One of the biggest and most successful football clubs in the world is Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, also known as Real Madrid. The club also knowns as Los Blancos, meaning The whites, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.
Madrid was established on March 6, 1902, and derived their nickname Los Blancos from their white home kit which the club has been known for since the club was founded. King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem gave the club the name Real meaning “royal” and has stuck ever since.
Zinedine Zidane’s side is one of the three founding members of the Spanish League called La Liga in 1929, alongside Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. Since the beginning of the league, Madrid has never been relegated or sent to lower divisions. The club’s main rivals are Atlético Madrid due to the fact they are in the same town and Barcelona because of their achievements.
Madrid holds a rivalry match with Barcelona called El Clásico and the match with Atletico is known as El Derbi. Since 1847, the Spanish club has played its home games in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid. Madrid members, popularly called socio, have owned and operated the club throughout its history.
In the 2016/17 season, Madrid became the second highest-earning football club in the world, with annual revenue of €674.6 million and in 2018, the club was estimated to be worth €3.47 billion ($4.1 billion). Madrid is one of the most widely supported teams in the world cutting across demographics and geographical location.
During the 1950s, Madrid became a major force in both Spanish and European football during which the club won five out of seven European Cups consecutively. The club repeated the feat in the league, where it won five times in the space of seven years. This Madrid team that recorded the success comprises of Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, and Raymond Kopa. According to some pundits, the squad is considered to be the greatest team of all time.
Madrid are successful in Spain, having won 64 trophies in total. The club has lifted a record 33 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey, 10 Supercopa de España, a Copa Eva Duarte, and a Copa de la Liga. Los Blancos have also won a record of 26 European and worldwide trophies, which comprises of a record 13 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Cups and four UEFA Super Cups. Madrid have also won a record 7 club world championships.
Real Madrid was recognised as the FIFA Club of the 20th Century on 11 December 2000 and received the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit on 20 May 2004. The club was also awarded Best European Club of the 20th Century by the IFFHS on 11 May 2010. In June 2017, the team succeeded in becoming the first club to win back to back Champions Leagues, then made it three in a row in May 2018, extending their lead atop the UEFA club rankings.
According to Forbes, Real Madrid are the richest club in the world overtaking English club Manchester United. The club achieved its financial success through title prize, sponsorship, and mega deals. The club has a lot of the best football players in the world such as Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, Luca Modric, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and several other players.
Madrid currently sit in second place in the table and are two points behind bitter rivals Barcelona after their 1-0 loss to Levante on Saturday. Eden Hazard became the club’s highest-paid player after joining from Chelsea for a fee of £88m (€100m). Hazard saw his salary increase from £200,000 to £400,000 a week after sealing the move.
Hazard’s new salary eclipsed Gareth Bale’s £350,000-a-week wages. New signing Luka Jovic was also rewarded with a bumper deal following his £50m move from Eintracht Frankfurt. Jovic has only managed one goal in 11 appearances this season but still pockets more than Karim Benzema, who is the club’s highest goalscorer.
| PLAYER | AGE | WEEKLY WAGE | DEAL | CONTRACT LEFT |
| Thibaut Courtois | 26 | Unknown | New signing | 2024-06-30 |
| Alphonse Areola | 25 | Unknown | Loan | 2020-06-30 |
| Kiko Casilla | 31 | £30,000 | 2020-06-30 | |
| Andriy Lunin | 19 | £25,000 | New signing | 2024-06-30 |
| Theo Hernandez | 20 | £30,000 | 2023-06-30 | |
| Sergio Ramos | 32 | £200,000 | 2020-06-30 | |
| Raphaël Varane | 25 | £140,000 | New deal | 2022-06-30 |
| Alvaro Odriozola | 22 | £45,000 | 2024-06-30 | |
| Nacho Fernández | 28 | £70,000 | 2020-06-30 | |
| Marcelo | 30 | £150,000 | New deal | 2022-06-30 |
| Daniel Carvajal | 26 | £100,000 | 2022-06-30 | |
| Casemiro | 26 | £90,000 | New deal | 2021-06-30 |
| Toni Kroos | 28 | £200,000 | New deal | 2022-06-30 |
| Luka Modric | 32 | £180,000 | 2020-06-30 | |
| Federico Valverde | 20 | Unknown | 2021-06-30 | |
| Isco | 26 | £120,000 | New deal | 2022-06-30 |
| Marco Asensio | 22 | £90,000 | New deal | 2023-06-30 |
| Vinicius Junior | 18 | £40,000 | New signing | 2025-06-30 |
| Gareth Bale | 30 | £350,000 | 2022-06-30 | |
| Karim Benzema | 31 | £150,000 | New deal | 2021-06-30 |
| Lucas Vázquez | 27 | £60,000 | 2021-06-30 | |
| Borja Mayoral | 21 | £10,000 | 2021-06-30 | |
| Raul de Tomas | 23 | Unknown | Promoted | 2023-06-30 |
| Brahim Diaz | 19 | Unknown | 2025-06-30 | |
| Eden Hazard | 28 | £400,000 | New Signing | 2024-06-30 |
| Eder Militao | 21 | Unknown | New Signing | 2025-06-30 |
| Rodrygo | 18 | Unknown | New Signing | 2022-06-30 |
| Ferland Mendy | 24 | Unknown | New Signing | 2025-06-30 |
| Luka Jovic | 21 | £170,000 | New Signing | 2025-06-30 |
