The club with a royal title and 15 European crowns

Why Real?

Real means royal. King Alfonso XIII of Spain granted the title in 1920, and it became part of the club's name. The home ground, the Santiago Bernabéu, is named after the club's legendary president.

Games against Barcelona are El Clásico, and games against Atlético are the Madrid derby. The rivalry comes with a twist: club icon Raúl started in Atlético's youth system and moved to Real in 1992 after Atlético scrapped its youth team.

The Galácticos

In the early 2000s, Real signed a new superstar almost every summer: Figo in 2000, Zidane in 2001, Ronaldo in 2002 and Beckham in 2003. This era became known as the Galácticos.

Its defining moment came in the 2002 Champions League final against Leverkusen. Zidane met a looping ball from Roberto Carlos with a left-foot volley, a goal rated among the best ever scored in a final. After that ninth European title, Real had to wait another 12 years.

Ronaldo, La Décima and three in a row

In summer 2009, Real signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United and Benzema from Lyon. Ronaldo wore 9 in his first season because Raúl had the 7, and only took it after Raúl left in 2010. By 2018 he had scored 450 goals in 438 games to become the club's top scorer. In 2011–12, Mourinho's team won La Liga with 100 points and 121 league goals.

La Décima, the tenth European title, finally arrived in 2014. Against Atlético in the final, Real were moments from defeat when Ramos headed an equaliser at 92:48. Three more goals in extra time made it 4–1.

Zidane then returned as manager and won three straight Champions League titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Bale, Benzema and Cristiano formed the BBC attack, with Modrić, signed from Tottenham in 2012, and Casemiro, back from a loan at Porto, in midfield. In the 2018 final against Liverpool, Bale came off the bench to score twice, including an overhead kick, in a 3–1 win.

It's never over against Real

The 2021–22 Champions League showed Real's comeback instinct. They got past PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool, and every knockout round was a comeback. Against City in the semi-final, Rodrygo scored in the 90th and 91st minutes to force extra time, and Benzema's penalty sent Real to the final.

Bellingham arrived from Dortmund in 2023. In the 2024 final, Real beat that same Dortmund 2–0 with goals from Carvajal and Vinícius for their 15th European title. The same year, the club signed Mbappé, the player it had chased for years, without paying a transfer fee.