Real Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Founded: March 6, 1902

Real Madrid was originally formed as a spin-off of the first football club in Madrid in the 20th century, Sky Football (La Sociedad), which was established in 1897. Following dissension among Sky’s members regarding the future of the club, Julián Palacios left Sky to found Madrid Club de Fútbol in 1902. Palacios handed off his control of the club to his colleagues, brothers Juan and Carlos Padrós, who expanded the roots of Real Madrid across the capital of Spain. As football amassed popularity across Spain in the early 1900s, the Padrós brothers sought to gain approval from the newly crowned Spanish monarch, King Alfonso XIII, whereby they organized the nation’s first Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey) in 1903 to honor his coronation. Madrid Club de Fútbol went on to win four of the first six Spanish Cup competitions, leading to King Alfonso XIII’s avid attraction towards the club. Thus, the Spanish King decreed Madrid Club de Fútbol a royal label on the squad, hence the team’s current name, Real Madrid.

Real Madrid has sported white kits with the club’s initials, MCF, stitched into each jersey since their creation in 1902 although its crest has changed over its 123-year history. Their iconic white shirts have given way to Real Madrid’s famous nicknames over the years, such as “Los Blancos” or “Los Merengues.” The squad has found repeated success in each decade of its prestigious history, amassing 36 La Liga titles since the league was formed in 1929, 15 UEFA Champions League trophies, and 20 Spanish Cups. Real Madrid found the beginning of their global presence in the 1950s, having won the European Cup five consecutive times between 1956 and 1960. Legendary players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano in the 1950s, the five Spanish players nicknamed “La Quinta del Buitre” led by striker Emilio Butragueño in the 1980s, and the formation of the Galácticos in the early 2000s that attracted talents like Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and Cristiano Ronaldo have contributed to Real Madrid’s consistency in possessing the world’s best players. Along with continuously filling its squad with iconic players, the club has found the ability to reach the upper echelon of European football through its unique ownership structure and team values.

Real Madrid is fully owned and operated by its members, as the club is effectively structured as a non-profit organization. The club’s members, or “socios,” possess voting rights and participate in general elections to determine Real Madrid’s president and board of directors. The “socios” produce a strong dynamic between the club and its fan base since around 100,000 members can voice their opinions on the club’s decision-making. Moreover, Real Madrid’s fans are referred to as the Madridistas, who are arguably the most globally present fanbase in all of sports, with around 450 million worldwide. The Madridistas can be seen in masses at each Real Madrid match, often hollering “Hala Madrid” chants in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The club’s tight-knit fanbase and extraordinary on-the-field talent have led to Real Madrid being the world’s most valuable soccer franchise according to Deloitte’s Football Money League 2025, with a valuation of $6.6 billion. Under the leadership of club president Florentino Pérez, Real Madrid has transformed the team into a global brand that produces $1 billion in revenue annually. Having won the La Liga and UEFA Champions League over the 2023-2024 season, Real Madrid is largely considered the world’s best club currently.

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Current Squad

UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid Falls to Arsenal 5-1 on Aggregate

After yet another historic Real Madrid Champions League campaign last season, having won the UCL with a young attacking core, Real Madrid struggled to prove themselves as the face of European football in their first leg 3-0 loss to Arsenal in their quarterfinal matchup. Arsenal's holding midfielder, Declan Rice, displayed a miraculous performance, slotting two beautiful free kicks behind Thibaut Courtois. Despite claims of making a comeback from Madrid players and media, the squad lacked production in the second leg, falling 2-1. The club looks to regain their European Champion status in the 2025-2026 season, hoping to gain more cohesion after adding superstar Kylian Mbappé to the front attack.

Injured Player Status

Dani Carvajal, Right-Back
- Age: 33, Injury: Cruciate Ligament Tear, Injury Date: October 6, 2024, Expected Return: August 1, 2025, Missed Matches: 53
Éder Militão, Centre-Back
- Age: 27, Injury: Cruciate Ligament Tear, Injury Date: November 9, 2024, Expected Return: August 1, 2025, Missed Matches: 49
Ferland Mendy, Left-Back
- Age: 29, Injury: Muscle Injury, Injury Date: March 13, 2025, Expected Return: Unknown, Missed Matches: 9

The Blancos’ passionate and loyal fanbase is referred to as the Madridistas, which has amassed around 450 million global supporters. The Madridistas preach values of a winning spirit, universality, and solidarity under the team’s history of excellence. Madrid fans do not just dwell in Madrid, but in every corner of the world, which offers the club plenty of support wherever their match’s venue lies. Supporters and players alike frequently exclaim the phrase “Hala Madrid,” meaning “Go Madrid,” and is the crowd’s most commonly used chant during fixtures. Other popular chants are titled “Let’s Go Champions” and “We’ve Come Here” among others. The club’s anthem is “Hala Madrid y nada más,” which is sung at every home match and can be heard loudest in the White Wall fan section in the Bernabéu’s southern grandstand. Supporters wear white kits on game days while also sporting a variety of scarves and flags of their liking.

The team relies so heavily on its fan base due to the way the club is structured, as it is owned and operated by its members, called ‘socios’. It is a non-profit organization where the socios vote in elections to decide the club’s president and board of directors, where, as of 2010, Real Madrid has around 60,000 socios members. The socios have controlled the club since its establishment in 1902, and becoming a member of the voting mass can be a tedious process due to the need for recommendations from two existing socios. Within the voting process, Real Madrid members elect a member assembly of 2,000 people, who oversee the club’s budget and loans, serving four-year-long terms.

Because Real Madrid’s ownership revolves around the general member, the club has created a unique outlook on their standards of winning and acquiring players. Current club president, Florentino Pérez, “believes that when Real Madrid represents the ideals of the community members, the community responds with more engagement, passion, and loyalty,” which translates onto the soccer pitch through “winning with a team philosophy, class, style, and elegance.” Pérez comes from a successful business background, having served as CEO of Spain's largest construction and civil engineering firm, Grupo ACS. He became president first in 2000 and formed the Galácticos era. Pérez regained presidency in 2009, and has remained tenure since.

With 130 official competition trophies by 2025, the team ranks as the 13th most valuable sports franchise in the world and the most valuable soccer club in the world, with a valuation of $6.6 billion. According to Deloitte’s Football Money League 2025, the 20 clubs the firm analyzed cumulatively generated €11.2 billion in revenues over the 2023/2024 season, with Real Madrid earning the most, being the first club to ever obtain a billion in revenue individually. Much of their revenue growth comes from the recent renovations made on the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, which was fostered by the increase of Personal Seat Licenses for season ticket purchases, new VIP seat sales, and additional capacity augmented to the stadium. This resulted in the club taking home €248 million in matchday revenue, which increased by 103% compared to the prior season.

Even though Madrid is known for signing expensive and high-demand players, their philosophy in selling players is often described as investing in young talent who can be resold at a high value but also contribute to commercial revenues. Florentino Pérez’s management style has led the club to take on small amounts of debt, as their net debt in 2023-2024 was €8.5 million and their EBITDA to Debt ratio in the same period was 0.1x, indicating their strong ability to pay off debt relative to their earnings.