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150-546: Starting the 2018-21 cycle, Expedia Group became the first-ever global sponsor of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup as Expedia extended to another season until 2024, but downgraded to the regional basis which it focuses to the U.S. market only starting in 2022–23 season as Hotels.com ended the sponsorship after 2021-22 season. Starting the pandemic-hit 2020-21 season , Expedia struck

300-650: A Copa Eva Duarte and a Copa de la Liga . In International football , Real Madrid have won a record 34 trophies: a record 15 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, a record six UEFA Super Cups , two UEFA Cups , a joint record two Latin Cups , a record one Iberoamerican Cup , and a record eight FIFA Club World championships . Madrid was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 2000, 2002, 2014, 2017. In UEFA, Madrid ranks first in

450-471: A hat-trick by Alfredo Di Stéfano. This was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, a record that still stands today. Real Madrid's reign ended in the 1960–61 season when bitter rivals Barcelona dethroned them in the first round. Barcelona were defeated in the final by Portuguese side Benfica 3–2 at the Wankdorf Stadium . Reinforced by Eusébio , Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5–3 at

600-534: A penalty shoot-out after a 3–3 aggregate tie. Madrid entered the Copa del Rey as the defending champions , but lost 3–4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to Barcelona. In the same season, Cristiano Ronaldo became 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

750-482: A +17 goal difference, its lowest totals since 2001–02 and 1999–2000 respectively. In the summer of 2019, Madrid signed 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. After

900-565: A 0–3 loss at the hands of Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu in November 2005. Madrid's coach Wanderley Luxemburgo was sacked the following month and his replacement was Juan Ramón López Caro . 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. Shortly after, Real Madrid were eliminated from

1050-466: A 3–1 win and their first league title since 2003. Real Madrid repeated as league winners in 2007–08 , but the following season ended up being one of the most disastrous in the club's history: Real was knocked out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage for the fifth time in a row, losing to Liverpool 0–5 on aggregate, and was embarrassed by Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu with

1200-556: A 3–3 draw between Sporting CP and Partizan. The first goal in European Cup history was scored by João Baptista Martins of Sporting CP. The inaugural final took place at the Parc des Princes between Stade de Reims and Real Madrid on 13 June 1956. The Spanish squad came back from behind to win 4–3 thanks to goals from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Marquitos , as well as two goals from Héctor Rial . Real Madrid successfully defended

1350-628: A French sports journalist and editor of L'Équipe , Bernabéu, Ernest Bedrignan (deputy chairman of the Ligue de Football Professionnel ) and Gusztáv Sebes created the European Cup , a continental tournament for the league champions around Europe, which is today known as the UEFA Champions League. It was under Bernabéu's guidance that Real Madrid established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football. The club won

1500-544: A Spanish professional football club based in Madrid . The club competes in La Liga , the top tier of Spanish football . Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since its inception. The honorific title real is Spanish for "royal" and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 alongside with the crown in the club crest. Real Madrid have played their home matches in

1650-512: A Toni Kroos corner, and Vinícius Júnior once again scoring in a UCL final. Real Madrid won their 15th Champions League without losing a single match during the campaign. Following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, Real Madrid announced that striker Kylian Mbappé would be joining the club on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in July 2024, concluding one of the most highly anticipated transfer sagas in modern history. The first crest had

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1800-570: A bottle just missed Sospedra that would have killed him if it had hit him. It was all set up." Real Madrid went 2–0 up within half an hour. The third goal brought with it a sending off for Barcelona's Benito García after he made what Calvet claimed was a "completely normal tackle". Madrid's José Llopis Corona recalled: "At which point, they got a bit demoralized," while Ángel Mur countered, "at which point, we thought: 'go on then, score as many as you want'." Madrid made it 8–0 by half-time; two goals were also ruled out for offside, and proceeded to score

1950-591: A competition modelled after the Challenge Cup, was created in 1927, an idea of Austrian Hugo Meisl , and played between Central European clubs. In 1930, the Coupe des Nations (French: Nations Cup ), the first attempt to create a cup for national champion clubs of Europe, was played and organised by Swiss club Servette . Held in Geneva , it brought together ten champions from across the continent. The tournament

2100-416: A deal to ensure tournament sponsors were given priority on television advertisements during matches, ensured that each of the tournament's main sponsors was given maximum exposure. From the 2012–13 knockout phase , UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knockout participant stadiums, including the final. From the 2015–16 season onwards, UEFA has used such hoardings from the play-off round until

2250-490: A failure to get good results against top teams. Benítez's departure was announced along with the promotion of Zinedine Zidane to his first head coaching role. Under Zidane, Madrid managed to turn the odds in its favour, ultimately winning the Champions League, something no one expected. The notable results include a 2–1 away victory over reigning treble winners Barcelona, who were on a record-breaking winning streak,

2400-402: A fantastic comeback against Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarter-finals (after losing the away game 0–2, Madrid erased the deficit and won 3–0 at home, courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick), as well as a 12-game winning streak to conclude the league campaign, meaning Real finished second, with 90 points and just one point behind champions Barcelona, coming agonizingly close to clinching

2550-550: A five-in-a-row sequence in 1961–65, and finishing runners-up a further three times. The club won the European Cup for a sixth time in 1966 , defeating Partizan Belgrade 2–1 in the final with a team composed entirely of same nationality players, a first in the competition. This team became known as the Yé-yé . The name "Yé-yé" came from the "Yeah, yeah, yeah" chorus in The Beatles ' song " She Loves You " after four members of

2700-531: A further three goals in the second half, to which Barcelona replied with a late consolation goal. According to football writer Sid Lowe , "There have been relatively few mentions of the game [since] and it is not a result that has been particularly celebrated in Madrid. Indeed, the 11–1 occupies a far more prominent place in Barcelona's history. This was the game that first formed the identification of Madrid as

