Club foundation

The Sky Football Club, the forerunner of the Madrid team, was founded in 1896. However, the Madrid Football Club was formally founded on March 6, 1902, by brothers Padros and Julián Palacios. King Alfonso XIII of Spain gave the team the name “Royal,” which sounds like “Real” in Spanish, on June 29, 1920. Real Madrid is the current name of the organization.

The team started out as the dominant force in Spanish football, reaching the national cup final in 1903 before falling to Athletic Bilbao. A few years later, Madrid won the Spanish Cup four times in a row, leaving a lasting imprint on the city. The Spanish championship took place only in the 1928/29 season, before that, the clubs defined the strongest region. “Madrid” (from 1920 – “Real Madrid”) has scored 16 times in the metropolitan area.

When the decision was made in the mid-1950s to create a continental football federation in Europe, which would organize the regular games of clubs and national teams, Real Madrid was not the main authority in Spain. However, it was Real Madrid who won the league in the 1954/55 season, becoming the first Spanish delegate to the European competition. From that moment on, Real Madrid consolidated its position at the top of Europe for five years.

The successes in the international arena were also accompanied by victories in the national championships, including 12 in the years 1954-1969. For a decade and a half, it has been proven that if Madrid had lost the league at home, they would certainly have been champions. Cup. So, for 15 years in a row, they regularly took part in the most prestigious European tournament, the first time they took part in it only in 1970. 1959), French Raymond Kopa (Golden Ball 1958), Hungarian Ferenc Puskas (second European football player 1960), Francisco Gento – six-time winner of the Champions Cup. In the mid-1960s, José Santamaria, Amancio, Pirri, Miguel Angel were in the company of the “living” gento.

The winning traditions in Europe were lost when the veterans left. A new generation led by Emilio Butragueno arose after nearly twenty years, and its closest allies were Michel, Hugo Sanchez, Manolo Sanchis, Martin Vasquez, and Miguel Pardes. They have won five straight league championships and two UEFA Cups.

1970 – 1990

Real Madrid celebrated a resounding 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the 1973–1974 Spanish Cup final in the middle of the 1970s. Uli Stielike and Juanito were acquired by Real Madrid in 1978, and despite having quite different playing philosophies, they both spent many years as Madrid supporters’ idols. Madrid defeated Castill 6-1 in the National Cup championship match on June 4, 1980.

Real Europa made another memory the following year by winning the European National Champions Cup. Madrid, under the direction of Vujadin Boskov, battled hard against Liverpool but fell short 1-0. Real Madrid added Martin Esker, Michel, Sanchis, and Emilio Butragegno to the roster in December 1983, and Alfredo di Stefano took over as the team’s coach. Butragegno immediately rose to the status of the team’s emblem.

Ramon Mendoza took over as president on May 24, 1985, and his tenure will be distinguished by notable accomplishments. Madrid won the UEFA Cup in 1985 and 1986, defeating Videoton and Koln in the championship match. Real Madrid played with more desire at home since it appeared that their players could recuperate irrespective of the outcome.

They once pulled off an incredible feat: Madrid scored four goals without conceding at the Santiago Bernabeu to advance to the next round after falling to Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-1. Jorge Valdano, who had previously enjoyed success coaching Tenerife, took over as Real Madrid coach after a few rather dismal seasons. Redondo, Laudrup, Amaviska, and Kike Flores were given spots on the main team by the mentor.

On January 8, 1995, Valdano’s team defeated Barcelona 5-0 to win the league match and go on to win the league championship. The following year, Real Madrid struggled, and in July 1996, the renowned Italian Fabio Capello took over as coach. A number of new players have been added to the lineup, including Seedorf, Mijatovic, and Roberto Carlos. For Capello’s side to claim the championship, one season was sufficient. Real Madrid defeated Juventus 1-0 in the decisive match to win the Champions Cup for the eighth time in May 1998. A few months later, they also won the Intercontinental Cup with Vasco da Gama.

After the unsuccessful season of 1998/1999, the management of Real Madrid decided to transfer the position of head coach to Vicente del Bosque and they did not disappoint: the club won the Champions Cup for the eighth time, defeating Valencia (3-0) in the final. fit. Raul turned out to be the true leader of the team. In 2001, Real Madrid won the national title for the 28th time.

Perez Presidency

The ambitious Florentino Perez [7] became the new president and decided to unite the best players in the world in Real Madrid. Perez started his career by buying Portuguese Luis Figo from FC Barcelona for a record 71 million euro [8]. A year later, Zinedine Zidane joined the ranks of Real Madrid, for which he paid Juventus even more – 75 million. A year later Ronaldo came from Inter, in the summer of 2003 – Beckham, 2004 – Owen.

The four players who won the Golden Ball played together in the 2004/05 season: Ronaldo (the best footballer in the world in 1997 and 2002), Zidane (1998), Figo (2000), Owen (2001). This star cluster became known as “Galacticos”. In more than five years of Perez’s tenure (he resigned in February 2006), Real Madrid was a two-time Spanish champion and only won the UEFA Champions League once (in the 2001/2002 season).

Calderon Presidency

After Florentino Péreza, Ramon Calderón was elected president of Real Madrid, whose leadership style differed from that of his predecessor. Calderon did not intend to buy the best players, although his campaign promise was to buy Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaki, which he failed to deliver. The new president undertook, above all, to organize and rejuvenate the then difficult period of composing.

During Calderon’s presidency, Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Robinho, Ronaldo, the entire “legacy” of Perez, were sold, although successful purchases were made during the reign of Calderon: Van Nistelrooy, Cannavaro, Higuain, Sneijder, Pepe.

The most important change, however, was that of the head coach: Capello, a strong and independent specialist, became one again. In the example, the first season brought a “cream” victory, but in the Champions League the team again “stumbled” in the 1/8 finals and lost in total to Bayern Munich (final result – 4: 4).

At the end of the first season, Real Madrid management fired the Italian coach, despite winning the Spanish title for the first time in four years, describing the decision as “a dead team”. German specialist and trainer Getafe Bernd Schuster took over as head coach. With Germany, Los Blancos won the Super Cup and secured the Spanish League which was won earlier than expected.

So in El Clasico (score – 4: 1), which was held at the Santiago Bernabeu, in line with the Spanish tradition, Barcelona’s players had to welcome the first champion “live” with a corridor and applause. However, there was still no progress in the Champions League.

In the 1/8 finals, the team was eliminated from the tournament by the Italian Roma (2: 4 in total). In 2009, Ramon Calderon resigned due to the 2006 election fraud scandal. During Calderon’s four-year term, Real Madrid won the Spanish League twice in a row and won the Super Cup once.

Stadium

The new stadium was given the name “Santiago Bernabeu” in honor of the Real Madrid president who presided over the project from 1943 to 1975. Building took three years. On December 14, 1947, the hosts won a friendly match against the Portuguese club Belenenses 3-1. This was the first game of the season.

Real Madrid’s success in the next European Cup in the 1950s enhanced the club’s profits, enabling the stadium’s capacity to be raised to 125,000. The new stadium is known for its white towers. The stadium was renamed the Santiago Bernabeu in 1955, and for the European Cup final in 1957, the headlights were turned on for the first time.

The Bernabeu, who passed away in 1978, attempted to construct a new stadium north of Madrid but was unsuccessful. However, the Santiago Bernabeu was reconstructed in time for the 1982 World Cup. It is now furnished with seating for 30,200 people as well as 60,000-person standing platforms. The three group games and the stunning final drew 345,000 fans in total.

After ten years, reconstruction is now in progress. The stands’ third level has been finished. With a capacity of 105,000, the seating capacity increased to 65,000. The stadium was further renovated, improving comfort while reducing capacity to 74,871 people.

Both the 2010 UEFA Champions League final and the 1964 European Championship final were held at Bernabéu. The Bernabéu received the designation of a premier football stadium from UEFA on November 14, 2007.

Finance and property

According to BBDO, Real Madrid was named the most valuable football brand in Europe in September 2007. Real Madrid was valued at $1.323 billion by Forbes magazine in 2010, putting the team in second place behind Manchester.

Real Madrid led the globe in soccer ticket sales in 2010. Real Madrid’s administration revealed plans to launch its own theme park in 2013 in September 2009. Real Madrid became the first team in Spain to earn more than 400 million euros in 2010, according to Deloitte, with revenues of 401,000,000 euros.

The club is a non-profit sports organization that is owned by supporters (or “socios”) who make hefty yearly donations and hold the title of “club member.” The president is chosen through a vote. The group has 60,000 social activists in 2010.

Real Madrid’s management revealed that the team had a net debt of 244.6 million euros at the conclusion of the 2009–10 campaign, which is 82.1 million euros less than the previous year. Real Madrid disclosed that it had a net debt of 170 million euros following the 2010–11 campaign. Real Madrid’s net income was predicted to be 190 million euros from 2007 to 2011.

In the 2009/10 season, Real earned 150 million euros on ticket sales. Real Madrid’s total television revenues from television were 160.8 million, while commercial revenues from sponsorship, sales of club merchandise, etc. increased by 10.2 million.

