History of Real Madrid CF

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. In addition to their domestic success, Real Madrid's reputation as a major club was established by their outstanding record in the European Cup. To date, they have been crowned champions of Europe a record thirteen times. Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and other famous players helped the club win the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included a memorable 7–3 Hampden Park final against German side Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. The club won the trophy for a sixth time in 1966 with a team known as the Ye-Ye that defeated Yugoslavian club Partizan 2–1 in the final while being composed entirely of Spanish-born players, a first in the competition. They were also runners-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour. They have also won the UEFA Cup twice and were twice runners-up in the European Cup Winners' Cup.

The Real Madrid team of 1902, the year of its foundation.

In 1996, president Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid were proclaimed league champions and several important players arrived at the club, such as Roberto Carlos, Predrag Mijatović, Davor Šuker and Clarence Seedorf, to strengthen a squad that already boasted the likes of Raúl, Fernando Hierro and Fernando Redondo. As a result, Real Madrid, with the addition of Fernando Morientes in 1997, finally ended its 32-year wait for the seventh European Cup in 1998 under manager Jupp Heynckes, defeating Juventus 1–0 in the final thanks to a goal from Mijatović. Real Madrid would go on to win again in 2000, 2002 (under manager Vicente del Bosque), 2014 (under manager Carlo Ancelotti), 2016, 2017 and 2018 (under manager Zinedine Zidane).

Real Madrid is also seven-time winners of the Intercontinental Cup/FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Peñarol, Vasco da Gama, Olimpia Asunción, San Lorenzo, Kashima Antlers, Grêmio and Al Ain in 1960, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Early years
Real Madrid team in 1906. The club won its second Copa del Rey that year.

Football was introduced to Madrid by students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. They included several Oxbridge graduates. In 1897, they founded a club called Sky, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. In 1900, they split into two different clubs: New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Madrid Football Club. On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded and won the first of four consecutive Copa del Rey titles, which was the only nationwide competition at that time.

In 1912, they moved to a ground called Campo de O'Donnell, after previously moving between some minor grounds.[1] In 1920, the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after King Alfonso XIII, a reputed football fan, granted the title of real ("royal" in English ) to the club. When the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931, however, the club dropped both the word Real and the royal crown from the emblem, being known from then on and until the end of the Spanish Civil War as Madrid C.F. only. The addition of the purple band to the emblem dates back to the Republican period and has remained there ever since.[2] In 1937, due to the stagnation of the Civil War, all activity was stopped and the club virtually ceased to exist.

The Bernabéu Yeste Era (1943–1978)
1966 European Cup Final starting lineup.
1956 European Cup Final starting lineup.

Before becoming president in 1945, Santiago Bernabéu Yeste had already carried out the functions of player, first-team captain, club maintenance, first-team manager and director in an association with the club that would last nearly 70 years. He was responsible for rebuilding the club after the Civil War and under his presidency the construction of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva.

Bernabéu also reorganized the club at all levels in what would become the normal operating hierarchy of professional clubs in the future, giving every section and level of the club independent technical teams and recruiting staff, such as Raimundo Saporta. Moreover, under Bernabéu's tutelage, during the 1950s former Real Madrid Amateurs player Miguel Malbo founded Real Madrid's youth academy, or "cantera," known today as La Fábrica.[3]

Finally, beginning in 1953, Bernabéu embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent being the Argentine Alfredo di Stéfano, and built the world's first truly multinational squad. During Bernabéu's presidency, many of Real Madrid's most legendary names played for the club, including Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, Héctor Rial, Raymond Kopa, José Santamaría, Miguel Muñoz, Amancio and Santillana.

It was under Bernabéu's guidance that Real Madrid became established as a major force in both Spanish and European football. Before passing away in 1978, Bernabéu had been the club's president for 33 years, during which Real won one Intercontinental Cup, six European Cups, 16 La Liga titles and six Spanish Cups.

The De Carlos Era (1978–1985)

After a brief period as interim president, Raimundo Saporta called for elections. The club's treasurer, Luis de Carlos, resigned in order to run for president. 26 July 1978 was the deadline for candidates to apply in order to run for office. De Carlos submitted 3,352 documents endorsing his candidacy, while the rest – gynaecologist Campos Gil and florist José Daguerre – did not get the minimum number required in time. This called off the election and Luis de Carlos was proclaimed president of Real Madrid.

On 4 June 1980, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium hosted the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Real Madrid Castilla, the club's second team that was initially founded on 21 July 1972. Castilla managed to defeat four First Division teams – Hércules, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Sporting de Gijón – to reach the final. Real Madrid defeated Castilla, coached by the sorely-missed Juanjo, by a score of 6–1.

Later in the year, France Football magazine named Real Madrid "Best European Team" of 1980. The jury took into account the two national titles the team won that year – La Liga and the Copa del Rey – and the fact that they reached the semifinals of the European Cup that season.

Despite the previous year's successes, the 1980–81 season had an unpleasant finish for Madrid. On 26 April 1981, they lost the league title when the victory chant was already being sung in Valladolid. Real Sociedad, who drew 2–2 against Sporting de Gijón in the last minute at El Molinón, claimed the title. Barely one month later, in the 1981 European Cup Final on 27 May, an Alan Kennedy goal gave Liverpool the European Cup title over Madrid.

The professional Real Madrid squad was one of four teams of the Primera División to back the strike called on 11 April 1982. On that day, the Whites played at Castellón with Castilla footballers and defeated the hosts 1–2.

The Final of the 1982 FIFA World Cup took place at the Santiago Bernabéu. In a thrilling match, Italy outplayed West Germany and won 3–1. What most spectators will remember most from that 11 July 1982 was the joy that overcame President of Italy Sandro Pertini each time the Italian side scored.

With the presidential elections on the horizon, candidate Luis de Carlos introduced Alfredo Di Stéfano and Amancio Amaro as coaches of the first team and Castilla, respectively, on 19 May 1982. "The Arrow," as Di Stéfano was popularly known, initially left Madrid in 1964 only to return 18 years later. In the election, de Carlos defeated Ramón Mendoza in the election and Di Stéfano, who signed on for two years, won five runner-up titles in his first year as the Madridista coach.

Once the 1983–84 season had ended, Di Stéfano again said goodbye to Real Madrid. Twenty-one years later he went through the same experience. His contract ended on 30 June 1984 and Luis de Carlos decided not to re-sign him due to the failure to achieve sporting success.

On 12 December 1984, Emilio Butragueño became a European household name with an unforgettable performance against Anderlecht at the Bernabéu. The Belgians were coming off a 3–0 first leg win in Brussels and had the next round of the UEFA Cup in sight, but Butragueño crushed their hopes with a three-goal performance (the others by Valdano [two] and Sanchís) and Real Madrid won convincingly 6–1, progressing on aggregate.

Real Madrid's first two UEFA Cup titles were won back-to-back—the first in 1985 against Hungary's Videoton (3–0 at Sóstói Stadion and 0–1 at Chamartín) and the second over 1. FC Köln in 1986 (5–1 at the Bernabéu and losing 2–0 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin).

The Mendoza Era (1985–1995)

After two brief stints as a director and an election-time defeat to Luis de Carlos, Ramón Mendoza's became president of Real Madrid in 1985, ushering in the dawn of a new era in the history of the club.

La Quinta del Buitre
Further information: Quinta del Buitre

"La Quinta del Buitre" was the name given by Spanish sport journalist Julio César Iglesias to the five homegrown Real Madrid players who were at the core of the team that dominated Spanish football in the 1980s. The name, meaning "Vulture's Cohort" in English, was derived from the nickname given to its most charismatic member, Emilio Butragueño. The other four members included Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.

Sanchís and Martín Vázquez were the first to play for the first team of Real Madrid, making their debut at Murcia on 4 December 1983 under coach Alfredo Di Stéfano. Both played surprisingly well, with Sanchís scoring the game's winner. A few months later, on 5 February 1984, Butragueño debuted in an away match at Cádiz. El Buitre was an instant sensation and scored twice. Pardeza was added to the first team that same season and Míchel followed at the start of the next.

With La Quinta del Buitre (reduced to four members when Pardeza left the club for Zaragoza in 1986), Real Madrid had one of the best teams in Spain and Europe during the second half of the 1980s, winning, amongst others, two UEFA Cups and five Spanish championships in a row. Their record was only blemished by their failure to win the European Cup, and their continued abject defeats against the far superior Milan side of the time.

Martín Vázquez went to play for Torino in 1990, later returning to Madrid in 1992 only to leave again in 1995 for Deportivo de La Coruña. Butragueño left the club in 1995 and Míchel in 1996, both joining Atlético Celaya in Mexico.

Sanchís was the only member of La Quinta to play his entire career with Madrid. By winning the Champions League twice (in 1998 and 2000), he accomplish what La Quinta had failed to achieve in its glory days. He retired in 2001 as the last active member of the famous cohort at the age of 37.

The Sanz era (1995–2000)

After ten-and-a-half years in office, Ramón Mendoza handed in his irrevocable resignation on 20 November 1995. He was relieved by Lorenzo Sanz, who held recourse to Club by-law 49 to get elected as heir to Mendoza by the 11 directors who continued on the Board of Directors following the transfer of power. On 20 May 1996, Lorenzo Sanz presented Fabio Capello as new head coach of Real Madrid. The Italian trainer landed in Madrid borne out by his five successful seasons with Milan (with whom he won the 1994 Champions League) to replace Arsenio Iglesias, who managed the team on a temporary basis after coach Jorge Valdano resigned. Although winning the league, however, Capello left Madrid after just one season, saying years later did so because he did not settle at Madrid as well as he would have wanted; he returned to Milan.

Replacing Capello was the German Jupp Heynckes, who led the team to win the much-awaited Champions League/European Cup title, the team's last having come in 1966. In the Final, held at the Amsterdam Arena on 20 May 1998, the Merengues conquered their seventh top European trophy with a goal by Pedja Mijatović against Juventus, who were the favourites on the night. Despite conquering Europe, Heynckes was fired at the end of the year and replaced by José Antonio Camacho, who himself resigned just months later in July 1998 before the actual season even began. The team then hired Guus Hiddink to take the reins of the squad, his first challenge being the 1998 Intercontinental Cup. An extraordinary goal by Raúl in Tokyo sealed a 2–1 end result for Los Blancos over Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. Hiddink, however, was fired just after less than a season, with the Welshman John Toshack replacing him in February 1999. Nine months later, during the 1999–2000 season, Toshack was also fired, the seventh coaching change in just three years.

Under the guidance of new manager Vicente del Bosque, Real Madrid claimed their eighth European Cup/Champions League title. The Final, held at the newly built Stade de France in Paris, would host the competition's (including the European Cup era) first-ever Spanish final, pitting Madrid against Valencia on 24 May 2000. The game Madrid comfortably defeat Los Che 3–0, with goals coming from Fernando Morientes, Steve McManaman and Raúl.

The Galactico/Pérez Era (2000–2006)

2000–2003
Further information: Galácticos

In July 2000, Florentino Pérez was elected club president, vowing to erase the club's debt and modernise the club's facilities, though the primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of then-Barcelona star Luís Figo. During the campaign, Pérez claimed he had an agreement with the Portuguese winger that would see Figo move to the Bernabéu should Pérez be elected. On July 16, Pérez won the election and indeed, eight days later, Figo was presented with the number 10 shirt for Madrid.

Days later, surrounded by controversy, Real Madrid idol Fernando Redondo, who had openly supported Pérez's opponent Lorenzo Sanz, was sold to Italian giants Milan. During the summer of 2000, Real Madrid signed Claude Makélélé, Albert Celades, Flávio Conceição, César Sánchez, Pedro Munitis and Santiago Solari, although aside from Makélélé and Conceição, the rest had been signed prior to the election of Pérez. Expectations were high as Los Blancos began the 2000–01 season with the possibility of winning five trophies. The club, however, stumbled at the first test, losing the 2000 UEFA Super Cup by a score of 1–2 to 2000 UEFA Cup champions Galatasaray. Later, an injury to Fernando Morientes left Real Madrid without a centre forward, but manager Vicente del Bosque improvised by using youth team graduate Guti in the role, with Real Madrid coping and making good start to both their domestic and European campaigns. They were, however, defeated 2–0 at the Camp Nou against rivals Barcelona and were later eliminated from the Copa del Rey by lowly Toledo, as well as losing the Intercontinental Cup final to a Boca Juniors side led by Martín Palermo and Juan Román Riquelme.

Nonetheless, Real Madrid recovered form and went top of the league table in mid-January, a position they would not relinquish on their way to ultimately winning the title. Madrid also advanced from the second group stage of the Champions League to face Galatasaray in the quarter-finals. Los Merengues lost the first leg in Istanbul 3–2, but recovered to win the tie after a 3–0 victory at the Bernabéu. This would then set-up a replay of the 1999–2000 Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. This year, however, Real Madrid would not reach the final, losing 1–3 on aggregate to the eventual champions. Despite the setback, on 26 May, Madrid would crown themselves champions of the first division with an emphatic 5–0 win over Alavés at the Bernabéu. Two goals by Raúl and one each by Guti, Fernando Hierro and Iván Helguera would ensure victory and Real Madrid's 28th league title with two matches left to play.

Zinedine Zidane (left) and David Beckham (right) were two prominent Galácticos.

After reaching an agreement to re-zone and sell the Ciudad Deportiva, Pérez went on to sign Zinedine Zidane in 2001, Ronaldo in 2002 and David Beckham in 2003. The media began referring to the team as "Los Galácticos". The strategy, initially dubbed "Zidanes y Pavones", meant to integrate world stars and youth team graduates together on the squad. The combination was highly-successful, with Real winning La Liga in 2001 and 2003 and the Champions League in 2002, their centenary year. They also won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Super Cup[4] and the Supercopa de España in both 2001 and 2003. Off the field, 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.