2850-470: A humiliating 2–6 loss, which all but confirmed the league title for Barça that went on to win the treble . On 1 June 2009, Florentino Pérez regained Real Madrid's presidency amid the outrage over the club's decline. 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, and then breaking

3000-458: A logo, and the "starball". The starball was created by Design Bridge, a London-based firm selected by TEAM after a competition. TEAM gives particular attention to detail in how the colours and starball are depicted at matches. According to TEAM, "Irrespective of whether you are a spectator in Moscow or Milan, you will always see the same stadium dressing materials, the same opening ceremony featuring

3150-409: A loss to Valencia, leaving the club two short of equalling the world record of 24 consecutive wins. 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. Ronaldo finished

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3300-471: A lot [of players leaving] when the normal rule is: never change a winning team," stated Zidane. Real Madrid, with newly appointed coach Carlos Queiroz , started their domestic league slowly after a hard win over Real Betis . The 2005–06 season began with the promise of several new signings: Júlio Baptista (€24 million), Robinho (€30 million), and Sergio Ramos (€27 million). However, Real Madrid suffered from some poor results, including

3450-466: 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. 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

3600-416: A new club, Nueva Sociedad de Football (New Society of Football), to distinguish themselves from Sky Football . Among the dissenters were Julián Palacios , recognized as the first Real Madrid president, Juan Padrós and Carlos Padrós , the latter two being brothers and future presidents of Real Madrid. In 1901, this new club was renamed as Madrid Football Club. Later, following a restructuring in 1902, Sky

3750-435: A possibility for additional spots based on performance during the previous season. Clubs that finish below the qualifying spots are eligible for the second-tier UEFA Europa League competition, and since 2021, for the third-tier UEFA Conference League . In its present format, the Champions League begins in early July with three qualifying rounds and a play-off round, all played over two legs. The seven surviving teams enter

3900-561: A record 104 goals. By that time, Los Blancos had already secured the Copa del Rey – against rivals Barcelona – in April, with Bale scoring the winner. The major breakthrough came in the UEFA Champions League , where Real returned to the final after twelve years, having beaten defending champions Bayern Munich 5–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals. In the final, they defeated then-recently-league winners Atlético Madrid 4–1 a.e.t. to clinch their tenth European Cup (first since 2002) and become

4050-510: A representative. This led to many lawsuits. In August 2016, Buckeye Tree Lodge and Sequoia Village Inn, LLC filed a class-action lawsuit in California accusing the company and its partners of violating trademark rights of numerous independent hotel and motel establishments by running advertising implying that consumers could book reservations for those hotels on Expedia even though Expedia had no relationship with those hotels, in violation of

4200-460: A result, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being played as single match knockout ties at neutral venues in Lisbon, Portugal in the summer with the final taking place on 23 August 2020. The following is the default access list. Changes will be made to the access list above if the Champions League or Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues. Each year,

4350-640: A second time on 27 May 2021 after going trophyless that season , with Carlo Ancelotti returning to coach the team for the 2021–22 season . On the domestic front, he delivered two trophies out of possible three, winning La Liga and the Supercopa de España . As such, Ancelotti won all six available top trophies at Madrid. In the Champions League , Madrid produced one of the most memorable runs of all time, defeating pre-tournament favourites Paris Saint-Germain , defending champions and favourites Chelsea , Premier League champions and heavy favourites Manchester City , all in dramatic fashion, and setting up

4500-435: A simple design consisting of a decorative interlacing of the three initials of the club, "MCF" for Madrid Club de Fútbol, in dark blue on a white shirt. The first change in the crest occurred in 1908 when the letters adopted a more streamlined form and appeared inside a circle. The next change in the configuration of the crest did not occur until the presidency of Pedro Parages in 1920. At that time, King Alfonso XIII granted

4650-466: A single tournament en route to the tournament victory: Bayern Munich in the 2019–20 season. Real Madrid is the current European champion, having beaten Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the 2024 final for their fifteenth title. The first time the champions of two European leagues met was in what was nicknamed the 1895 World Championship , when English champions Sunderland beat Scottish champions Heart of Midlothian 5–3. The first pan-European tournament

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4800-453: 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 . In late December, Real Madrid won their first Club World Cup , defeating San Lorenzo 2–0 in the final . The winning streak came to an end in their opening match of 2015 with

4950-698: 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. 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. [REDACTED] Zidane left

5100-499: A version of the official trophy : Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Milan and Liverpool. Since 2008, the official trophy has remained with UEFA and the clubs are awarded a replica. The current trophy is 74 cm (29 in) tall and made of silver, weighing 11 kg (24 lb). It was designed by Jürg Stadelmann, a jeweller from Bern , Switzerland, after the original was given to Real Madrid in 1966 in recognition of their six titles to date, and cost 10,000 Swiss francs . As of

5250-411: A victory in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla. On 10 December 2016, Madrid played their 35th-straight match without a loss, which set a new club record. On 18 December 2016, the club defeated Japanese outfit Kashima Antlers 4–2 in the final of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup . 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

5400-558: Is contested by top-division European clubs . The competition begins with a round robin league phase to qualify for the double-legged knockout rounds, and a single-leg final. It is the most-watched club competition in the world and the third most-watched football competition overall, behind only the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup . It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in

5550-466: Is played from September to January, while the knockout phase begins in February, with matches predominantly played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. After the league phase, a two-legged knockout play-off round is played between teams finishing 9–16 (seeded) and 17–24 (unseeded) in the league phase. Teams finishing in the top eight of the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16 as seeded teams, while

5700-399: Is set to the exclamations 'Die Meister! Die Besten! Les Grandes Équipes! The Champions!'. The anthem's chorus is played before each UEFA Champions League game as the two teams are lined up, as well as at the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the matches. In addition to the anthem, there is also entrance music, which contains parts of the anthem itself, which is played as teams enter