Sporting Intelligence found that Real Madrid players receive an average of $ 7,356,632 per year on the basis of an analysis of the financial statements of 14 top clubs from various sports disciplines around the world.

On March 4, 2021, the European Court of Justice found Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna guilty of unlawful state aid. Clubs must reimburse in compensation of € 5,000,000.

The best Real Madrid players

Alfredo di Stefano

The forward played for Los Blancos from 1953 to 1964, one of the most glorious periods in the club’s history. Di Stefano helped Real Madrid win 8 Spanish league titles and 5 European cups. The striker scored 307 goals in 396 matches. He is a mega gifted shooter who is considered to be one of the best footballers in the world in the 20th century.

Ferenc Puskas

The Hungarian was the main protagonist of the King’s Clubs attack in the 1950s and 1960s, making Di Stefano a powerful offensive duo. In his first season at the club, Puskas scored 4 hat-tricks, and while at a camp in Madrid, he won 4 Picini Awards, an award given to the Spanish League’s top scorer at the end of the season. Unlike di Stefano, Puskas was lucky to just held up 3 Champions League trophies over his head.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Without a doubt, Ronaldo is the best Real Madrid player of the 21st century. Over the course of 9 seasons, the Portuguese scored goals regularly, scoring 450 goals in official Galacticos tournaments, which put him at the top of the team’s top scorers list. Krish played an important role at Real Madrid, winning 4 Champions League titles. Without Ronaldo, it’s hard to imagine Galacticos facing Barcelona at El Clasico this decade with his amazing Leo Messi.

Francois Gento

It is difficult to ignore the list of a player who won 6 European Cups with the team and appeared in a total of 8 finals of the most prestigious club football competition “Old World”. The agile midfielder was the star of Real Madrid in the glorious 50s and 60s for the team. In 18 years, under the Spanish “cream” gento, the gento has spent over 600 games. Also noteworthy are the bombing skills of the midfielder, who scored nearly 200 goals.

Hugo Sanchez

The Mexican striker liked to score goals with a cool acrobatic trick – saltami. He did this trick very well, and it is not surprising since his sister was a gymnast and participated in the Olympics. In eight years (1985-1992), Sanchez was the top scorer of the Galacticos, won the Golden Boot in 1990 and was the top scorer of the Spanish Championship four times.

Iker Casillas

Casillas has been Real Madrid’s number 1 for over 10 years. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the history of football. Incredible defenses have often saved Los Blancos from conceding goals. In all tournaments, Iker has played over 700 games for Real Madrid. He has won 5 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 4 Spanish Super Cup and 3 UEFA Champions League. Iker Casillas is a Madrid club legend that deserves to be included in this ranking.

Zinedine zidan

Ultimately, Zidane became a record purchase for the King’s Club. The talented midfielder was bought by Turin’s “Sahne” “Juventus” for 75 million euros. Zizou fit perfectly into the team and quickly became one of the best players.

His winning goal against Bayer in the 2002 Champions League final is still regarded by many authoritative publications as the best in the tournament’s history. Zidane only played 5 seasons in Real Madrid, but it was enough for the “cream” fans to recognize the player as one of the best in the history of the team.

Raul

Real Madrid’s second goalscorer has had a long and illustrious career at the Santiago Bernabéu. Raul wore the captain’s armband, he was an authority over the rest of the players. The Spaniard behaved perfectly in advance, he had a unique feeling of being in the right place at the right time. Real Madrid fans loved Raúl very much, for them he was the “King of Madrid” – that is the footballer’s pseudonym.

Robert Carlos

Carlos spent 11 years in Santiago Bernabeu before joining Fenerbahce in Turkey. He is one of the best left-backs in the history of football. The Brazilian behaved brilliantly in defense and, thanks to his great speed, could take part in the team’s attacks. Roberto Carlos was also famous for his powerful and accurate shots. The Brazilian has long been the author of the most powerful shot in football with a ball flight speed of 198 km / h, but in 2010 the German Lukas Podolski broke the record of the nominal representative of the Selesao team.

Luis Figo

In 2000, Figo joined Real Madrid from Barcelona, ​​the club’s greatest enemy. From the first match, Blaugrana fans greeted the Portuguese with indecent whistles and shouts, threw various objects at him, there was even a pig’s head.

And all this Luis Figo managed to survive, opening a new biographical page in his career. He has become a key figure in the “cream” camp, helping the club win trophies including the UEFA Champions League. It is Luis Figo who completes the list of the 10 best players in the history of Real Madrid.