2003–04 season

The few days after capturing the 2002–03 league title were mired with controversy. The first controversial decision came when Pérez sacked winning coach Vicente del Bosque after Real's sporting director claimed that Del Bosque was not the right man for the job; they wanted someone young to shake up the team. The turning atmosphere continued when Madrid legend and captain Fernando Hierro left the club after a disagreement with management, as did Steve McManaman. However, the club toured Asia in pre-season and introduced newly signed galáctico David Beckham. Pérez and his directors refused to renew Claude Makélélé's contract with an improved salary, upsetting Makélélé who asked for a transfer, eventually moving to Chelsea. In the final days of the transfer window, Fernando Morientes also left the club, joining French Ligue 1 side Monaco on loan. Real Madrid, with newly appointed coach Carlos Queiroz, began their domestic league slowly after a hard-fought win over Real Betis.

Doubts of the team were quelled, however, when Madrid won 7–2 at home over Real Valladolid. The second half of the season then saw the team giving playing time to youngsters and academy graduates, including Borja, Álvaro Mejía, Antonio Núñez and Juanfran, as Queiroz opted to rotate his squad. Real Madrid also topped their group in the Champions League, advancing to the quarter-finals after defeating Bayern Munich in the round of 16 2–1 on aggregate. However, Madrid's on-loan striker Fernando Morientes punished his team in the quarter-finals, as Madrid saw Monaco progress 5–5 on aggregate via the away goals rule and move on to the semi-finals. Madrid nonetheless kept their Liga form high, leading the table by eight point over second-placed Valencia in February. A poor run of form would await them, however, as they were beaten for the first time at the Bernabéu that season at the hands of Osasuna, 0–3. They recovered their points lead after a win at the Vicente Calderón Stadium over city rivals Atlético Madrid, but more disappointments quickly followed; they lost their final five league games at home to Mallorca, Barcelona and Real Sociedad, and also lost away at both Real Murcia and Deportivo de La Coruña. These defeats allowed all of Valencia, Barça and Deportivo to leapfrog them in the table and end the year in up the top three, respectively, as Real ended the season in a disappointing fourth. Their poor performances continued as they lost the final of the Copa del Rey to Real Zaragoza. Shortly after the end of the season, Queiroz was sacked and replaced by ex-Real Madrid player José Antonio Camacho.

2004–05 season

Camacho highlighted the team's poor defensive performances and persuaded Florentino Pérez to spend a total of €45 million on both Argentine defender Walter Samuel and English centre-back Jonathan Woodgate from Roma and Newcastle United, respectively, but failed to sign Arsenal's midfield general Patrick Vieira due to his boldness of asking for a Galáctico-like paycheck in the likeness of Luís Figo's, Zinedine Zidane's, Ronaldo's and David Beckham's. The summer of 2004 also saw the sale of Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o, who had been previously loaned out to Mallorca, to archrivals Barcelona.

In addition to the defensive additions, English striker Michael Owen was bought from Liverpool, but the player never settled at Real Madrid. Somewhat ironically, Eto'o would go on to achieve great success with Barcelona in just his first season with the team. Camacho resigned as head coach because of his team's poor performances and was replaced by Mariano García Remón. García Remón's last game was a loss at the hand of Sevilla, where the eventual champions Barça were six points clear from their nearest rivals, and Madrid sitting in lowly fifth. Remón was replaced by Vanderlei Luxemburgo after the winter break, who then signed Thomas Gravesen from Everton to fill the hole in midfield. Madrid failed to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and in the Copa del Rey, but under Luxemburgo, Madrid fought hard to earn second place with 80 points, four points behind Barcelona.

2005–06 season

The 2005–06 season began with several new signings, including Júlio Baptista (€20 million), Robinho (€30 million) and Sergio Ramos (€30 million). However, Luxemburgo was not able to find the right formula on the pitch, as Real Madrid's poor form continued and hitting rock bottom after a humiliating 0–3 loss at the hands of Barcelona at the Bernabéu. Luxemburgo would eventually resign and be replaced by Juan Ramón López Caro, the former the manager of Real Madrid Castilla. A brief return to form came to an abrupt halt after losing the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final 6–1 to Zaragoza. Shortly after, Real Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League for a fourth successive year, this time by Arsenal. On 27 February 2006, Florentino Pérez resigned as club president.[5] Real Madrid eventually managed to finish second in the league but did not pose a serious threat to defending champions Barcelona.