5850-602: The 1985 European Cup final due to the Heysel Stadium disaster . "Magic...it's magic above all else. When you hear the anthem it captivates you straight away." — Zinedine Zidane The UEFA Champions League anthem, officially titled simply as "Champions League", was written by Tony Britten , and is an adaptation of George Frideric Handel 's 1727 anthem Zadok the Priest (one of his Coronation Anthems ). UEFA commissioned Britten in 1992 to arrange an anthem, and

6000-459: The 1996–97 Champions League , they wore the logo of the holiday chain Center Parcs instead of their primary sponsor, McEwan's Lager (both companies at the time were subsidiaries of Scottish & Newcastle ). Real Madrid CF Real Madrid Club de Fútbol ( Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol] ), commonly referred to as Real Madrid , is

6150-422: The 2010–11 season , the rebuilt Madrid successfully fought on all fronts, going toe to toe with a brilliant Barcelona side which some regard as the greatest team in football history. Ultimately, Madrid finished second in the league , with 92 points and four behind their perennial rivals, defeated them in the Copa del Rey final , and lost to Barça in the Champions League semi-finals , where Real progressed to for

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6300-424: The 2011–12 season , Real Madrid won La Liga for a record 32nd time in its history, also finishing the season with numerous league records set, including 100 points amassed in a single season, a total of 121 goals scored, a goal difference of +89, 16 away games won, and 32 wins overall. They also competed in the UEFA Champions League for the 15th successive season, losing in the semi-finals to Bayern Munich in

6450-548: The 2013 final at Wembley , the chorus was played twice. In the 2018 and 2019 finals, held in Kyiv and Madrid respectively, the instrumental version of the chorus was played, by 2Cellos (2018) and Asturia Girls (2019). In the 2023 final , held in Istanbul, Hungarian pianist Ádám György performed the piano version of the anthem. The anthem has been released commercially in its original version on iTunes and Spotify with

6600-505: The 2014 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, the club's 79th official trophy. 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." After

6750-543: The 2017–18 season . 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 . 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

6900-420: 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. The club then began re-shaping the squad in the summer of 2018, which included the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for a reported €117 million. Madrid began their 2018–19 campaign by losing to Atlético Madrid 2–4 a.e.t. in

7050-651: The 2018 UEFA Super Cup . After a 1–5 loss to Barcelona in El Clásico on 28 October which left Real Madrid in the ninth place with only 14 points after ten games, Lopetegui was dismissed a day later and replaced by then Castilla coach, Santiago Solari . On 22 December 2018, Real Madrid beat Al Ain 4–1 in the FIFA Club World Cup and became the outright record winners of the Club World Cup with four titles. However, they were then knocked out of

7200-495: The CIES Football Observatory as of 2023. It was estimated to be worth $ 6.6 billion in 2024, making it the world's most valuable football club. In 2024, Real Madrid become the first football club to make €1 billion ($ 1.08bn) in revenue according to the club's announcement. In domestic football , the club has won 71 trophies; a record 36 La Liga titles, 20 Copa del Rey , 13 Supercopa de España ,

7350-624: The Champions League at the hands of Lyon . The season was marred by Cristiano Ronaldo's injury, that sidelined him for seven weeks, although he still topped the goalscoring charts with 33 goals, and Madrid became the highest scoring team in La Liga, with 102 goals. Real Madrid also had the misfortune to become the runners-up with the highest points total in the history of Europe's top five leagues, until surpassed by Liverpool's 97 points in 2018–19 . José Mourinho took over as manager in May 2010. In

7500-418: The Copa del Rey at the semi-final stage by Barcelona, losing 1–4 on aggregate. On 5 March 2019, Real was defeated by Ajax 1–4 (3–5 on aggregate) at home, crashing out of the Champions League at the round of 16 stage after eight consecutive semi-finals appearances. On 11 March 2019, Real Madrid dismissed Solari and reinstated Zidane as the head coach of the club. Madrid finished the season with 68 points and

7650-476: The Copa del Rey round of 32 , Real accidentally fielded an ineligible player in a 3–1 first leg win at Cádiz and was disqualified from the tournament two days later by the competition judge, despite protests from president Pérez. In the meantime, Madrid comfortably topped their UCL group with 16 points and a +16 goal difference. Benítez was relieved of his duties on 4 January 2016 following allegations of unpopularity with supporters, displeasure with players and

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7800-685: The Ernst-Happel-Stadion to win the 1963–64 season and replicate their local-rival's success. The title stayed in Milan for the third year in a row after Inter beat Benfica 1–0 at their home ground, the San Siro . Under the leadership of Jock Stein , Scottish club Celtic beat Inter Milan 2–1 in the 1967 final to become the first British club to win the European Cup. The Celtic players that day, all of whom were born within 30 miles (48 km) of Glasgow, subsequently became known as

7950-540: The European Cup/Champions League twice, first in 1955–56 , 1956–57 , and 1957–58 , and second in 2015–16 , 2016–17 and 2017–18 . In June 2024, they won a record-extending 15th Champions League title (the fifth in nine seasons), recognised as such by Guinness World Records . Real Madrid is the first club across all of Europe's top-five leagues to win 100 trophies in all competitions . As of July 2024, Real Madrid are ranked 2nd in

8100-534: The Lanham Act , and also falsely noting that hotels with which the company had no relationship were "sold out". In April 2021, the lawsuit was settled and the company promised not to engage in false advertising. UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL ) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that

8250-601: The Les Corts in Catalonia, had ended with Barcelona winning 3–0. Madrid complained about all the three goals that referee Fombona Fernández had allowed for Barcelona, with the home supporters also whistling Madrid throughout, whom they accused of employing roughhouse tactics, and Fombona for allowing them to. The newspaper Ya reported the whistling as a "clear intention to attack the representatives of Spain." Barcelona fans were banned from traveling to Madrid. The day of

8400-628: The Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam and kept the title for a second consecutive season . Benfica wanted to repeat Real Madrid's successful run of the 1950s after reaching the showpiece event of the 1962–63 European Cup , but a brace from Brazilian-Italian José Altafini at Wembley gave the spoils to Milan, making the trophy leave the Iberian Peninsula for the first time ever. Inter Milan beat an ageing Real Madrid 3–1 at

