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Real Madrid Champions League Titles and Continued Success

Richard JanvrinBy Richard Janvrin Contributor Updated: 28 January 2025
Richard Janvrin Richard Janvrin Contributor

Richard has been writing about sports since he was a teenager. Still, his first professional role came in 2015, covering all things NFL and fantasy football-related. From there, in December 2018, he started in the sports betting industry, covering sportsbook reviews before arriving to where he is today. 

Real Madrid logo Real Madrid Champion League

Founded in 1955, the UEFA Champions League represents the best European soccer clubs in the world. While many have had their wins and successes, no club has had the level of winning that Real Madrid has had.

How many Champions League titles does Real Madrid have, you might ask?

They have 15.

As with any professional sports team that’s had long-reigning success, like the New England Patriots in the NFL or the New York Yankees in the MLB, what factors allow a team to dominate in a particular league and sport?

Below, I’ll discuss the Real Madrid Champions League titles and examine a few factors that have helped the program prosper to where it is today.

They Won Early and Often

Whenever you jump on one of the top Champions League betting sites, it’s easy to wager on Real Madrid. They win a lot.

As mentioned, there are 15 Real Madrid Champions League titles, winning five since the 2015-2016 season, but their track record dates back to the beginning of the league.

Like I said, the UEFA Champions League was founded in 1955. Back then, though, it was known as the European Cup.

Real Madrid won the first five.

Whenever a team has success like this early on, that pedigree can carry them for generations. This helps with name recognition and, more importantly, for winning, player, and personnel decisions.

Most players want to go to a team where they’ll get paid a lot of money and win, and Real Madrid has accomplished that since the league’s inception.

When it transitioned from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League in the 1992-1993 season, it didn’t take long for Real Madrid to win.

They won during the 1997-1998 season and again from 1999-2000.

There was actually a long gap in Real Madrid’s Champions League history for winning. The sixth Real Madrid Champions League title came in 1965-1966, and their seventh didn’t come until that 1997-1998 win.

Still, the early winning pedigree lasted. After the transition, there was an early Real Madrid UEFA Champions title. In fact, they were the first team to win two under the new branding.

Incredible Player Acquisition

Any time you can add top-flight talent, this puts you in the driver’s seat to be successful.

Real Madrid has signed numerous players for tens of millions of dollars.

While some didn’t work out, like Eden Hazard, their most expensive signing at $130.4 million, they had other successful signings, such as Jude Bellingham, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and more.

One of the latest Real Madrid Champions League trophies came in Bellingham’s debut season. Bale had a massive overhead kick goal in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo scored hundreds of goals, and Zidane had a massive moment against Bayer Leverkusen.

Financial Backing

Real Madrid started as a member-owned organization, but that evolved.

From there, Francisco Franco came into power, and Real Madrid was viewed as the pinnacle of Spanish culture.

The government didn’t help fund them, but there was some political help, like infrastructure assistance.

From there, Santiago Bernabeu helped oversee the stadium construction in 1947.

Then, to fast-forward more, Real Madrid had early success, making it a global brand, which ushered in Florentino Perez and his new Galacticos Policy (more on that later).

By bringing in these stars, Real Madrid made much money through deals with Adidas, Emirates, and more.

Perez sold the club’s training grounds in 2001 to eliminate Real Madrid’s debt.

Since then, Real Madrid has managed its debt well, signed lucrative television deals, lasted through the COVID-19 pandemic, and posted record revenues for matchday, commercial, and broadcasting.

Real Madrid is a massive brand with multiple lucrative revenue sources.

World Class Leadership

I mentioned key figures like Pere and Bernabeu, but the coaches Real Madrid managed to attract also shaped the squad.

These include Miguel Munoz, Vicente del Bosque, Carlo Ancelotti, and Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane won three Champions League titles with the team but left surprisingly.

Munoz was the coach in 1959 and again from 1960 to 1974. He won two European Cups as a coach and three more as a player.

They attract the best players, and the club also has excellent managers, including former players like Zidane and Munoz.

Cristiano Ronaldo

This one is simple: Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo.

He appeared in 438 matches for Real Madrid. Across those, he had 451 goals. That’s 1.03 goals per match.

Of those, 312 were in La Liga, 105 in the Champions League, 22 in Copa Del Rey, 6 in the World Cup, and more.

He won four Champions League titles, three Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, two La Liga championships, and more.

As a player, he won four Ballons d’Or and three Golden Shoes.

He’s Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer.

His reign as a player elevated them to multiple Champions League wins and furthered them as a national brand.

La Fabrica

Real Madrid has a youth academy, La Fabrica. This is a massive part of the Real Madrid UEFA Champions League titles.

It was established in the 1940s, and its goal was to produce homegrown talent who could play the Real Madrid brand of football.

The facility has 12 football pitches, top-tier medical, rehab, more facilities, and excellent accommodations to get the most out of the players.

There’s a multi-tier progression system, starting with Benjamines for 8-10-year-olds and ending with Real Madrid Castilla, a program that transitions to senior football and playing against adults.

A number of stars have emerged, including Raul Gonzalez, Iker Casillas, Guti, Dani Carvajal, and more.

La Fabrica will even loan some players to other clubs to give them experience.

In doing this, they get to develop players their way, and if they succeed, they spend less on transfer fees.

Their Stadium

This one is somewhat hard to define, but the aura of Santiago Bernabeu Stadium is electrifying. It holds more than 85,000 people and has hosted the European Cup/UEFA Champions League final four times: 1957, 1969, 1980, and 2010. There were some Real Madrid Champions League trophies hoisted, including 1957.

If you’re looking for the true die-hard fan experience, the South Stand has the most passionate fans. While the rest of the stand has fans, there’s a draw for tourists who don’t exactly have the same passion.

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