Galácticos (Spanish forgalactics, referring to superstars) are expensive, world-famousfootball players recruited during the "galácticos" policy pursued byFlorentino Pérez during his presidency atReal Madrid, where in his first tenure between 2000 and 2006, he purchased at least onegaláctico in the summer of every year. The club's secondgaláctico era began in 2009 with Pérez's return to presidency, and is considered to be more successful both economically and in terms of on-pitch achievements.^[1][2]

The term itself carries both positive and negative connotations. Initially, it was used to emphasise the greatness of the superstar players being signed and the construction of a world-class team. Later, the term developed a more negative connotation, withgaláctico becoming associated withprima donna and being used to deride the transfer policy and team built under it, following media perception that the policy at Real in the early 2000s had failed to deliver the expected levels of success.

The term has occasionally been used to describe other teams, both in football and in other sports, that have been perceived to follow a similar policy. For example, Britishrugby union commentatorMartin Gillingham calledFrench clubToulon "rugby'sgalácticos" in 2012 due to a wave of signings of international stars by ownerMourad Boudjellal.^[3]

Although the term was popularized in the 2000s, the origins of theGaláctico policy date as far back as the 1950s and 1960s, when the policy was first founded by club-presidentSantiago Bernabéu. Bernabéu signed multiple star players for large fees in quick succession, such asAlfredo Di Stéfano,Francisco Gento,Raymond Kopa,Héctor Rial,Ferenc Puskás andJosé Santamaría. This period of buying allowed Real Madrid to enjoy their finest era of dominance, winning twelveLa Liga championships and sixEuropean Cups.

TheGalácticos transfer policy was contrasted with theQuinta del Buitre era of the late 1980s. This saw Real Madrid playing a more physical and less appealing style of football, and had an increased emphasis on producing homegrown players such asEmilio Butragueño,Manolo Sanchís,Rafael Martín Vázquez,Míchel andMiguel Pardeza. This period allowed Real Madrid to also enjoy domestic and European success, winning five La Liga championships and twoUEFA Cups.

The termGalácticos in reference to this team is often credited toJaume Ortí, president ofValencia CF, who challenged Real Madrid to honours in the early 2000s. The term in general goes back further, withMundo Deportivo finding a reference in 1988 describingFC Barcelona signingJulio Salinas as aGaláctico.^[4]

The firstgaláctico era is considered to be synonymous with the presidency ofFlorentino Pérez between 2000–2006, from the signing ofLuís Figo in 2000, to the departure ofZinedine Zidane in 2006. The first Pérez era brought:

• Luís Figo – signed in 2000 for €60 million fromBarcelona.
• Zinedine Zidane – signed in 2001 for €73.5 million fromJuventus.
• Ronaldo – signed in 2002 for €45 million fromInter.
• David Beckham – signed in 2003 for €37.5 million fromManchester United.
• Michael Owen – signed in 2004 for €9 million fromLiverpool.
• Robinho – signed in 2005 for €24 million fromSantos.
• Sergio Ramos – signed in 2005 for €27 million fromSevilla.
• Fabio Cannavaro - signed in 2006 for €10 million fromJuventus
• Ruud van Nistelrooy - signed in 2006 €14 million fromManchester United.

Several other players were often considered to be a part of thegalácticos legacy due to their influence on the team during that period, despite being signed previously to the reign of Pérez, or being graduates of the youth system. These included:

• Fernando Hierro – signed pre-Pérez in 1989 for €1 million fromValladolid.
• Raúl – graduated from youth system in 1994.
• Guti – graduated from youth system in 1995.
• Roberto Carlos – signed pre-Pérez in 1996 for €3.5 million fromInter.
• Fernando Morientes – signed pre-Pérez in 1997 for €6.6 million fromZaragoza.
• Iván Helguera – signed pre-Pérez in 1999 for €4.5 million fromEspanyol.
• Míchel Salgado – signed pre-Pérez in 1999 for €11 million fromCelta.
• Steve McManaman – signed pre-Pérez in 1999 for free-transfer fromLiverpool.
• Iker Casillas – graduated from youth system in 1999.
• Esteban Cambiasso - graduated from youth system in 2001.