8550-646: The Second Galáctico Era that yielded four Champions League titles, two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey, two Supercopa de España, three UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles. The team was instrumental in ending Barcelona's dominance, despite the Blaugrana boasting arguably the greatest collection of talent in history, and overshadowed the Catalans on the European stage. Real Madrid

8700-656: The Spanish Cup final. The club became one of the founding sides of the Royal Spanish Football Federation on 4 January 1909, when club president Adolfo Meléndez signed the foundation agreement of the Spanish FA. After moving between several grounds, the team relocated to the Campo de O'Donnell in 1912. In 1920, the club's name was changed to Real Madrid after King Alfonso XIII granted

8850-465: The UEFA Super Cup and later the FIFA Club World Cup . The season ended with Real Madrid winning the 2022–23 Copa del Rey , but losing the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup to FC Barcelona and the Champions League to Manchester City, being defeated 5–1 on aggregate. In 2023, Real Madrid signed Jude Bellingham , who was given the number #5 jersey, previously used by Zinedine Zidane. Real also signed Arda Güler and Fran García . Meanwhile, Vinícius Júnior

9000-658: The UEFA club rankings and first in last 10 years (2013–2023) overall. Real Madrid's origins go back to when football was introduced to Madrid by the academics and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza , which included several Cambridge and Oxford University graduates. They founded (Sociedad) Sky Football in 1897, commonly known as La Sociedad (The Society) as it was the only one based in Madrid, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. In 1900, conflict between members caused some of them to leave and create

9150-687: The World Cup was being played in Argentina . FIFA decreed three days of mourning to honour him during the tournament. The following year, the club organized the first edition of the Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu in memory of its former president. Bernabéu had been Real Madrid's president for almost 35 years, during which his club won one Intercontinental Cup , six European Cups , 16 league titles , six Spanish Cups , two Latin Cups and one Copa Eva Duarte . [REDACTED] In

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9300-444: The all-time club ranking . Being one of the three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929 (along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona ), Real Madrid has many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi Madrileño with Atlético Madrid . The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during

9450-414: The final against Liverpool, who were once again widely considered as favourites, in a rematch of their 2018 encounter. A lone Vinícius Júnior goal sealed the 14th European Cup for Los Blancos , their fifth in nine years, and Ancelotti's second in charge. Real also claimed their fourth ever European double (after 1956–57 , 1957–58 , and 2016–17 ). Despite Real's status as the most decorated team in

9600-473: The " Lisbon Lions ". The 1967–68 season saw Manchester United become the first English team to win the European Cup, beating two-times winners Benfica 4–1 in the final. This final came ten years after the Munich air disaster , which had claimed the lives of eight United players and left their manager, Matt Busby , fighting for his life. In the 1968–69 season , Ajax became the first Dutch team to reach

9750-468: The 'starball' centre circle ceremony, and hear the same UEFA Champions League Anthem ". Based on research it conducted, TEAM concluded that by 1999, "the starball logo had achieved a recognition rate of 94 percent among fans". The UEFA Champions League used to begin with a double round-robin group stage of 32 teams until it evolved into a league phase of 36 teams, which is preceded by two qualification 'streams' for teams that do not receive direct entry to

9900-454: The 1950s and 60s, winning five consecutive and six overall European Cups and reaching a further two finals. This success was replicated on the domestic front, with Madrid winning 12 league titles in 16 years. This team, which included Alfredo Di Stéfano , Ferenc Puskás , Paco Gento and Raymond Kopa is considered, by some in the sport, to be the greatest of all time. Real Madrid is known for its Galácticos policy, which involves signing

10050-413: The 2012–13 season, 40 gold medals are presented to the Champions League winners, and 40 silver medals to the runners-up. Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows. A large part of the distributed revenue from the UEFA Champions League is linked to the "market pool", the distribution of which is determined by the value of the television market in each nation. For

10200-424: The 2019–20 season, Paris Saint-Germain , who were the runners-up, earned nearly €126.8 million in total, of which €101.3 million was prize money, compared with the €125.46 million earned by Bayern Munich, who won the tournament and were awarded €112.96 million in prize money. Like the FIFA World Cup , the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to

10350-573: The 20th century by FIFA and as the best European club during the same timeframe by the IFFHS , while also receiving the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. Real Madrid has the highest participations in the European Cup/Champions League (43), a tournament in which they hold the overall record for the most wins, most draws and most goals scored. Real Madrid is the only club to have won three consecutive titles ( three-peat ) in

10500-416: The 85,000-capacity Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting clubs, Real Madrid's members ( socios ) have owned and operated the club throughout its history. The official Madrid anthem is the " Hala Madrid y nada más ", written by RedOne and Manuel Jabois. The club is one of the most widely supported in the world and is the most followed football club on social media according to

10650-450: The Champions League for a fourth successive year, this time at the hands of Arsenal . On 27 February 2006, Florentino Pérez resigned. Ramón Calderón was elected as club president on 2 July 2006 and subsequently appointed Fabio Capello as the new coach and Predrag Mijatović as the new sporting director. Real Madrid won the Liga title in 2007 for the first time in four years, but Capello

10800-488: The Champions League for the eighth time , following a 3–0 victory over Valencia in the final , with goals from Morientes, McManaman and Raúl. This victory marked the beginning of a successful period in Real Madrid's history. [REDACTED] In July 2000, Florentino Pérez was elected club president. He vowed in his campaign to erase the club's €270 million debt and modernize the club's facilities. However,

10950-712: The European Champion Clubs' Cup. The first European Cup took place during the 1955–56 season. Sixteen teams participated (some by invitation): AC Milan (Italy), AGF Aarhus (Denmark), Anderlecht (Belgium), Djurgården (Sweden), Gwardia Warszawa (Poland), Hibernian (Scotland), Partizan ( Yugoslavia ), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Rapid Wien (Austria), Real Madrid (Spain), Rot-Weiss Essen ( West Germany ), Saarbrücken ( Saar ), Servette (Switzerland), Sporting CP (Portugal), Reims (France) and Vörös Lobogó (Hungary). The first European Cup match took place on 4 September 1955, and ended in

11100-410: The European Cup final, but they were beaten 4–1 by Milan, who claimed their second European Cup, with Pierino Prati scoring a hat-trick. The 1969–70 season saw the first Dutch winners of the competition. Feyenoord knocked out the defending champions, Milan in the second round, before beating Celtic in the final . In the 1970–71 season , Ajax won the title, beating Greek side Panathinaikos in

11250-539: The European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included the 7–3 Hampden Park final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 . After these five consecutive successes, Real was permanently awarded the original cup and earned the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour . Real Madrid's achievements in Europe were built upon its unprecedented domestic dominance, with the club winning twelve league titles out of sixteen possible from 1953–54 to 1968–69 , including

11400-488: 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-finals 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. Zidane's and Ronaldo's departures marked the end of

11550-536: The Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers. UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that, if the Champions League winner fell outside of its domestic league's top four, it would qualify at

11700-504: The Santiago Bernabéu), and its training facilities Ciudad Deportiva . Additionally, during the 1950s former Real Madrid Amateurs player Miguel Malbo founded Real Madrid's youth academy, or " cantera ," known today as La Fábrica . Beginning in 1953, he embarked upon a strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, the most prominent being Alfredo Di Stéfano . In 1955, acting upon the idea proposed by Gabriel Hanot ,

11850-675: The South American Championship of Champions was the inspiration for the European Champions Cup. After Stan Cullis declared Wolverhampton Wanderers "Champions of the World" following a successful run of friendlies in the 1950s, in particular a 3–2 friendly victory against Budapest Honvéd , Hanot finally managed to convince UEFA to put into practice such a tournament. It was conceived in Paris in 1955 as

12000-554: The Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona 4–1, taking revenge of the previous year's 3–0 defeat. 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 2011–12 100 points season. In the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League , Real Madrid knocked out RB Leipzig in the Round of 16, then defending champions Manchester City in penalties. In

12150-645: The best teams in Spain and Europe during the second half of the 1980s, winning two UEFA Cups , five Spanish championships in a row, one Spanish Cup, and three Spanish Super Cups . In the early 1990s, La Quinta del Buitre split up after Martín Vázquez, Emilio Butragueño and Míchel left the club. In 1996, President Lorenzo Sanz appointed Fabio Capello as coach. Although his tenure lasted only one season, Real Madrid were proclaimed league champions, and players like Predrag Mijatović , Davor Šuker , Clarence Seedorf , Roberto Carlos and keeper Bodo Illgner , arrived at

12300-413: The biggest domestic leagues qualified directly for the tournament group stage. Prior to this, three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds whittled down the remaining teams, with teams starting in different rounds. An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in

12450-498: The capturing of the 2003 La Liga title were surrounded with controversy. The first controversial decision came when Pérez sacked winning coach Vicente del Bosque . 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 . "That's

12600-435: The champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner reckoned as the European club champion. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries since the 1997–98 season. While only the winners of many of Europe's national leagues can enter the competition, the top 5 leagues by coefficient provide four teams each by default, with

12750-508: The chest and the left sleeve. Exceptions are made for non-profit organisations, which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. If a club plays a match in a nation where the relevant sponsorship category is restricted (such as France's alcohol advertising restriction), then they must remove that logo from their jerseys. For example, when Rangers played French side Auxerre in

12900-606: The club to lose the title Real and the royal crown on its emblem, going back to being named Madrid Football Club until the end of the Spanish Civil War . 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 . The first leg, played at

13050-428: The club 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 its seventh European Cup: in 1998, under manager Jupp Heynckes , they defeated Juventus 1–0 in the final with a goal from Mijatović. In November 1999, Vicente del Bosque took over as coach. For

13200-417: The competition since Milan in 1989 and 1990 , when the tournament was known as the European Cup. Real Madrid's title was its 12th, extending the record, and its third in four years. The achievement is also known as " La Duodécima ". 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

13350-401: The deal with the 2020 English champions , Liverpool F.C. as a global sponsor of the website in 3 seasons until 2023. In July 2021, Expedia became Wrexham A.F.C. 's shirt back sponsor. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , customers complained regarding the process to get refunds for cancelled flights. Customers complained of excessively long call times and being unable to get through to

13500-779: The early 1980s, Real Madrid had lost its grasp on the La Liga title, until a new cohort of home-grown stars brought domestic success back to the club. Spanish sports journalist Julio César Iglesias gave to this generation the name La Quinta del Buitre ("Vulture's Cohort"), which was derived from the nickname given to one of its members, Emilio Butragueño . The other four members were Manolo Sanchís , Martín Vázquez , Míchel and Miguel Pardeza . All five footballers were graduates of Real Madrid's youth academy . With La Quinta del Buitre (reduced to four members when Pardeza left for Zaragoza in 1986) and notable players like goalkeeper Francisco Buyo , right-back Miguel Porlán Chendo and Mexican striker Hugo Sánchez , Real Madrid had one of

13650-469: The eight winning teams from the knockout play-off round will enter the round of 16 draw as unseeded teams. Teams finishing 25th–36th place in the league phase and the eight losers of the knockout play-offs are eliminated from the competition and from European football since it is no longer possible to enter the Europa League from the league phase onwards. After the round of 16 the competition follows

13800-429: The expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. Until 2015–16, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League. In May 2012, Tottenham Hotspur finished fourth in the 2011–12 Premier League , two places ahead of Chelsea, but failed to qualify for the 2012–13 Champions League , after Chelsea won the 2012 final . Tottenham were demoted to the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League . In May 2013, it

