Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a football club that plays in La Liga. The club was formed in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, and played its first competitive match on 13 May 1902, when it lost 3–1 in the semi-final of the Campeonato de Copa de S.M. Alfonso XIII against FC Barcelona.[1] Real Madrid played against other local clubs in various regional tournaments, that served as qualifiers for the Copa del Rey, from 1902 to 1940. In 1929, the club became one of the founding members of La Liga, Spain's first national league. As of 2024, Real is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top level of Spanish football, the others being Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona.[2][3]
From 1902 to 1929, Real won the Copa del Rey five times and the regional championship 15 times. Real Madrid had a successful start in La Liga, finishing second in the competition's first season, and winning the league in 1932 for the first time. In the 1947–48 season, Madrid finished eleventh, which remains, as of 2024, the club's lowest final position.[4] Real Madrid won La Liga four times and the European Cup five times during the 1950s. However, the most successful period for the club in terms of domestic titles was the 1960s, when Real Madrid won eight league championships. It won its first double of league championship and national cup in 1962. Real is also the only Spanish football team to win five consecutive titles, a feat which it has achieved on two occasions (1960–65 and 1985–90).[5]
Real Madrid is the most successful club in UEFA competitions, winning 25. The club first participated in European competition during the 1954–55 season, when it played in the Latin Cup. It won its first major European title, and the inaugural European Cup, during the 1955–56 season. Real Madrid won the first five editions of the European Cup, and a further nine titles, the last of which was in 2022, holding the record for the most victories in the tournament. The club won the UEFA Cup during the 1984–85 season and retained the trophy the following year.[6]
The club won at least one trophy for seventeen consecutive seasons (from 1953–54 to 1969–70), a record in Spanish football. Its most recent trophy came in 2024 with a 15th Champions League.
Prior to 1929, Spain did not have a national football league. Real Madrid competed in the championship of the Madrid region, called Campeonato Centro, the winners of which qualified for the Copa del Rey along with the other regional champions.[9] In 1929, La Liga, Spain's first national football league, was formed, with Real Madrid among the founder members.[10] The club also competed in the regional championship until it was abandoned in 1940.[9] The Copa del Rey continued alongside La Liga.[11] Clubs continued to qualify for it based on their placings in the regional championships until 1940, when it became open to all teams in the top two divisions of the Spanish league and select other teams.[12]
^Real Madrid was founded in 1902 as "Madrid Foot–Ball Club".[9]
^The 1902 Copa de la Coronación, officially Concurso Madrid de Foot-ball Association (Madrid Contest of Association Foot-ball) was a football competition in honour of the coronation of Alfonso XIII of Spain. It was an unofficial competition: the Royal Spanish Football Federation does not recognize it as the first season of the Copa del Rey, which began the following year.[26]
^Madrid defeated Espanyol for the consolation trophy after losing the Copa de la Coronación semi-finals to Barcelona.
^The regional championship of Madrid was organized by the Madrid Football Federation and first held in 1903 as the "Campeonato de Madrid" (Madrid Championship). It renamed as the "Campeonato Regional de Madrid" (Madrid Regional Championship) for the 1906–13 seasons. The Royal Spanish Football Federation, founded on 29 September 1913, took over the competition from 1913. It was called the "Campeonato Regional Centro" (Central Regional Championship) between 1913 and 1931, the "Campeonato Regional Mancomunado" (Joint Regional Championship) from 1932 to 1936, and the "Campeonato Regional del Centro" (Regional Championship of the Center) during its final season in 1939–40.