Though Real Madrid had already won twoEuropean Cups in 1998 and 2000 under the presidency ofLorenzo Sanz, Sanz lost his re-election bid to Pérez. Pérez won by promising an aggressive new transfer policy and expensive new signings, in particular, Luís Figo fromrivals Barcelona.

Pérez then sold the club's training ground, theCiudad Deportiva, for €480 million, allowing Real to clear debts, and build a replacement training complex at a fraction of the cost. It also allowed for significant funds to be used for player transfers. The deal to sell the complex was later investigated by the EU on illegal-competition grounds, however, no charges were brought.

After the purchase of Figo for €62 million, a world-record transfer fee, Pérez sought to buy at least one world-class superstar player (dubbed agaláctico) each summer. The record was broken a year later by the purchase ofZinedine Zidane fromJuventus for €75 million. After a demand for youth integration in the side, which coincided with the appointment ofVicente del Bosque, the policy was redubbed as "Zidanes y Pavones", with the name deriving from Zidane andFrancisco Pavón, a product from the club's youth academy — the idea was to sign one major superstar per year, and promote youth players sporadically.

Florentino Pérez was also fond ofFrancesco Totti, a former world-classtrequartista (attacking midfielder) who played forRoma at the time, and tried to sign him in order to perfect the galácticos squad, but was rejected, as the Italian number 10 remained out of loyalty to his Roman club.^[5][6] Totti has stated in an interview that the Los Blancos even sent him "a No.10 shirt with ‘Totti’ on it" to show their earnestness.^[7]

Immediate success followed for three seasons, with Real winning La Liga in 2000–01 and 2002–03, and claiming theUEFA Champions League in2001–02, with Zidane scoring the winning goal inthe final. After winning the 2002–03 La Liga title, Real Madrid added English midfielderDavid Beckham fromManchester United for €35 million. Beckham's status as a world-class footballer, in addition to his heavily publicized marriage to pop starVictoria Adams, resulted in Real Madrid gaining great advertising potential around the world, especially in Asia. By further promoting the other superstar players in various marketing campaigns in the continent, the club became the world's richest club in terms of revenue in 2005–06.

Despite expectations of continued dominance in domestic and European competition, the club failed to win any trophy for the next three seasons. They also suffered from elimination in the UEFA Champions League, exiting in the 2004 quarter-finals, and two consecutive exits in Round of 16 in 2005 and 2006. In the same period, Barcelona won successive La Liga titles in 2005 and 2006, along with the Champions League in2006.

Several reasons have been proposed in the media for the failure of thegaláctico policy:

• A lack of interest in defensive talent harmed the team, as potential transfers were overlooked because Pérez did not want to pay large wages to defensive players. Shortly after signing Beckham,Claude Makélélé departed the team when the club refused to raise his relatively low salary, despite him being widely considered as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and key to the team. Negotiations to signPatrick Vieira fromArsenal in 2004 failed for similar reasons. The defensive players signed by Pérez during this period, namelyWalter Samuel,Thomas Gravesen,Jonathan Woodgate,Cicinho,Carlos Diogo andPablo García, all for high fees, underperformed while playing for the club, with Woodgate seeming the only potential success, his time being compounded by severe injuries.Sergio Ramos, who joined Real Madrid for €27 million in the summer of 2005 fromSevilla, failed to shine until Pérez's departure in 2006. Pavón, one-half of theZidanes y Pavones policy, never lived up to expectation and left the club in 2007.
• The shock firing of coachVicente del Bosque, who won two Champions League titles, and led Real Madrid to their 29th league championship in the 2002–03 season. It has been suggested that there was a political split, with del Bosque and his players (namely Hierro, Morientes,Steve McManaman and Makélélé), against the policy Pérez instituted. Three of the aforementioned players had backed a significant wage raise for Makélélé, and they all left the club shortly after del Bosque's departure. More importantly, del Bosque was able to balance the many different egos of the players in the star studded team, considering that severalgalácticos were all competing for the same position. Without del Bosque, the superstar players placed together failed to form a cohesive footballing unit, indicating that having a large number of very talented, renowned individual footballers did not effectively translate into a great footballing team.
• Lack of stability and interference by Pérez, who appointedCarlos Queiroz, an assistant manager at United, in the week following the arrival of Beckham and dismissal of del Bosque. Queiroz was allegedly forced to pick the star players, regardless of form or performance on the pitch in order to maximise on marketing potential, and had limited input into tactical decisions. McManaman later described this as the "Disneyfication of Real Madrid" in his autobiography. Queiroz was later fired after only one trophyless season in 2003–04, with Real suffering in subsequent years from high turnover in non-playing staff, with four managers and four directors of football in the four years following del Bosque's firing in 2003.
• Signings for non-footballing (marketing) reasons, namely in regards to Beckham. Beckham, a natural right winger, joined the club partly due to his huge popularity in Asia. This meant Figo, another right winger already at the club, had to compete for a starting berth at the club. The signings of two high-profile players in the same position meant one or the other was forced to play out of position in many games, with Beckham in central-defensive midfield when Figo was on the right, or Figo on the left or centre when Beckham occupied the right. One former club director also reportedly quoted saying that Beckham was signed for his good looks andRonaldinho, who joined Barcelona the same summer, was too "ugly" to play for Real Madrid. While Real Madrid failed to win any trophy for three straight seasons, Ronaldinho would lead the powerful resurgence of Barcelona; and furthermore he proved to be one of the most marketable players during that time.
• The 2003 pre-season Asian tour catered more to the needs of the club's marketing than to its players' preparations. Shortly after Beckham joined the club, the team embarked on an 18-day summer tour in Asia, to cash in on his worldwide appeal. It included exhibition matches in Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong andBangkok, which alone earned the club €10 million. Some have compared this tour with the first visit ofThe Beatles to the United States in 1964. Although lucrative and generating wide publicity, the preparation value of preseason in Asia was questionable, as the team failed to adequately prepare for the following season. It was exhausting for the players, as endless rounds of publicity engagements and restrictions on the players' freedom of movement (due to the team hotel being besieged by fans). Most players admitted that they would have preferred a low-profile training camp and/or to have been home in Spain for the pre-season, instead of playing meaningless show matches against low quality opponents.^[8]
• Poor transfer decisions, namely in regards toSamuel Eto'o. Real Madrid owned 50% of the contract Eto'o signed withMallorca since 1998, and had first preference over where he could sign if he chose to leave Mallorca. Pérez sold these rights to Eto'o in 2004, arguing that Real Madrid already had the best two strikers in the league (Ronaldo and Raúl), and that there was no place for another forward. Eto'o himself also ruled out a move back to the club for similar reasons, despite Real Madrid signing another forward inMichael Owen that same summer. Eto'o would later join Barcelona, and lead them to 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2008–09La Liga titles, as well as 2005–06 and 2008–09 Champions League titles. Meanwhile, Owen, the alternative signing to Eto'o, left after one season after failing to secure a starting berth at Real.

The decline in the team's on-field performance had seemingly hit a nadir in the2005–06 season, crashing out of theChampions League toArsenal in the Round of 16 without scoring a goal in eitherleg. Despite the new signings, which includedJúlio Baptista (€24 million),Robinho (€30 million), andSergio Ramos (€27 million),^[9] Real Madrid suffered from some poor results, including a 0–3 loss at the hands of Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu in November 2005.^[10] Madrid's coachWanderley Luxemburgo was sacked the following month and his replacement wasJuan Ramón López Caro.^[11] A brief return to form came to an abrupt halt after Madrid lost the first leg of theCopa del Rey semi-finals 6–1 to Real Zaragoza,^[12] a defeat that was nearly reversed with a 4–0 home victory. This foresaw Pérez resigning as club president on February 27, 2006, and was succeeded byRamón Calderón.^[13]

The final season of thegaláctico era is considered to be the2006–07 season.Fabio Cannavaro andRuud van Nistelrooy were brought in for a combined fee of €21 million, while Zidane and Ronaldo both departed, with the former retiring. The incoming transfers were notable in the fact that less media attention or marketing was involved in the signing of these players; Cannavaro had been fresh off captaining Italy to the2006 FIFA World Cup, but had left Juventus after it was relegated toSerie B, while Van Nistelrooy had fallen out of favour at Manchester United. Both signings were seen as needed for the team, which lacked stability in both attack and defence in the season prior.

Following Pérez's departure, Calderón hiredFabio Capello with a mandate of "reining in the players and clearing out dead wood". Capello balanced the team out and moved away from thegaláctico approach enforced previously, with Capello famously dropping Beckham for periods of the season, due to form and inability to be integrated into the starting eleven. However, Beckham was returned to the team during the second half of the season, and was widely considered by many to be one of their better performers at the time. The team's performance in the Champions League still disappointed, with their elimination toBayern Munich on theaway goals rule: the team initially enjoyed a 3–2 first leg win at home, but lost the second leg away 2–1, withRoberto Carlos failing to control the ball on kickoff which led toRoy Makaay scoring in 10.12 seconds, the fastest Champions League goal in history. Domestically, the team finally overtook Barcelona and won La Liga, but Capello was sacked at the conclusion of the season.

The nail in the coffin of the end of the firstgaláctico era is considered to be the departure of Beckham to joinMajor League Soccer (MLS) sideLA Galaxy after the 2006–07 season.^[14] Beckham's contract was due to expire after that season, and Calderón favored re-signing him, however, Beckham derided his treatment, and benching, by Capello, who later responded publicly saying that Beckham would get no further chances on the first team, although he was later forced to backtrack on that declaration.^[15] Beckham was also the last of the big four to move on, with Figo having joinedInter Milan two seasons prior, Zidane retiring after the 2006 World Cup, and Ronaldo moving toA.C. Milan half a season before Beckham's departure. Capello was then replaced byBernd Schuster, who led the team to the second consecutive La Liga title in2007–08 and aSupercopa de España at the beginning of the2008–09 season. However, Madrid continued to fail in the Champions League, with consecutive round of 16 exits, and couldn't produce stable results on the domestic front either, with multiple early Copa del Rey eliminations and Barcelona regaining dominance in the La Liga.

• Kaká – signed in 2009 for €67 million fromMilan
• Karim Benzema – signed in 2009 for €30 million fromLyon
• Cristiano Ronaldo – signed in 2009 for €94 million fromManchester United
• Xabi Alonso – signed in 2009 for €35.5 million fromLiverpool
• Ángel Di María – signed in 2010 for €25 million fromBenfica
• Mesut Özil – signed in 2010 for €15 million fromWerder Bremen
• Luka Modrić – signed in 2012 for €32 million fromTottenham Hotspur
• Isco – signed in 2013 for €30 million fromMálaga
• Gareth Bale – signed in 2013 for €100 million fromTottenham Hotspur
• Toni Kroos – signed in 2014 for €30 million fromBayern Munich
• James Rodríguez – signed in 2014 for €76 million fromMonaco

Several other players are considered to be a part of thegalácticos legacy due to their influence on the team during that period despite either being signed previously to Pérez's presidency, being graduates of the Madrid youth system, or being players more focused on defending than attacking; these often include:

• Iker Casillas – part of the firstgalácticos.
• Sergio Ramos – part of the firstgalácticos.
• Pepe – signed pre-Pérez in 2007 for €30 million fromPorto
• Marcelo – signed pre-Pérez in 2007 for €6.5 million fromFluminense
• Gonzalo Higuaín – signed pre-Pérez in 2007 for €12 million fromRiver Plate
• Álvaro Arbeloa – graduated from youth system in 2006 and bought back in 2009 for €5 million fromLiverpool
• Sami Khedira – signed in 2010 for €14 million fromVfB Stuttgart
• Raphaël Varane – signed in 2011 for €10 million fromLens
• Dani Carvajal – graduated from youth system in 2012 and bought back in 2013 for €6.5 million fromBayer Leverkusen
• Casemiro – signed in 2013 for €6 million fromSão Paulo
• Keylor Navas – signed in 2014 for €10 million fromLevante

