The Best Football in Madrid

Considered by FIFA to be the most successful football club of the 20th century, Real Madrid is one of the most renowned sports institutions in the world. Founded in 1902, it boasts over 85,000 members and the most impressive track record in international football: the meringues (so called because of their white t-shirts) have won 36 Spanish Leagues, 20 Copas del Rey, 15 Champion Leagues, 2 UEFA Cups, 5 European Super Cups, 3 Intercontinental Cups and 5 FIFA Club World Cups.

Its home ground is Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which can seat up to 81,044 people. It hosted the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship final, the 1982 World Cup final and four UEFA Champions League finals. In 2024, renovation work on the stadium was completed and it now sports a brand new look which includes an impressive retractable roof.

- Watch Real Madrid games

Madrid’s other big club, the colchoneros (a nickname given in honour of their red and white stripes, the same pattern as in old-fashioned mattresses), was founded in 1903 and boasts an enviable history: 11 Spanish Leagues, 10 Copas del Rey, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, 3 UEFA Europa Leagues and 3 European Super Cups.

Until the end of the 2016-2017 season, its stadium was the Vicente Calderón, which was one of the venues during the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Their home ground is now the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium, which features a full roof over all 68,000 seats. It’s located in the eastern San Blas-Canillejas district (Metro stop: Estadio Metropolitano, Line 7), next to the M-40 motorway and very close to the airport and the Feria de Madrid trade fair ground. In 2019, it hosted the 2019 Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs.

- Watch Átletico de Madrid games

The city’s third big team is the Rayo Vallecano. Founded in 1924, the Red Sashes (as they are known because of the diagonal red stripe that crosses their shirts) is the pride and joy of the working-class Puente de Vallecas district. Promoted once again to the former LaLiga Santander for the 2020-2021 season, the team has played a total of 19 seasons in Spain’s top division, its most successful being the 2012-2013 campaign where it reached 8th place. In the 2000-2001 season it also played in the UEFA Cup. Its home ground is the Estadio de Vallecas, which was inaugurated in 1976 and can seat up to 14,505. 

- Watch Rayo Vallecano games

Female football has three big teams in Madrid: Rayo Vallecano, Atlético de Madrid Femenino, Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino and Real Madrid Femenino (formerly Club Deportivo Tacón).

Atlético de Madrid Femenino plays its matches at its new ground, the Cívitas Alcalá de Henares Sports Centre (although it does sometimes play at Cívitas Metropolitano), and its list of achievements includes three Liga titles (2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019), two Copas de la Reina (Queen’s Cup) (2016 and 2023) and one Supercopa de España (2021). In the 2024-2025 season, they'll once again play in the Champions League after coming third in the F League.

The team from Vallecas, the popular Madrid neighbourhood, has won three League titles, one Queen’s Cup and has twice reached the last 32 of the Women's Champions League (they were the first Spanish women's team to reach the knock-out stages of the top continental competition). In 2022-2023 the team was relegated to the Second Women’s Federation. Matches are played at the Ciudad Deportiva del Rayo Vallecano sports complex.

The Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino and the Real Madrid Femenino are the other two Madrid teams in the Liga F. The Madrid Club, promoted in 2017, after being set up in 2010, is an exclusively female club and plays its matches at the Luis Aragonés Sports Centre.

The Real Madrid Femenino was formerly known as Club Deportivo Tacón (founded in 2014) and played in the highest category for the first time in the 2019-2020 season. It plays its matches at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium in Ciudad del Real Madrid and the team is set to fight for the 2024-2025 Champions title for the fourth year in a row (after coming second in the League).

There's nothing like football in Madrid! That's not so surprising as one of the city's clubs, Real Madrid, has more European titles (14 after the 2021-2022 season) than any other. Two of those cups were added to the list in 2014 and 2016 after they played in the finals against their big rival, one of the capital's other huge teams, Atlético de Madrid.

If you come to Madrid, you will be able to visit the Real Madrid and Atlético stadiums (without forgetting a visit to the Spanish National Side Museum) or go and watch a match. In Madrid, it's possible to watch the highest level of football almost all year round. Three teams from the capital (Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Rayo Vallecano) and two from the Community of Madrid (Getafe and Leganés) play in LALIGA EA SPORTS (formerly known as LaLiga Santander), the highest category of Spanish football.

LaLiga

The Spanish League kicks off in the second fortnight of August (in 2024-2025 the first matches will be played on the weekend of the 16th of August) and usually finishes at the end of May (in 2024-2025 on the weekend of the 25th of May). Twenty teams participate and play against each other at home and away, accumulating three points for a victory and one point for a draw.

Although the matches that traditionally attract most spectators are those between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid and between these two and their old-time rival Barcelona, all the games of LaLiga tend to gather big crowds.

16 teams play in La Liga F, the women's league, three of which are currently from Madrid: Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, and Madrid CFF (2024-2025 fixtures to be announced).

The Cup

The second most important national competition is the King’s Cup (Copa del Rey), known as the knockout tournament. In the 2019-2020 season, the system of competition was changed, whereby all of the clashes until the quarter finals inclusive are a single match (played at the ground of the lower category club).

The big final is a huge date on the calendar for Spanish football and a single match is played at a venue that changes each year depending on which teams get through to this stage (for the next few years it's set to be played in Seville). In 2023-2024 it was won by Athletic Club.

In the women's category, the tournament is called Copa de la Reina (Queen’s Cup). Matches are single-elimination until the semifinals, which are played over two legs. The final is a single match held at a different stadium each year. The 2023-2024 season was won by FC Barcelona.

Champions League and UEFA Europa League

Both Real Madrid (the reigning champion) and Atlético de Madrid (who were beaten in the quarter finals) will be playing in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League (the highest European club competition). In the women's category, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid (champion and third place, respectively, in 2023-2024) will also compete in the 2024-2025 Champions League.
 

- Check out upcoming football matches in Madrid!

- Top spots in Madrid for true football fans

A simple map that helps you locate Madrid’s main football stadiums in no time so you can organise your visit.

- Check the “Madrid Football” map

This original museum for football fans opened its doors in June 2023. Located just off Puerta del Sol, at the beginning of Carrera de San Jerónimo, this space spanning more than 4,000 square metres is divided into seven floors, enabling visitors to go on a chronological journey through the history of football. To do so, state-of-the-art technology is used to enjoy immersive experiences and see more than 4,000 historic objects.

Original pieces include boots and balls used by the first world champions, as well as the kits of football stars, such as Maradona, Pelé, Cruyff, Messi, Zidane, Iniesta, Paolo Rossi, Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo, among others. Furthermore, Legends has the LALIGA TwentyNine's LEGENDS restaurant, a new and revolutionary sports bar concept based on innovation and technology. This 600-m² establishment with capacity for more than 180 people is LaLiga’s first themed restaurant in Madrid and combines sport, innovation, gastronomy and leisure.