^The 1904 Copa del Rey was organized by the newly formed Madrid Football Federation. Originally, three teams were to participate, and the Federation invited Athletic Bilbao representing Biscay and Espanyol representing Catalonia. Madrid was to be represented by the winner of a preliminary round between Club Español de Madrid and Madrid-Moderno (a merger of Madrid CF and Moderno FC). The three teams were to contest the cup in a round-robin format. Before the tournament, Espanyol, unhappy with the competition system, announced they would not go to Madrid. Then two more teams from Madrid, Moncloa FC and Iberia Football Club, were admitted in the competition, forcing a change to the schedule. As a result, the four Madrid teams were scheduled to play a single-elimination tournament to decide their representative for the Copa del Rey final against automatically qualified Athletic Bilbao.[27] The semi-final qualifying match between Club Español de Madrid and Madrid-Moderno ended in 5–5 draw. The captains of both teams agreed not to play extra time, but failed to reach an agreement on when they should replay the match. Español wanted to play the next day, but Madrid-Moderno refused, citing the rules of the tournament which stated that a replay could not be played less than 48 hours after the previous game. The next day Club Español went to replay the match, but Madrid-Moderno did not appear.[28] The regional federation, whose president Ceferino Birdalone happened to be president of Club Español as well, ruled in favor of Español, and they were declared winners of the match eliminating Madrid FC from the competition.[13]
^The match only lasted thirty-five minutes, as the opposing team left the field upset with the refereeing.[9]
^Madrid FC won the tournament, but the federation annulled the results.[9]
^The qualification tournament for participating in the Copa del Rey was won by Español de Madrid. There are no statistics for the matches played by Madrid F.C. but the club took part, at Berraondo's wish, in the championship organised by the Unión Española de Clubs.[9]
^In 1910, two competitions were played. The Federación Española de Fútbol was created, but various disagreements between 1909 cup winners Ciclista San Sebastián and other clubs surfaced; when no satisfactory agreement could be reached, the championship of the so-called Unión Española de Clubes de Fútbol (UECF) was played in San Sebastián and that of the Federación Española de Fútbol (FEF) in Madrid. Madrid FC played in Unión Española de Clubes de Fútbol Cup (Copa UECF).[29]
^Madrid and Gimnástica disputed the option to represent Madrid in the Copa del Rey. RS Gimnástica won the 1910–11 Campeonato de Madrid and participated in the Copa del Rey, representing Madrid CF.[9]
^Statistics about the competition are not available. However, RS Gimnástica are regarded as champions.[9]
^In 1913, Campeonato de Madrid changed its name to Campeonato Regional de Madrid, following the takeover by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The competition included teams from Castile and León.[9]
^In 1920, the club received sponsorship of King Alfonso XIII, and changed its name to "Real Madrid FC".[9]
^Real Madrid finished level on points with Athletic Madrid and Racing Madrid and the three teams were ordered to play each other. Real Madrid won 4–0 against Racing Madrid, but lost 3–1 against Athletic Madrid.[9]
^In 1931, the club was forced to revert to its old name "Madrid FC" after the arrival of the Second Spanish Republic.[9]
^In the 1931–32 season, the Campeonato Regional de Madrid changed its name to Campeonato Regional Mancomunado Centro–Aragón. The competition included teams from Aragon and Castile and León.[9]
^In the 1932–34 period, the Campeonato Regional Mancomunado Centro–Aragón became Campeonato Regional Mancomunado Centro–Sur. The competition included teams from Andalusia and Castile and León.[9]
^In the 1934–36 period, the Campeonato Regional Mancomunado Centro–Sur changed its name to Campeonato Regional Mancomunado Castilla–Aragón. The competition included teams from Aragon, Cantabria and Castile and León.[9]
^In 1939, the Campeonato Regional Mancomunado Castilla–Aragón changed its name to Campeonato Regional del Centro. The competition included teams from Castile and León. In 1940, it was discontinued in favor of a full-season La Liga.[9]
^Real Madrid would have qualified for the annual Latin Cup as league champions, but the tournament was scrapped due to fixture congestion amid the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
^"Liga BBVA – Season 2008/2009 – Matchday 38". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2010. Tables for previous seasons may be obtained using the "Other searches" button. User must select the appropriate season, and set "matchday" to the number of matches played in that season, as per this list.