13950-544: The field. The complete anthem is about three minutes long, and has two short verses and the chorus. Special vocal versions have been performed live at the Champions League final with lyrics in other languages, changing over to the host nation's language for the chorus. These versions were performed by Andrea Bocelli (Italian; Rome 2009 , Milan 2016 and Cardiff 2017 ), Juan Diego Flores (Spanish; Madrid 2010 ), All Angels ( Wembley 2011 ), Jonas Kaufmann and David Garrett ( Munich 2012 ) and Mariza ( Lisbon 2014 ). In

14100-464: The final. Since 2021, the UEFA also used Virtual Board Replacement (VBR) technology to offer region-based advertising; regional sponsors are inserted into the hoardings as shown on the broadcast feed in specific regions along with the global sponsors. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only two sponsorships are permitted per jersey in addition to that of the kit manufacturer, at

14250-736: The final. the season saw a number of changes, with penalty shoot-outs being introduced, and the away goals rule being changed so that it would be used in all rounds except the final. It was also the first time a Greek team reached the final, as well as the first season that Real Madrid failed to qualify, having finished sixth in La Liga the previous season. Ajax went on to win the competition three years in row (1971 to 1973), which Bayern Munich emulated from 1974 to 1976, before Liverpool won their first two titles in 1977 and 1978. The following seasons saw victories in 1978–79 and 1979–80 for Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest . The following year Liverpool won their third title before Aston Villa continued

14400-488: The first team to win ten European Cups/Champions League titles, an achievement known as " La Décima " (Spanish: "The Tenth," [la ˈðeθima] ). Real's attacking trio of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano, dubbed the BBC, finished the season with 97 goals. After winning the 2014 Champions League, Real Madrid signed goalkeeper Keylor Navas , midfielder Toni Kroos and attacking midfielder James Rodríguez . In August, Madrid won

14550-408: The first teams to reach the Champions League group stage after playing in all three qualifying rounds. Real Madrid and Barcelona hold the record for the most appearances in the group stage, having qualified 25 times, followed by Porto and Bayern Munich on 24. Between 1999 and 2008, no differentiation was made between champions and non-champions in qualification. The 16 top-ranked teams spread across

14700-472: The first time since 2002–03 . Moreover, from 16 April through 3 May, 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 in the league campaign on 16 April (which ended 1–1 with penalty goals for both sides), the second one was in the Copa del Rey final (which was won by Madrid 1–0 a.e.t. , bringing them their first trophy in

14850-403: The fourth-placed teams were eliminated from the competition. For the next stage – the last 16 – the winning team from one group played against the runners-up from another group, but teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other (see random two-sided matching ). From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw was entirely random, without association protection. The group stage

15000-523: The gamble paid off, as despite winning the UEFA Champions League and an Intercontinental Cup in 2002 , followed by La Liga in 2003, the club failed to win a major trophy for the next three seasons. 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. The few days after

15150-489: The group stage in favour of an expanded league phase. The number of participating teams was increased from 32 to 36 teams. Teams are no longer divided into groups of four teams each but are ranked in a single table. Each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents. For the draw of the league phase, teams are divided into four seeding pots according to their UEFA coefficient . Each team will play against two teams from each pot, one home and one away. The league phase

15300-413: The history of the Champions League, they were not favoured to win that year's edition, and their improbable run was widely considered a surprise. 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. Real Madrid's 2022–23 season began with lifting

15450-512: The last season of the century, 1999–2000 , the squad was still led by the older veterans such as Fernando Hierro, Fernando Redondo, Roberto Carlos and Raúl. Real added the budding young talents of Guti and Iker Casillas , supported by the arrival of Steve McManaman and Nicolas Anelka from the English Premier League, alongside local talents Míchel Salgado and Iván Helguera . In Del Bosque's first season in charge, Real won

15600-422: The league phase, joining 29 teams qualified in advance. The 36 teams each play eight opponents, four home and four away. The 24 highest-ranked teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match in late May or early June. The winner of the Champions League automatically qualifies for the following year's Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup , and the FIFA Club World Cup . Spanish clubs have

15750-617: 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. In Ancelotti's first season at the club , Real Madrid fought on all three fronts for the continental treble. Despite leading in the league campaign on multiple occasions, Madrid ultimately finished in third place (level on points with Barcelona and three behind cross-city rivals Atlético Madrid ), collecting 87 points in total and scoring

15900-466: The most victories (20 wins), followed by England (15 wins) and Italy (12 wins). England has the most winning teams, with six clubs having won the title. The competition has been won by 23 clubs and 13 of them have won it more than once. Real Madrid is the most successful club in the tournament's history, having won it 15 times. Madrid is the only club to have won it five times in a row (the first five editions). Only one club has won all of their matches in

16050-441: The new club should embody that idea. The brothers proposed the name, Madrid Football Club, which was unanimously accepted. The membership fee was also set, two pesetas a month, and the color of the shirt was chosen to be white in honour of a famous English team Corinthian , which Juan Padrós had met on one of his trips. Three years after its founding, in 1905 , Madrid FC won its first title after defeating Athletic Bilbao in

16200-413: The overall trajectory of the season. In May, Madrid won the league title for a record 33rd time, their first title in five years, accumulating 93 points in the process. On 3 June 2017, the club's victory over Juventus in the Champions League final resulted in Real Madrid becoming the first team to successfully defend their title in the UEFA Champions League era, and the first to win consecutive titles in

16350-521: The piece was performed by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields . Stating that "the anthem is now almost as iconic as the trophy", UEFA's official website adds it is "known to set the hearts of many of the world's top footballers aflutter". The chorus contains the three official languages used by UEFA: English, German, and French. The climactic moment

16500-477: The policy. On 26 June 2009, Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a record-breaking £80 million (€94 million); he became both the club's and history's all-time top goalscorer. Madrid have recently relaxed the Galácticos policy, instead focusing on signing young talents such as Vinícius Júnior , Rodrygo , Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé . Real Madrid is recognised as the greatest football club of

16650-562: The previous five Champions League, Europa League and Conference League seasons. The higher an association's coefficient, the more teams represent the association in the Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in. Five of the remaining seven qualifying places are granted to the winners of a four-round qualifying tournament between the remaining 43 or 44 national champions, within which those champions from associations with higher coefficients receive byes to later rounds. The other two are granted to

16800-463: The primary electoral promise that propelled Pérez to victory was the signing of Luís Figo from arch-rivals Barcelona. The following year, the club had its training ground rezoned and used the money to begin assembling the Galácticos team by signing a global star every summer, which included Zinedine Zidane , Ronaldo , Luís Figo , David Beckham and Fabio Cannavaro . It is debatable whether

16950-431: 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 . Their unbeaten streak ended after a 1–2 away loss against the same opposition in La Liga three days later. The team then was knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Celta Vigo 3–4 on aggregate. These slips, however, did not affect

17100-486: The record again by purchasing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80 million. Real Madrid spent in excess of €261 million in the summer of 2009, and the assembled team was soon dubbed the Second Galácticos . 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

17250-481: The season scoring 48 league goals, winning his fourth European Golden Shoe, and 61 goals in all competitions, breaking his record from 2011 to 2012. Overall, despite playing an attractive attacking football and being the highest scoring team in Europe with 118 league goals, several narrow 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. On 3 June 2015, Rafael Benítez

17400-471: The season was the signing of Luka Modrić from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee in the region of £33 million. After a loss to Atlético in the Copa del Rey final, Pérez announced the departure of José Mourinho at the end of the season by "mutual agreement". [REDACTED] 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. On 1 September 2013,

17550-489: The second Galáctico era) on 20 April and the third and fourth ones in the controversial two-legged Champions League semi-finals on 27 April and 3 May (Barcelona won on aggregate with a 2–0 away victory and a 1–1 home draw). Madrid again became the highest scoring team in La Liga, with 102 goals, repeating its output from the previous season, with Ronaldo scoring 40 and winning the European Golden Shoe . In

17700-452: The second leg, the Barcelona team were insulted and stones were thrown at their bus as soon as they left their hotel. 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. As Francisco Calvet told the story, "They were shouting: Reds! Separatists! ...

17850-440: The second trophy of the season. 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. In the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League , Madrid once again progressed 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

18000-483: 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. Real Madrid faced the Blaugrana six times throughout the season, coming away with three wins, two draws, and one loss. A major transfer of

18150-468: The semifinals, Real Madrid faced Bayern Munich again. 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. Real Madrid faced Borussia Dortmund in the final, and won 2–0, with Dani Carvajal being the man of the match and scoring with a header after

18300-530: The sense of English dominance in 1982 . In 1982–83, Hamburger SV broke the English dominance. Liverpool regained it in 1983–84 before losing to Juventus (1984–85); Steaua București then won in 1985–86, Porto in 1986–87, PSV Eindhoven in 1987–88; Milan (2), Red Star Belgrade and Barcelona became champions before the competition was re-formulated as the UEFA Champions League . All English clubs were banned for five years (Liverpool for six years) following

18450-431: The single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues. When the Champions League was created in 1992, it was decided that a maximum of eight companies should be allowed to sponsor the event, with each corporation being allocated four advertising boards around the perimeter of the pitch, as well as logo placement at pre- and post-match interviews and a certain number of tickets to each match. This, combined with

18600-491: The team of the dictatorship and Barcelona as its victims." Fernando Argila, Barcelona's reserve goalkeeper from the 1943 match, said: "There was no rivalry. Not, at least, until that game." Santiago Bernabéu became president of Real Madrid in 1943. 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

18750-505: The team posed for Marca and impersonated the Beatles. The Yé-yé generation was also European Cup runners-up in 1962 and 1964 . In the 1970s, Real Madrid won six league championships and three Spanish Cups. The club competed in its first European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970–71 and progressed all the way to the final , where it lost to English side Chelsea 2–1 in a replay. On 2 July 1978, club president Santiago Bernabéu died while

18900-408: The title and overcoming a 12-point deficit in the process. Finally, on 28 May, Real Madrid's eleventh Champions League title was won thanks to a 5–3 penalty shoot-out victory over rivals Atlético Madrid after a 1–1 draw in the final , with the achievement being termed " La Undécima ". Real Madrid began their 2016–17 campaign , which was to be Zidane's first full season in charge of the club, with

19050-590: The title for the third consecutive season. In a rematch of the first final, Real Madrid faced Stade Reims at the Neckarstadion for the 1959 final , and won 2–0. West German side Eintracht Frankfurt became the first team not to compete in the Latin cup to reach the European Cup final. The 1960 final holds the record for the most goals scored, with Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 at Hampden Park , courtesy of four goals by Ferenc Puskás and

19200-415: The title of Champions League Theme. In 2018, composer Hans Zimmer remixed the anthem with rapper Vince Staples for EA Sports ' video game FIFA 19 , with it also featuring in the game's reveal trailer. In 1991, UEFA asked its commercial partner, Television Event and Media Marketing (TEAM), to help brand the Champions League. This resulted in the anthem, "house colours" of black and white or silver and

19350-485: The title of Real (Royal) to the club. In 1929 , the first Spanish football league was founded. Real Madrid led the first league season until the last match, a loss to Athletic Bilbao, meant they finished runners-up to Barcelona. Real Madrid won its first league title in the 1931–32 season and retained it the following year . On 14 April 1931, the arrival of the Second Spanish Republic caused

19500-452: The tournament proper. The two streams are divided between teams qualified by virtue of being league champions, and those qualified by virtue of finishing second, third or fourth in their national championship. The number of teams that each association enters into the UEFA Champions League is based upon the UEFA coefficients of the member associations. These coefficients are generated by the results of clubs representing each association during

