Fifteen European Cups. Five on the bounce from 1956, then four in five years from 2014. Two great sides sixty years apart and eleven shirts. I've tried to be fair to the black and white lot, even though most of us only know them from grainy clips, and only what a player did in a Madrid shirt counts here.
The XI
4-3-3. Di Stéfano sits in the middle three on paper, though in reality he'd turn up at left back one minute and in the six-yard box the next. Ronaldo goes to the right, because Gento isn't moving off the left for anybody.
Goalkeeper
Iker Casillas (1999 to 2015). He won the Champions League at 19, in the 2000 final against Valencia. Two years later he came off the bench at Hampden when César got injured and kept Leverkusen out over the last few minutes, and by 2014 he was the one lifting La Décima as captain.
Defence
Dani Carvajal, right back (from 2013). Academy lad who had a year at Leverkusen and came back for good. He started the 2014 final in Lisbon, then headed the opener against Dortmund at Wembley in 2024 to win his sixth European Cup, level with Gento.
Sergio Ramos, centre back (2005 to 2021). 92 minutes 48 on the clock in Lisbon. Atlético were seconds from the trophy when he got his head on Modrić's corner, and Madrid went on to win 4-1 in extra time. He captained the three in a row that followed and scored in the 2016 final too.
Fernando Hierro, centre back (1989 to 2003). The closest call in the side. José Santamaría arrived in 1957 and was the rock behind the last three of the five in a row, and plenty of older fans would have him here without a second thought. Hierro won three Champions Leagues, wore the armband, and spent his early Madrid years in midfield scoring goals, which is why he could step out of defence the way he did. I'll take Hierro. Ask me again tomorrow.
Roberto Carlos, left back (1996 to 2007). In the 2002 final it was his looping cross from the left that Zidane volleyed in. Marcelo had longer at the club and scored in the 2014 final, and honestly it's a coin toss between them. I lean Roberto Carlos for the bigger nights.
You'll notice Manolo Sanchís isn't here either. One club, the whole of the Quinta del Buitre years, and still there for the Champions League wins in 1998 and 2000. He'd walk into most clubs' all-time back four. This just isn't most clubs.
Midfield
Luka Modrić (2012 to 2025). The 2018 Ballon d'Or, the one that broke the Messi and Ronaldo run, and six European Cups with Madrid.
Alfredo Di Stéfano (1953 to 1964). The reason the club became what it is. He scored in all five of those European Cup finals, including a hat-trick in the 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden in 1960. You can't really give him a position, so I've stuck him in midfield where he's got room to wander.
Zinedine Zidane (2001 to 2006). Five seasons isn't long. But the volley at Hampden in 2002 won Madrid their ninth European Cup, left foot, on the turn, from Roberto Carlos's cross, and I've not seen a better goal in a final.
Yes, I know. There's nobody sitting in front of the back four. Casemiro did that job through all those Champions League wins from 2016, and plenty of people reckon the Galácticos were never the same after Makélélé left in 2003. A proper Madridista would want one of them in. I'd still rather have Di Stéfano there and trust Modrić and Zidane to keep the ball. It's a gamble, and if it goes wrong Ramos and Hierro are going to have long afternoons.
Attack
Cristiano Ronaldo, right wing (2009 to 2018). 450 goals in 438 games, the club record by a distance. Four Champions Leagues in Madrid, the winning penalty in the 2016 shootout and two goals in the 2017 final in Cardiff. He'd want the left. He's not getting it.
Ferenc Puskás, striker (1958 to 1966). Four goals in a European Cup final. At 31, and carrying a bit of weight. He'd turned up in Madrid that age when nobody expected much, and two years after Hampden he got a hat-trick in the final against Benfica and still lost 5-3. Nearly all of it off his left foot.
Paco Gento, left wing (1953 to 1971). He captained the 1966 side that won it again with an all-Spanish team, after being there for all five of the early wins. That's six European Cups, a record nobody matched until 2024.
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti. Three Champions Leagues across his two spells, in 2014, 2022 and 2024. Zidane won three in a row from 2016 and nobody else has done that in the Champions League era, so I can see the other side of this. Miguel Muñoz has a shout too, having won the European Cup as a player and then twice more as manager. Ancelotti won his with three quite different squads, so I'll go with him.
The ones who nearly made it
- Raúl (1994 to 2010). The hardest one to leave out. 323 goals, a club record until Ronaldo came, and goals in the 2000 and 2002 finals. If you want him up front instead of Puskás, I understand. I just can't drop the man who scored four in a final.
- Gareth Bale (2013 to 2022). The extra-time header in Lisbon that made it 2-1, then two goals in the 2018 final against Liverpool, one of them that overhead kick. For a player whose time in Madrid ended so sourly, he turned up in finals.
- Karim Benzema (2009 to 2023). Won the 2022 Ballon d'Or, and that spring he scored hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea in the knockouts. He was better at 34 than at 24.
- Toni Kroos (2014 to 2024). Ten seasons, six European Cups, five of them here, and he went out on top in 2024. Leaving him out for Zidane still bothers me a bit.
- José Santamaría (1957 to 1966) and Marcelo (2007 to 2022). Both covered above, and both get into plenty of fans' teams.
- Thibaut Courtois (from 2018). Man of the match in the 2022 final against Liverpool. Casillas had the longer run, though Courtois has a real case.
- Emilio Butragueño (1984 to 1995). The face of the Quinta del Buitre side that won five league titles in a row in the late 80s.
- Hugo Sánchez (1985 to 1992). 38 league goals in 1989-90.
- Fernando Redondo (1994 to 2000). The backheel at Old Trafford in 2000 is the bit everyone remembers.
- Amancio (1962 to 1976) and Pirri (1964 to 1980). Massive names in Spain, much less so over here.
- Vinícius Júnior. Scored the winner in the 2022 final and another goal in the 2024 one.
Figo and Ronaldo Nazário were close as well. On another day either one is on the right instead of Cristiano.
Quick answers
Who is Real Madrid's record goalscorer? Cristiano Ronaldo, with 450 goals between 2009 and 2018.
Which Madrid players have won the most European Cups with the club? Gento, Carvajal, Modrić and Nacho, with six each. Kroos also has six, but one came with Bayern.
Build your own
If you'd rather have the 1960 side on the wall, or the Lisbon team from 2014, you can build either one in our team builder, or do your own five-a-side lot instead. Pick the eleven, the kit and the pitch, and we'll email a proof before anything's printed. Prints are £99 or £149, framed in black or white, with free UK delivery. Or start from one of our Real Madrid prints.