"Los Blancos" redirects here. For the Argentine village, see Los Blancos, Salta
Football club
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal ☀️ maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol] ⓘ), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. ☀️ The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club ☀️ has traditionally worn a white home kit since its inception. The honorific title real is Spanish for "royal" and was ☀️ bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. Real Madrid ☀️ have played their home matches in the 83,186-capacity Santiago Bernabéu in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, ☀️ Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history. The official Madrid anthem is the "Hala ☀️ Madrid y nada más", written by RedOne and Manuel Jabois.[6] The club is one of the most widely supported in ☀️ the world, and is the most followed football club on social media according to the CIES Football Observatory as of ☀️ 2024[7][8] and was estimated to be worthR$6.07 billion in 2024, making it the world's most valuable football club.[9] In 2024, ☀️ it was the second highest-earning football club in the world, with an annual revenue of €713.8 million.[10]
Being one of the ☀️ three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929 ☀️ (along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona), Real Madrid holds 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 both Spanish and European football during ☀️ the 1950s and 60s, winning five consecutive and six overall European Cups and reaching a further two finals. This success ☀️ was replicated on the domestic front, with Madrid winning twelve league titles in the span of 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.[11][12] Real Madrid is known for its Galácticos policy, which involves signing the world's best ☀️ players, such as Ronaldo, Zidane and David Beckham to create a superstar team.[13] The term 'Galácticos policy' generally refers to ☀️ the two eras of Florentino Pérez's presidency of the club (2000–2006 and 2009–2024), however, players brought in just before his ☀️ tenure are sometimes considered to be part of the Galácticos legacy. A notable example is Steve McManaman, who like many ☀️ other players also succeeded under the policy.[14] On 26 June 2009, Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a record breaking £80 ☀️ million (€94 million);[15] he became both the club and history's all-time top goalscorer.[16][17][18][19] Madrid have recently relaxed the Galácticos policy, ☀️ instead focusing on signing young talents such as Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.[20]