19650-415: The traditional knockout format with quarter-finals, semi-finals (both two legged and without association draw protection) and then the final at a venue chosen prior to the season. The final is typically held in late May or early June. Prior to the 2024–25 season, the tournament proper began with a group stage of 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. The draw to determine which teams entered each group

19800-572: The trophy next season in their home stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu , against Fiorentina . After a scoreless first half, Real Madrid scored twice in six minutes to defeat the Italians. In 1958 , Milan failed to capitalise after going ahead on the scoreline twice, only for Real Madrid to equalise. The final, held in Heysel Stadium , went to extra time where Francisco Gento scored the game-winning goal to allow Real Madrid to retain

19950-514: The winners of a three-round qualifying tournament between ten and eleven clubs from the associations ranked 5–6 through 15, which have qualified based upon finishing second, third or fourth in their respective national league. In addition to sporting criteria, any club must be licensed by its national association to participate in the Champions League. To obtain a license, the club must meet certain stadium, infrastructure and finance requirements. In 2005–06 , Liverpool and Artmedia Bratislava became

20100-424: The winning team is presented with the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the current version of which has been awarded since 1967. From the 1968–69 season and prior to the 2008–09 season any team that won the Champions League three years in a row or five times overall was awarded the official trophy permanently. Each time a club achieved this, a new official trophy had to be forged for the following season. Five clubs own

20250-461: The world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations. Introduced in 1955 as the Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens (French for European Champion Clubs' Cup ), and commonly known as the European Cup , it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to

20400-453: The world's best players, such as Ronaldo , Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to create a superstar team. The term 'Galácticos policy' generally refers to the two eras of Florentino Pérez 's presidency of the club (2000–2006 and 2009–2018); however, players brought in just before his tenure are sometimes considered to be part of the Galácticos legacy. A notable example is Steve McManaman , who like many other players also succeeded under

20550-406: Was seeded based on each team's UEFA coefficient , and no group could contain more than one club from each association. Each team played six group stage games, meeting the other three teams in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The first place team and the runners-up from each group then progressed to the next round. The third-placed teams entered the Europa League's knockout round and

20700-477: Was also somewhat notoriously unlucky in its league campaigns throughout these nine years, finishing runners-up with 96, 92 (twice) and 90 points, as well as on 87 points in third place, just three off the league winners. On 12 June 2018, 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

20850-482: Was confirmed as the new Real Madrid manager for the 2015–16 season , signing a three-year contract. 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. Perhaps, his reign is best remembered by multiple lopsided wins achieved both in La Liga and the Champions League (6–0 vs Espanyol , 8–0 vs Malmö , 10–2 vs Rayo Vallecano and others). In

21000-438: Was decided that, starting from the 2015–16 season (and continuing at least for the three-year cycle until the 2017–18 season ), the winners of the previous season's UEFA Europa League would qualify for the UEFA Champions League, entering at least the play-off round, and entering the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used. The previous limit of a maximum of four teams per association

21150-399: Was given the number #7 jersey, previously used by Raúl and Cristiano Ronaldo; while Rodrygo was given the number #11 jersey, previously used by Gareth Bale. Karim Benzema left the club, while Toni Kroos would later announce that he would retire from football after this season. The 2023-24 season would prove to be another highly successful season for Los Blancos. First, Real Madrid lifted

21300-482: Was increased to five, meaning that a fourth-placed team from one of the top three ranked associations would only have to be moved to the Europa League if both the Champions League and Europa League winners came from that association and both finished outside the top four of their domestic league. In 2007, Michel Platini , the UEFA president, had proposed taking one place from the three leagues with four entrants and allocating it to that nation's cup winners. This proposal

21450-461: Was nonetheless sacked at the end of the campaign. The title was won on 17 June, where Real faced Mallorca at the Bernabéu while Barcelona and Sevilla , the other title challengers, 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-hour secured Madrid

21600-483: Was part of Platini's plan to increase the number of teams qualifying directly into the group stage, while simultaneously increasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the group stage. In 2012, Arsène Wenger referred to qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the top four places in the Premier League as the "4th Place Trophy". The phrase was coined after a pre-match conference when he

21750-406: Was played from September to December, whilst the knockout stage began in February, with matches usually played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The knockout ties were played in a two-legged format, with the exception of the final. In the 2019–20 season , due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended for five months. The format of the remainder of the tournament was temporarily amended as

21900-482: Was questioned about Arsenal's lack of a trophy after exiting the FA Cup . He said "The first trophy is to finish in the top four". At Arsenal's 2012 AGM, Wenger was also quoted as saying: "For me there are five trophies every season: Premier League, Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League..." Beginning with the 2024–25 season, UEFA changed the format of their three club competitions, abandoning

22050-416: Was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting. In the same meeting, however, it was agreed that the third-placed team in the top three leagues would receive automatic qualification for the group stage, rather than entry into the third qualifying round, while the fourth-placed team would enter the play-off round for non-champions, guaranteeing an opponent from one of the top 15 leagues in Europe. This

22200-409: Was renamed as " New Foot-Ball Club ". On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded. The Padrós brothers summoned other football enthusiasts to a meeting in the back room of Al Capricho , the family business. They viewed football as a mass sport that should be accessible to representatives of all social classes, and thought

22350-605: Was the Challenge Cup , a competition between clubs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Three years later, in 1900, the champions of Belgium , Netherlands and Switzerland , which were the only existing leagues in continental Europe at the time, participated in the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz , thus being dubbed as the "club championship of the continent" by the local newspapers. The Mitropa Cup ,

22500-515: Was won by Újpest of Hungary. Latin European nations came together to form the Latin Cup in 1949. After receiving reports from his journalists over the highly successful South American Championship of Champions of 1948, Gabriel Hanot , editor of L'Équipe , began proposing the creation of a continent-wide tournament. In interviews, Jacques Ferran (one of the founders of the European Champions Cup, together with Gabriel Hanot), said that

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