The 2008–09 season saw Real Madrid eclipsed by rivals Barcelona, who completed theirtreble, including beating Real to win La Liga by a wide margin of nine points. Real were humbled in the Champions League first knockout round byLiverpool, suffering a 1–0 loss at the Santiago Bernabéu and a heavy 4–0 defeat atAnfield. The defeat marked the fifth successive season of early Champions League exits in the round of 16, with Real not making the quarter-finals since 2004. To make things worse, they lost both theirEl Clásico matches and crashed out of the Copa del Rey tothird tier sideReal Unión. The team was widely derided in the press. Manager Bernd Schuster was sacked midway through the 2008–09 season, with the team perceptibly in decline despite the efforts ofJuande Ramos, who kept the team with 19 successive victories, shortening the deficit to only six points (initially, Barcelona led by 12). It was all brought to an end when a rampant Barcelona later defeated an exposed Real 2–6, withLionel Messi,Xavi andThierry Henry being the stars.

In addition, Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón resigned in January 2009 after corruption allegations and having failed to secure notable transfer targets for the club.

The resignation of Ramón Calderón resulted in a presidential election in mid-2009, returning Florentino Pérez to the presidency. Pérez again pledged to go on a spending spree to return the club to European and domestic competitiveness, notably with his vocal claims of an attempt to sign AC Milan'sKaká. Just 24 hours after his appointment,Manuel Pellegrini was unveiled as Juande Ramos' replacement as manager. After much speculation linking him to the club, Kaká was duly signed for a then-world record fee of £56 million on 9 June 2009.

Then, on 11 June, Manchester United revealed they had accepted a shock offer of £80 million (a new world record transfer fee) forCristiano Ronaldo. United gave Real until 30 June to complete the deal, and on 26 June, Real Madrid and United signed the final agreement for the transfer of Ronaldo, which became effective on 1 July. That same day, it was confirmed thatOlympique Lyonnais had accepted an offer from Madrid forKarim Benzema. On 29 July 2009, it was announced that Real and Liverpool had reached an agreement for the transfer ofÁlvaro Arbeloa to the Spanish club for a fee of €4 million, the same amount Liverpool paid for the player in January 2007; Arbeloa subsequently signed a five-year contract with Real.

On 4 August, Real Madrid and Liverpool again agreed terms for the transfer ofXabi Alonso to the Santiago Bernabéu for a fee of €34 million. Other players that came to Real Madrid includedRaúl Albiol,Ezequiel Garay andEsteban Granero.Antonio Adán became the third goalkeeper through the youth system. Newly hired manager Manuel Pellegrini was under heavy pressure to deliver instant success following the high-profile off-season signings.^[16]

In their first year, the second era ofgalácticos failed to win any trophies. They werecrushed 4–0 againstAlcorcón in theCopa del Rey (ultimately losing 4–1 on aggregate), then were knocked out of theChampions League in the round of 16 for the sixth consecutive year (losing to Lyon 2–1 on aggregate), after which Pellegrini received an ultimatum from club president Pérez that Real would have to win La Liga or he would be sacked. Ending the domestic season, Real Madrid set a club record of 96 points, with 31 wins and 102 goals scored, but nonetheless finished second inLa Liga to defending champions Barcelona. Madrid also had the misfortune to become the runners-up with the highest points total in the history ofEurope's top five leagues, until surpassed by Liverpool's 97 points in2018–19.^[17][18]

Once again, Real Madrid suffered from poor transfer decisions, asWesley Sneijder andArjen Robben, who were transferred to Inter Milan and Bayern Munich respectively because they were considered surplus to requirements, each played key roles as their clubs reached the2010 Champions League final at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Manuel Pellegrini was sacked andJosé Mourinho was appointed manager. Even before the 2009–10 season had concluded, the team was actively courting Mourinho, who had successfully managed Inter Milan to a final victory over Barça in the Champions League (Los Blancos fans were pleased that this denied Barça the opportunity to win the Champions League at the Bernabéu^[19]) en route to achieving a continental treble. Mourinho was released by Inter after a record-breaking compensation package was agreed on 27 May 2010.

