Real Madrid are without doubt the biggest football club in the world. Their wealth off the pitch is matched only by their success on it. No-one has won more European Cups or accumulated such an array of talent in their playing staff over the years.
Their team of Galacticos, including the likes of David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo is often held up as an example of the size of the club but the real superstars in Madrid's history were the side of the Fifties. Inspired by Alfredo Di Stefano, perhaps the club's greatest player, Real won five straight European Cups between 1956 and 1960, a record which is unlikely to be equalled never mind surpassed.
Such dominance of the European stage could never last and after Real won their sixth European Cup in 1966 they had to endure a 32-year wait for their seventh. It arrived thanks to a new generation of Madrid players including home-grown stars like Raul and Fernando Hierro and foreign imports like Fernando Redondo, Roberto Carlos and Predrag Mijatovic, who scored the winner in the 1998 final against Juventus.
The election of Florentino Perez as president of the club in 2000 was the start of the age of the Galacticos. Perez made good on his election promise to buy Luis Figo from arch-rivals Barcelona and with cash from the sale of Madrid's training ground, invested in some top quality team-mates for him. Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham all joined him but the star-studded side was not as successful on the field as it was on paper.
An eighth European Cup arrived in 2002 along with the La Liga title the next year but three barren years followed. Things appeared to be back on track for Madrid in recent years with successive titles in 2007 and 2008 helping them wrestle the title of best team in Spain from Barcelona until Barca's unique Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey triumph in 2009.
The re-election of Florentino Perez, however, appears to be ushering in a new era of Galacticos, and fresh optimism at the Bernabeu. Kaka has already been signed from AC Milan for a world record £56 million, and rumours abound of more big name signings to follow.
Full Name
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol
Team Formed
1902
Stadium
Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Stadium Capacity
80400
Major Honours
La Liga:
1931-32, 1932-33, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1971-72, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1994-95, 1996-97, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08
Copa del Rey:
1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1917, 1934, 1936, 1946, 1947, 1961, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1993
European Cup and Champions League:
1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002
Intercontinental Cup:
1960, 1998, 2002
UEFA Cup:
1985, 1986
European Supercup:
2002
All Time Greats
David Beckham, Fabio Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos, Alfredo de Stefano, Luis Figo, Francisco Gento, Fernando Hierro, Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Raul Gonzalez, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane