Clásico, is with Barcelona. And here we truly wade into a quagmire of history, culture and politics that includes the Spanish Civil War. Real Madrid are from Castile, Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, and not only are they the two biggest football clubs in Spain, they are two of the biggest clubs in the world. The record between them reflects this: to Real’s 35 league wins and 21 European trophies, Barca counter with 27 league wins, a record 31 domestic cup wins, and five Champions League titles.

As for El Clásico, it’s practically a tie.

Read more about Real Madrid Women here.

Here’s a video (with lyrics in English) of the main supporters’ song:

The Bernabéu has been the home of Real Madrid since 1947, and it currently holds just over 81,000 people — although the record attendance was 129,690 for a 1956 European Cup game against AC Milan. It was the first stadium in the world to host both a UEFA Euros Final (1964) and a World Cup Final (1982).

It recently underwent a massive renovation, the first such large overhaul since some boxes and other details were added some 20 years ago. Begun in 2019 and set to cost 575 million Euro ($615 million), it didn’t actually add capacity but installed a roof and many attractions for tourists, such as restaurants, a shopping center and a hotel.

The stadium has its own Metro train station and is also served by several bus lines. Across the street is a neighborhood filled with restaurants and bars filled with supporters before the game.

TOURS: Stadium tours cost €25 for adults and €15 for kids aged 5-14. Discounts are available if you book in advance on the club’s website.

GETTING THERE: We recommend using Google Maps to reach the Bernabeu.

PUBS & GRUB: The streets around the stadium are filled with bars and restaurants, and most of those spill out into the streets themselves. No matter the weather, Madrileños will be out in it, eating and having a cerveza. For me, the best option — if you can get a table — is the pizza just around the corner at Grosso Neapolitano. For a more destive and traditional scene, just get a ham sandwich (bocadillo de jamón) and take it in with you to eat it at halftime. Roughly 60 percent of the people in the stadium will do the same thing!

AROUND TOWN: Madrid is a super-established tourist destination, with the Prado Museum, Picasso’s Guernica, the National Palace, countless squares, flamenco dancers, evening strolls, the whole thing. We won’t attempt a tour here, but your author does live there and thinks the fried calamari at La Campana near Plaza Mayor shouldn’t be missed.

For groundhoppers, though, you might know that Getafe, Leganés, Atlético Madrid and Rayo Vallecano are also in town, and just for reference, Seville (with two clubs) is three hours by train, Valencia just over two, and Barcelona about three. And with London-to-Madrid roundtrip airfare under $200, one can easily begin to imagine a lovely groundhopping tour from England — especially with March and April highs there averaging 60 and above.

Here’s our travel guru, Rick Steves, with more: