Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.
The club was formed in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, and played its first official game in November 1902. Madrid won the 1957–58 European Cup, which was their first international title. The club played its first ever competitive match in 1902 against Arenas Club de Getxo.
Here are ten fun facts about Real Madrid:
1. Their home stadium is Santiago Bernabéu Stadium which has a capacity of 81,044 spectators making it one of the largest stadiums in Europe.
2. As of September 2020, there are 26 players who have played over 100 games for Los Blancos including legends such as Sergio Ramos & Iker Casillas.
3. Ronaldo Nazário aka “Il Fenomeno” holds the record for most goals scored in a single season (34) during his magical 1996/1997 campaign.
4. Zinedine Zidane was their manager and he is considered by many to be one of if not THE greatest player of all time.
5. Their main rivals are FC Barcelona with whom they contest El Clásico – arguably THE biggest fixture on any football calendar in Spain and around globe.
6. Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe & Eden Hazard make up what could possibly be termed as ‘the new BBC‘ following Gareth Bale’s departure back to Tottenham Hotspur.
7. Los Merengues have lifted 19 league titles & 11 European Cups/Champions Leagues – more than any other team on both counts.
8. Cristiano Ronaldo spent 9 seasons at Santiago Bernabéu before leaving for Juventus where he then proceeded to break numerous records.
9. Some famous former managers include Vicente del Bosque, José Mourinho & Fabio Capello.
10. David Beckham signed for them from Manchester United back in 2003.
