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The season also saw a humbling Champions League quarter-final exit, as Real Madrid were eliminated by Arsenal 5–1 on aggregate. The first match was a 2–2 draw, while the second match in the Bernabéu was marked by a double by Joselu in the last few minutes of the game, with Bayern Munich suffering a historic comeback after leading 1–0. Then, Real Madrid lifted the La Liga with relative ease, reaching 95 points, the second-best winning campaign by Real Madrid in La Liga history after the 2011– points season.
- The venue is now part of the Ciudad Real Madrid, the club’s training facility located outside Madrid, in Valdebebas.
- Among the club’s famous supporters is golfer Sergio García, who was invited to take the honorary kickoff for El Clásico at the Bernabeu wearing his green jacket from winning the 2017 Masters.
- Real Madrid’s record against Atlético in more recent times has been favourable.
- At the end of the 2009–10 season, the club’s board of directors stated that Real Madrid had a net debt of €244.6 million, €82.1 million lower than the previous fiscal year.
- Barcelona’s striker Mariano Gonzalvo said of the incident, “Five minutes before the game had started, our penalty area was already full of coins.” Barcelona goalkeeper Luis Miró rarely approached his line—when he did, he was armed with stones.
In the same season, Cristiano Ronaldo became the fastest player to reach 100 goals scored in Spanish league history. A brief return to form came to an abrupt halt after Madrid lost the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals 6–1 to Real Zaragoza, a defeat that was nearly reversed with a 4–0 home victory. Over a dozen players left the club, including Madrid captain Fernando Hierro, while defensive midfielder Claude Makélélé refused to take part in training in protest at being one of the lowest-paid players at the club and subsequently moved to Chelsea. This victory marked the beginning of a successful period in Real Madrid’s history. Beginning in 1953, he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent being Alfredo Di Stéfano.
In August, Madrid won the 2014 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, the club’s 79th official trophy. Ronaldo set a new club mark for individual goals scored in one year (60) and became the first player ever to score against all 19 opposition teams in a single season. Madrid entered the Copa del Rey as the defending champions, but lost 3–4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to Barcelona. They also competed in the UEFA Champions League for the 15th successive season, losing in the semi-finals to Bayern Munich in a penalty shoot-out after a 3–3 aggregate tie.
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- Beginning in 1953, he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent being Alfredo Di Stéfano.
- In 2013–14, Real and Atlético were finalists of the UEFA Champions League, the first final which hosted two clubs from the same city.
- In the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, former Real Madrid player Álvaro Morata scored one goal in each leg to take Juventus to the final, winning 3–2 on aggregate, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals for Madrid.
- They met again in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, when both clubs were in their respective ‘golden eras’; Juventus won 4–3 on aggregate.
- Football continued during the Second World War, and on 13 June 1943, Madrid beat Barcelona 11–1 in the second leg of the Copa del Generalísimo semi-finals, the Spanish Cup having been renamed in honour of General Franco.note 2
On 9 May 2006, the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, named after club legend Alfredo Di Stéfano, was inaugurated in the Real Madrid City, where Real Madrid usually trains. The most recent modification to the crest occurred in 2001 when the club wanted to better situate itself for the 21st century and further standardize its crest. In addition, the whole crest was made full color, with gold being the most prominent, and the club went back to its honorific name Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. With the dissolution of the monarchy in 1931, all royal symbols (the crown on the crest and the title of Real) were eliminated. Thus, Alfonso’s crown was added to the crest and the club styled itself Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.
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The season ended with Real Madrid winning the 2022–23 Copa del Rey, but losing the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona and the Champions League to Manchester City, being defeated 5–1 on aggregate. After a highly successful 2021–22 season, Real Madrid signed German defender Antonio Rüdiger and French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, while club legends Marcelo, Isco, Gareth Bale and Casemiro left the club. From the competition’s resumption in June and until the end of the 2020–21 season, Real temporarily played home fixtures at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, while the Santiago Bernabéu underwent extensive renovations. After a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, La Liga was restarted in June and Madrid won ten games in a row to capture the team’s 34th league title, collecting 87 points in total.
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In September 2009, Real Madrid’s management announced plans to open the club’s own dedicated theme park by 2013, and in 2024 unveiled Real Madrid World in Dubai. By that time, star midfielder Zinedine Zidane, who played for the Bianconeri in the 1998 final, had moved from Turin to Madrid in a world record €77 million deal. At the quarter-final stage in 1995–96, Juventus prevailed 2–1 over the two legs and went on to lift the trophy. Another match that is often played in the European Cup/Champions League is Real Madrid vs Juventus, the most decorated Italian club.
Second Florentino Pérez era (2009–present)
Real Madrid supporters often refer to Bayern as the “Bestia negra” (“Black Beast”). This is known as El Viejo Clásico (the old classic), so named as the two clubs were dominant in the first half of the 20th century, meeting in nine Copa del Rey finals including the first in 1903. On 7 February 2015, Real suffered their first defeat in 14 years at the Vicente Calderón, a 4–0 loss.
He vowed in his campaign to erase the club’s €270 gratiano casino million debt and modernize the club’s facilities. In Del Bosque’s first season in charge, Real won the Champions League for the eighth time, following a 3–0 victory over Valencia in the final, with goals from Morientes, McManaman and Raúl. Additionally, during the 1950s former Real Madrid Amateurs player Miguel Malbo founded Real Madrid’s youth academy, or “cantera”, known today as La Fábrica. Under his presidency, the club was rebuilt after the Civil War, and he oversaw the construction of the club’s current stadium, Estadio Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (now known as the Santiago Bernabéu), and its training facilities Ciudad Deportiva. Barcelona’s striker Mariano Gonzalvo said of the incident, “Five minutes before the game had started, our penalty area was already full of coins.” Barcelona goalkeeper Luis Miró rarely approached his line—when he did, he was armed with stones.
However, Real Madrid suffered from some poor results, including a 0–3 loss at the hands of Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu in November 2005. Off the pitch, the Zidanes y Pavones policy resulted in increased financial success based on the exploitation of the club’s high marketing potential around the world, particularly in Asia. However, the primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of Luís Figo from arch-rivals Barcelona.
Real Madrid’s hardcore supporters are the so-called Ultras Sur supporters, or simply Ultras. In addition to members, the club has more than 1,800 peñas (official, club-affiliated supporters’ groups) in Spain and around the world. In September 2017, the club equalled the record of the Brazilian club Santos, starring Pelé, by scoring in their 73rd consecutive game, before Bayern Munich breaks the record in 2021. The club also holds the record for winning the European Cup/UEFA Champions League fifteen times and for the most semi-finals appearances (33).