Though a manager and not a player, Mourinho has often been referred to as agaláctico. He was in high demand as a football manager for his past successes, having earlier in his career led an unfanciedPorto to consecutive European trophies, then atChelsea and Inter took underachieving squads to domestic and European successes. While Real Madrid wanted to make his arrival a media frenzy, Mourinho vetoed the club's plans which supposedly would have involved a giant catwalk or parading a massive white shirt across the pitch. Florentino Pérez was absent during the simple media presentation announcing Mourinho's appointment; only director generalJorge Valdano, the media and Mourinho were present. This suggested an apparent power shift, with Real Madrid "having at long last allowed a coach [Mourinho] the freedom to build the squad".^[20][21]

Real Madrid continued the spending spree by signing playersÁngel Di María,Sergio Canales,Pedro León,Ricardo Carvalho,Sami Khedira andMesut Özil. Khedira and Özil had just earlier played key roles inGermany's third-place finish at the2010 World Cup.On 20 April 2011, the secondgalácticos era managed to win their first trophy, a 1–0 victory overBarcelona in thefinal of theCopa del Rey, withCristiano Ronaldo scoring the decisive goal in extra time. They also managed to get past the round of 16 of theUEFA Champions League for the first time in seven years, reaching the semi-finals where they lost to eventual champions Barça. InLa Liga, they finished as runners-up to Barça with 92 points, being defeated 0–5 in the 13th round, and drawing 1–1 in the 32nd round, thus achieving their first point in the last six matches against theAzulgranas.

May 2011 saw the appointment of formergaláctico Zinedine Zidane as general manager of the club, replacing Jorge Valdano.

In the2011–12 season, Real Madrid won its 32nd title, under the management of José Mourinho, with a national record of 100 points, a record 121 goals scored, a record goal difference of +89 and the most away wins among several other records in a single La Liga season. The key moment was the 2–1 win over Barça atNou Camp on 21 April, Barça's first home loss of the season, which extended Real Madrid's lead in the table to seven points with four matches left, and led to Barça coachPep Guardiola conceding the league title. In the Champions League, the team reached the semi-finals where they faced Bayern Munich (managed byJupp Heynckes, who had previously led Real Madrid to its 1998 Champions League title), losing the first leg 2–1 and winning the second leg at home 2–1 (with former Real Madrid player Arjen Robben converting a penalty to level the aggregate score). Bayern won 3–1 in the ensuing penalty shootout which saw spot kicks ofgalácticos Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká saved by Bayern'sManuel Neuer, as well as a missed penalty bySergio Ramos.^[22]

Real Madrid started the2012–13 season by winning theSupercopa de España, defeating Barcelona on away goals. However, the super cup turned out to be their only trophy of the season, despite being close to winning them all. Real finished runners-up to Barça inLa Liga, accumulating 85 points, and reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Champions League for the third year in a row, where they were eliminated byBorussia Dortmund 3–4 on aggregate. Madrid also entered theCopa del Rey in the round of 32, going on a memorable run to thefinal, which saw them defeat Barcelona in the semi-finals before losing toAtlético Madrid 1–2a.e.t. in the final in a heartbreaking fashion. A major transfer of the season was the signing ofLuka Modrić fromTottenham Hotspur for a fee in the region of £33 million. After the loss to Atlético in the Copa del Rey final, Pérez announced the departure of José Mourinho at the end of the season by "mutual agreement".^[23] Real Madrid beat Barcelona in three of their six meetings that season (2–1 in Supercopa at home, 3–1 in the Copa del Rey away, 2–1 in the league at home), drawing two (2–2 in the league away, 1–1 in the Copa del Rey at home) and losing once (2–3 in the Supercopa away). The most striking victory came in the2012–13 Copa del Rey semi-finals where Madrid knocked outdefending champions Barcelona 4–2 on aggregate by winning 3–1 at Camp Nou (with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo) after a 1–1 draw at the Bernabéu.^[24] The third win over Barcelona came in the 26th round of La Liga, where Real defeated them 2–1 with goals scored by Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos.

Mourinho's last year, however, saw infighting between him and severalgalácticos likeIker Casillas, Sergio Ramos,Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho's selection policy generated controversy; long-time Real Madrid player and club captain Casillas had been sidelined since January 2013 despite recovering from a broken hand, in favor ofDiego López, who had been in fine form in the domestic and European campaign during Casillas' absence.^[25]

In the Champions League, Real Madrid defeated Manchester United, drawing the first leg at the Bernabeu 1–1 and then producing a comeback 2–1 win atOld Trafford (which was marred by controversy over a red card being issued to Manchester United playerNani), with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring in both legs. The team reached their third consecutive Champions League semi-finals, thoughBorussia Dortmund beat Real in the first leg 4–1 withRobert Lewandowski scoring four goals, leading Dortmund managerJürgen Klopp to remark that it was a historic night for his club, saying, "That was like Robin Hood taking from the rich" (Dortmund had previously gone with an expensive group of largely foreign players but after almost going bankrupt had restructured back to financial health largely via young home-grown players).^[26] Real's 2–0 home win in the second leg with two late goals was not enough to overturn Dortmund's 4–3 aggregate advantage.

Real advanced to the Copa del Rey final against city rivalAtlético Madrid after defeating Barcelona 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals. However, Real Madrid fell short of clinching the trophy, being denied by a man-of-the match performance of goalkeeperThibaut Courtois, as Atletico scored in extra time to win 2–1. Mourinho, despite having signed a four-year contract extension in 2012, departed Real Madrid by mutual agreement with the club at the conclusion of the 2012–13 season, amid feuds with key players Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Pepe.^[27]

On 25 June 2013,Carlo Ancelotti became the manager of Real Madrid after signing a three-year deal.^[28][29] A day later, he was introduced at his first press conference for Madrid, where it was announced that both Zinedine Zidane and Paul Clement will be his assistants.^[30] On 1 September 2013, the long-awaited transfer ofGareth Bale fromTottenham Hotspur was announced, with Bale joining Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Madrid attack. The transfer of the Welshman was reportedly a new world record, with the transfer price around €100 million.^[31] In Ancelotti's first season at the club, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey, with Bale scoring the winner in thefinal against Barcelona.^[32] On 24 May 2014, Real Madrid defeated city rivals Atlético Madrid in theChampions League final, winning their first European title since 2002,^[33] and they became the first team to win ten European Cups, an achievement known asLa Décima.^[34] Real Madrid's attacking trio of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano, dubbed the "BBC", finished the season with 97 goals.^[35]

On 12 August 2014, Real Madrid won theUEFA Super Cup against the2013–14 UEFA Europa League championsSevilla by a score of 2–0. Cristiano Ronaldo scored both of Madrid's goals to win the club's 78th official trophy. In theSupercopa de España, against Atlético, Real finished their home leg with 1–1 after goals fromJames Rodríguez andRaúl García going into theVicente Calderón Stadium.^[36]Mario Mandžukić shocked Real early on after just two minutes in the second leg with the only goal of the match, which meant that Atlético won the title.^[37][38] In the last match of the season,Martin Ødegaard became Real Madrid's youngest ever player to play in La Liga.

On 4 January 2016, it was announced thatRafael Benítez was sacked and replaced by Zinedine Zidane.^[39] On 28 May 2016, Real Madrid defeated city rivals Atlético Madrid in theChampions League final, winning their eleventh European title.^[40]

On 2 May 2017, Ronaldo scored yet another hat-trick and Madrid ran away with a thumping 3–0 victory against Atlético Madrid in the first leg of theChampions League semi-finals.^[41] On 6 May 2017, a brace apiece from Morata and Rodríguez against Granada guided Madrid to a 4–0 victory.^[42] On 10 May 2017, an Isco goal was enough for Madrid to reach theChampions League final, despite Atlético winning the second leg 2–1, meaning that Real advanced by an aggregate score of 4–2.^[43] On 14 May 2017, a Ronaldo brace and goals from Nacho and Kroos secured Real a 4–1 win over Sevilla.^[44] On 17 May 2017, two goals from Ronaldo and one from each Benzema and Kroos got Madrid a 4–1 away victory in the rescheduled match at Celta Vigo. That win gave Madrid the lead in the league table, with one game left.^[45] On 21 May 2017, a 2–0 win over Málaga, with goals from Ronaldo and Benzema, secured the33rd league title for the club.^[46]

On 3 June 2017, Real Madrid won the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, defeatingJuventus 4–1 in the final, with a brace from Ronaldo and goals from Casemiro and Asensio. Real won their second consecutive, third in four years and twelfth overall title. With that victory, Madrid also became the first team to defend their title in the Champions League era.^[47]

Real Madrid won the Champions League for the third time in a row by defeatingLiverpool 3–1 in thefinal, becoming the first team to achieve that feat since1976. This was also Madrid's fourth European Cup in five years, signifying a period of unparalleled dominance unseen since Madrid's own dominance in the 1950s and 60s.^[48]

Zidane's and Ronaldo's departures after the season concluded marked the end of theSecond Galáctico Era that yielded four Champions League titles, two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey, two Supercopa de España, three UEFA Super Cups, and four FIFA Club World Cup titles. The team was instrumental in ending Barcelona's dominance, despite theBlaugrana boasting arguably the greatest collection of talent in history,^[49] and overshadowed the Catalans on the European stage.^[1] Real Madrid was also somewhat notoriously unlucky in its league campaigns throughout these nine years, finishing runners-up with 96, 92 (twice), and 90 points, as well as on 87 points in third place, just three off the league winners - despite better international records, Real was still behind Barcelona in the La Liga.^[18]

• La Liga:
  • Winners (3):2000–01,2002–03,2006–07
  • Runners-up (2):2004–05,2005–06
• Copa del Rey:
  • Runners-up (2):2001–02,2003–04
• Supercopa de España:
  • Winners (2):2001,2003
• UEFA Champions League:
  • Winners (1):2001–02
• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Winners (1):2002
  • Runners-up (1):2000
• Intercontinental Cup:
  • Winners (1):2002
  • Runners-up (1):2000

• La Liga:
  • Winners (2):2011–12,2016–17
  • Runners-up (5):2009–10,2010–11,2012–13,2014–15,2015–16
• Copa del Rey:
  • Winners (2):2010–11,2013–14
  • Runners-up (1):2012–13
• Supercopa de España:
  • Winners (2):2012,2017
  • Runners-up (2):2011,2014
• UEFA Champions League:
  • Winners (4):2013–14,2015–16,2016–17,2017–18
• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Winners (3):2014,2016,2017
  • Runners-up (1):2018
• FIFA Club World Cup:
  • Winners (4):2014,2016,2017,2018

• La Liga:
  • Winners (3): 2019-20, 2021-22, 2023-24
  • Runners-up (2): 2020-21, 2022-23
• Copa del Rey:
  • Winners (1): 2022-23
• Supercopa de España:
  • Winners (3): 2020, 2022, 2024
  • Runners-up (1): 2023
• UEFA Champions League:
  • Winners (2): 2021-22, 2023-24
• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Winners (2): 2022, 2024
  • Runners-up (1): 2018
• FIFA Club World Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2022
• FIFA Intercontinental Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2024

Further reading

• Real Madrid CF
• Nicknamed groups of association football players
• Spanish words and phrases

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• Articles with short description
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• Articles containing Spanish-language text
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• Articles with dead external links from January 2025