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Real Madrid CF

Real Madrid
Real Madrid CF.svg
Full name Real Madrid Club de Fútbol
Nickname(s) Blancos (Whites)
Merengues (Meringues)
Vikingos (Vikings)
Short name RM
Founded 6 March 1902; 114 years ago (1902-03-06)
as Madrid Football Club
Ground Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Ground Capacity 85,454
Chairman Florentino Pérez
Head coach Zinedine Zidane
League La Liga
2015–16 La Liga, 2nd
Website Club home page
Current season
Santiago Bernabéu
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Front.jpg
Capacity 85,454
Field size 107 m × 72 m (351 ft × 236 ft)
Construction
Broke ground 27 October 1944
Opened 14 December 1947
Architect Manuel Muñoz Monasterio, Luis Alemany Soler, Antonio Lamela

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal maˈðɾið ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol]; Royal Madrid Football Club), commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real outside Spain frontiers, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.

Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the team has traditionally worn a white home kit since inception. The word Real is Spanish for Royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 85,454-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history.

The club was estimated to be worth €3.24 billion ($3.65 billion) in 2015, and in the 2014–15 season it was the world's highest-earning football club, with an annual revenue of €577 million. The club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world. Real Madrid is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and the El Derbi madrileño with Atlético Madrid.

Real Madrid established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s, winning five consecutive European Cups and reaching the final seven times. This success was replicated in the league, where the club won five times in the space of seven years. This team, which consisted of players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, Raymond Kopa, and José Santamaría, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time.


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