The Calderón Era (2006–2009)

2006–07 season

On July 2, 2006, Ramón Calderón was elected as club president and subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new head coach and Predrag Mijatović as the new sporting director. As new manager of Real Madrid, Capello signed 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson, both from embattled Juventus, for a total sum of €23 million; Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United for €15 million; Mahamadou Diarra from Lyon for €26 million; and on a last minute trade-loan José Antonio Reyes, with Júlio Baptista going the other way after a disappointing stint at Madrid. However, Calderón failed to sign Milan's Kaká, Arsenal's Cesc Fàbregas and Chelsea's Arjen Robben, as he had previously promised. Nonetheless, during the January transfer window, he did manage to sign Fluminense left back Marcelo (€6.5M), River Plate forward Gonzalo Higuaín (€13M) and Boca Juniors midfielder Fernando Gago (€18M).

On 16 January 2007, Calderón made some very unfortunate comments about the behaviour of some players in the squad and the Santiago Bernabéu fans, which has put the club in a delicate situation.[6] One of the players that Calderón criticised was David Beckham, who, in January 2007, agreed to a deal to play for the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer (MLS) at the end of that season. Among others to criticise Beckham was manager Fabio Capello, who at the time vowed never to select Beckham for the team again, although he later withdrew his words. At the end of January, striker Ronaldo left the club for €7.5 million for Milan. On 9 February 2007, Capello allowed Beckham back onto Real's starting 11 in an away match against Real Sociedad. Beckham played well and scored the equalizing goal in the match, a 2–1 triumph. On 24 February 2007, the Madrid Derby between Atlético and Real at the Vicente Calderón finished in a 1–1 draw, with goals coming from Fernando Torres and Gonzalo Higuaín for Atlético and Real respectively.

On 7 March 2007, Real Madrid failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, stifled by Bayern Munich's strong home performance. Despite winning the home leg 3–2, they lost 2–1 at the Allianz Arena in Munich and were eliminated on an away goals tiebreaker. Bayern also scored the fastest goal in the Champions League during that match, after Roberto Carlos lost the ball after kick-off, which led to Roy Makaay scoring in ten seconds.

On 10 March 2007, Real Madrid contested the Clásico against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Real Madrid took the lead three times after two goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and one from Sergio Ramos, but were pegged back by a hat-trick from Lionel Messi, including an injury-time equaliser. Despite the sending off of Oleguer, the Clásico ended 3–3.

Real Madrid managed to find their form consistently for the first time all season as they managed to win seven out of eight of the final twelve games, including a 2–1 home win over Valencia on 21 April 2007 and another 3–2 home win over Sevilla on 6 May 2007. Calderón then went on to say that if the team keep up their great play, he was confident Real Madrid will win the league title and end their four-year wait for a major trophy on June 17.

On 12 May 2007, despite not having Robinho and Beckham on the pitch (due to separate yellow cards given in the previous match against Sevilla), Real Madrid took over first place in the La Liga for the first time all season by defeating Espanyol 4–3, coming back from 1–3 first half deficit. Los Blancos were able to avoid a 3–3 draw thanks to an 89th-minute goal by Gonzalo Higuaín. The Sunday after, Barça dropped points with a 1–1 draw to struggling Real Betis. By virtue of their superior head-to-head record, Real Madrid sat at the top of the Liga table with four crucial matches left to play. The following Sunday, Real managed to beat Recreativo de Huelva 2–3 at the Nuevo Colombino. With the score tied at 2–2, Real Madrid looked set return the lead back to rivals Barcelona until Roberto Carlos scored at the end of the match from a Fernando Gago assist and the squad left Huelva with just three games left to play against, in order, Deportivo, Zaragoza and Mallorca.

On 26 May 2007, Real Madrid put in another excellent performance to defeat Deportivo 3–1 at the Bernabéu. This victory made it six wins in a row for Real Madrid, with goals from Sergio Ramos, Raúl and Ruud van Nistelrooy securing the win. On 9 June, Real played their penultimate league fixture against Zaragoza at La Romareda. The match began badly when Real Madrid were forced to change their starting lineup mere minutes before the start of the match when young defender Miguel Torres suffered an injury during warm-up, tearing his hamstring. In the game, Zaragoza led Real 2–1 near the end of the match, while Barcelona were also winning against Espanyol 2–1. Real's title challenge looked to be over. A late Van Nistelrooy equalizer, however, followed by a last minute Raúl Tamudo goal for Espanyol, sprang Real Madrid's title hopes back into their favour. Sevilla were also held 0–0 away against Mallorca, which meant that a win at home against Mallorca would effectively secure Los Merengues their 30th Spanish league title.

The title was won on 17 June, where Real faced Mallorca at the Bernabéu, while Barcelona and Sevilla faced Gimnàstic de Tarragona and Villarreal, respectively. At half-time, Real were 0–1 down, while Barcelona had surged ahead into a 0–3 lead in Tarragona; however, three goals in the last half-an-hour secured Real Madrid a 3–1 win and their first league title since 2003. The first goal came from José Antonio Reyes, who scored after a good work from Higuaín. An own goal followed by another delightful goal from Reyes allowed Real to begin celebrating the title. Thousands of Real Madrid fans began going to Plaza de Cibeles to celebrate the title.

2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons
Real Madrid's players celebrate their 2008 Supercopa de España win.

On 25 August, Real Madrid kicked off the season in a derby against city rivals Atlético Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. It was a highly entertaining display from both sides but Real managed to win 2–1, with goals from Raúl and Wesley Sneijder for Real, while Sergio Agüero scored for Atlético. It was a great start for Real as they showed skill and that they were adapting to the new style of play new manager Bernd Schuster had brought in. On 28 August, Sevilla's Antonio Puerta died after three days in the hospital. The Santiago Bernabéu Trophy, which Real Madrid was about contend for against Sporting CP, was cancelled in honour of Puerta. On 2 September, Real Madrid managed to win 5–0 against Villarreal at El Madrigal, with two goals from Sneijder, one from Raúl, one from Ruud van Nistelrooy and one from Guti. Real extended their winning streak to three after they beat Almería at home before earning a well-deserved 1–1 draw against Real Valladolid, with Javier Saviola scoring the equalizer three minutes from final time.

Four days later, Real remained unbeaten as they beat Real Betis 2–0 at the Bernabéu, with goals from Raúl and an amazing bicycle kick from Júlio Baptista. Real continued their unbeaten run under Schuster by beating Getafe 0–1 away to ensure Los Blancos remain at the summit of La Liga.

Real began their European campaign well, defeating German side Werder Bremen 2–1 at home thanks to goals from Raúl and Van Nistelrooy and topping their group over Olympiacos, Werder Bremen and Lazio, respectively. However, they lost in the first knockout round against Roma, 4–2 on aggregate.

On 9 December 2008, it was announced Bernd Schuster had been sacked as manager, and that ex-Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos would replace him.[7] The next year, Real Madrid also were dumped from the Champions League in the last 16 stage, for the fourth time in a row, after a humiliating 5–0 aggregate defeat against Liverpool.

Second Florentino Pérez era (2009–present)
Cristiano Ronaldo was the club's most expensive signing when he joined in 2009, costing €94 million.

On 1 June 2009, Florentino Pérez regained Real Madrid's presidency.[8] Pérez continued with the Galácticos policy pursued in his first term, buying Kaká from Milan for a record-breaking (in pounds sterling) sum of £56 million,[9] and then breaking the record again by purchasing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80 million.[10] The 2009–10 season, however, was a transitional one as Madrid again finished second in the league, although this time amassing 96 points, the club's record at the time, and went out of the Champions League at the hands of Lyon.

José Mourinho took over as manager in May 2010.[11][12] In April 2011, a rare occurrence happened when, for the first time ever, four Clásicos were to be played in a span of just 18 days. The first fixture was for the league campaign on 17 April (which ended 1–1 with penalty goals for both sides), the Copa del Rey final (which was won by Madrid 1–0 a.e.t., bringing them their first trophy in the second Galáctico era) and the controversial two-legged Champions League semifinal on 27 April and 2 May (Barcelona won 3–1 on aggregate and ultimately won the tournament).[13] Real finished second behind Barça in La Liga for the third year in a row, collecting 92 points.

In the 2011–12 season, Real Madrid won La Liga for a record 32nd time in its history, also finishing the season with numerous club-level records set, including 100 points reached in a single season, a total of 121 goals scored, a goal difference of +89 and 16 away wins, with 32 wins overall.[14] In the same season, Cristiano Ronaldo become the fastest player to reach 100 goals scored in Spanish league history. In reaching 101 goals in 92 games, Ronaldo surpassed Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskás, who scored 100 goals in 105 matches. 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.[15][16] Madrid also competed in the Copa del Rey, losing to Barcelona 4–3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and the Champions League where the team reached the semi-finals, losing to Bayern Munich on penalties in a heartbreaking fashion.

Real Madrid started the 2012–13 season by winning the Supercopa de España, defeating Barcelona on away goals. However, the super cup turned out to be their only trophy of the season, despite being close to win them all. Real finished runners-up to Barça in La Liga, accumulating 85 points, and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the third year in a row, where they were eliminated by Borussia Dortmund 3–4 on aggregate. Madrid also entered the Copa del Rey in the round of 32, going on a memorable run to the final, which saw them defeat Barcelona in the semi-finals before losing to Atlético Madrid 1–2 a.e.t. in a heartbreaking fashion. A major transfer of the season was signing of Luka Modrić from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee in the region of £33 million. After a loss to Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, Pérez announced the departure of José Mourinho at the end of the season by "mutual agreement".[17][18]

La Décima and European treble

On 25 June 2013, Carlo Ancelotti succeeded Mourinho to become the manager of Real Madrid on a three-year deal, with Zinedine Zidane named as one of his assistants.[20] On 1 September 2013, the long-awaited transfer of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur was announced. The transfer of the Welshman was reportedly a new world record signing, with the transfer price approximated at €100 million.[21] In Ancelotti's first season at the club, Real Madrid finished the league campaign in third place (behind Barcelona and cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid), collecting 87 points in total, after winning the Copa del Rey – against rivals Barcelona – in April, with Bale scoring the winner.[22] Upon reaching the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, they defeated then-recently-league winners Atlético Madrid 4–1 a.e.t. to win their tenth European title (first since 2002)[23] and becoming the first team to win ten European Cups/Champions League titles, an achievement known as "La Décima".[24]

After winning the 2014 Champions League, Real Madrid signed goalkeeper Keylor Navas, midfielder Toni Kroos and attacking midfielder James Rodríguez.[25] The club won the 2014 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, the club's 79th official trophy.[26] During the last week of the 2014 summer transfer window, Real Madrid sold two players key to the previous season's successes: Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich and Ángel Di María to Manchester United. This decision by the club was surrounded by controversy, with Cristiano Ronaldo stating, "If I was in charge, maybe I would have done things differently," while Carlo Ancelotti admitted, "We must start again from zero."[27]

After a slow start to the 2014–15 season, Real Madrid went on a record-breaking 22-match winning streak, which included wins against Barcelona and Liverpool, surpassing the previous Spanish record of 18 successive wins set by Frank Rijkaard's Barça in the 2005–06 season.[28] The streak came to an end in their opening match of 2015 with a loss to Valencia, leaving the club two short of equalling the world record of 24 consecutive wins.[29] Madrid was in contention for both the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League until the very end but ultimately came up short, finishing with 92 points in the league, two behind treble-winning Barcelona and losing to Juventus 2–3 on aggregate in the Champions League semi-finals. Overall, despite playing an attractive attacking football and being the highest scoring team in Europe, several heartbreaking defeats meant that Real finished the season with two trophies out of six possible, which contributed to the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti on 25 May 2015.[30]

On 3 June 2015, Rafael Benítez was confirmed as the new Real Madrid manager for the 2015–16 season, signing a three-year contract.[31] Real Madrid remained unbeaten in the league until a 3–2 loss at Sevilla on the matchday 11. This was followed by a 0–4 home loss in the first Clásico of the season against Barcelona. In the Copa del Rey round of 32, Real accidentally fielded an ineligible player Denis Cheryshev in a 3–1 first leg away win against Cádiz, resulting in the second leg being cancelled and Real being disqualified.[32] Benítez was relieved of his duties on 4 January 2016 following allegations of unpopularity with supporters, displeasure with players and a failure to get good results against top teams.[33] Benítez's departure was announced along with the promotion of Zinedine Zidane to his first head coaching role.[34] Under Zidane, Madrid ended up finishing second in the league, with 90 points and just one point behind champions Barcelona.[35] On 28 May, Real Madrid's eleventh Champions League title was won after a 5–3 penalty shoot-out victory over Atlético Madrid after a 1–1 draw in the final, with the achievement being termed "La Undécima".[36][37]

Zidane, with his Real Madrid players, standing to the right of Madrid mayor Manuela Carmena after Real had won their 33rd La Liga title, May 2017

Real Madrid began their 2016–17 campaign, which was to be Zidane's first full season in charge of the club, with victory in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup over Sevilla.[38] On 10 December 2016, Madrid won their 35th-straight match without a loss, which set a new club record.[39] On 18 December 2016, the club defeated Japanese outfit Kashima Antlers 4–2 in the final of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup.[40] With a 3–3 draw at Sevilla in the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16 on 12 January 2017, Madrid progressed to the quarter-finals with a 6–3 aggregate victory and extended its unbeaten run to 40 matches, breaking Barcelona's Spanish record of 39 matches unbeaten in all competitions from the previous season.[41] Their unbeaten streak ended after a 1–2 away loss against the same opposition in La Liga three days later.[42] The team then was knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Celta Vigo 3–4 on aggregate. In May that year, Madrid won the league title for a record 33rd time, their first title in five years, accumulating 93 points in process.[43] On 3 June 2017, the club's Champions League final win against Juventus resulted in Real Madrid being the first team to successfully defend their title in the UEFA Champions League era, and the first to win consecutive titles in the competition since Milan in 1989 and 1990, when the tournament was known as the European Cup.[44][45] Real Madrid's title was its 12th, extending its record, and its third in four years. The achievement is also known as "La Duodécima".[46] The 2016–17 season was the greatest campaign in terms of trophies won (four out of possible five) in the history of Real Madrid, an achievement that would be later equalled in the 2017–18 season.[47]

Real kicked off the 2017–18 campaign by winning its second consecutive and fourth overall UEFA Super Cup in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United.[48] Five days later, Real Madrid beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou 3–1 in the first leg of the 2017 Supercopa de España and then defeated Barça 2–0 in the return leg, ending their 24 consecutive match scoring record in El Clásico matches and winning the second trophy of the season.[49] On 16 December 2017, Real beat Brazilian club Grêmio 1–0 in the FIFA Club World Cup final and became the first team to retain the trophy.[50] On 24 January 2018, Madrid was knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage by Leganés on away goals. The team's league campaign was also a disappointment as Real collected only 76 points and finished third, 17 points behind champions Barcelona. Madrid fared far better in the Champions League, once again progressing to the final where they defeated Liverpool 3–1 to become the first club to win three straight titles in the Champions League era, as well as the first team to win three consecutive titles in the European Cup/Champions League since Bayern Munich in 1976. The trophy also marked Madrid's fourth win in five years and their eighth consecutive semi-final appearance. On 31 May, only five days after winning the final, Zidane announced his resignation as Real Madrid manager, citing the club's "need for change" as his rationale for departing.[51][52] Madrid ended the season with four trophies out of possible six.

Following Ronaldo's departure

On 12 June, Real Madrid named Julen Lopetegui, the head coach of the Spanish national team, as their new manager. It was announced that he would officially begin his managerial duties after the 2018 FIFA World Cup. However, the Spanish national team sacked Lopetegui a day prior to the tournament, stating that he had negotiated terms with the club without informing them.[53][54][55] The club then began aggressively re-shaping the squad in the summer of 2018, which included the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for a reported €100 million.[56] Madrid began their 2018–19 campaign by losing to Atlético Madrid 2–4 a.e.t. in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. After a disgraceful 1–5 loss to Barcelona in El Clásico on 28 October which left Real Madrid in the ninth place with only 14 points after 10 games, Lopetegui was dismissed a day later and replaced by then Castilla coach, Santiago Solari.[57] On 22 December 2018, Real Madrid beat Al Ain by a 4–1 margin in the FIFA Club World Cup final. With their win, Real Madrid became the outright record winners of the Club World Cup with four titles. They are considered to have been the world champions for grand total of seven times because FIFA officially recognizes the Intercontinental Cup as the predecessor of the FIFA Club World Cup. They also extended the record for most consecutive titles with their third in a row.[58] Solari won 10 out his first 13 La Liga matches, but the team started to struggle again soon after that. First, they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the semi-final stage by Barcelona, losing 0–3 at home on 27 February 2019 after a 1–1 away draw in the first leg. Then there was another El Clásico a few days later, this time in the league, and Madrid against lost a home game to Barça, 0–1. Finally, on 5 March 2019, Real was thumped by Ajax 1–4 (3–5 on aggregate) in a home game, crashing out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage after eight consecutive semi-final appearances. On 11 March 2019, Real Madrid dismissed Solari and reinstated Zidane as the head coach of the club.[59][60] Madrid went on to win five, draw two and lose four remaining league matches under Zidane, finishing third with 68 points, 12 losses and a +17 goal difference. The club won one out of five possible trophies in one of the worst seasons in its modern history.[61]

2019–20 season seemed a promising one, as Madrid went on a spending spree in the summer of 2019, signing Eden Hazard, Luka Jović, Éder Militão, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo, Reinier and other players for a total of more than €350 million. On 12 January 2020, Madrid beat cross-city rivals Atlético Madrid in a penalty shootout in the Supercopa de España final to win their eleventh title.[62] On 6 February 2020, Madrid was eliminated by Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, losing 3–4 at home.[63] 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.[64] Madrid played the postponed second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Manchester City in August, losing 1–2 (2–4 on aggregate) at the Etihad and being eliminated at the first knockout stage for the second consecutive year.[65] Real ended the season with two trophies out of possible four.[66]

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