25. Ivan Zamorano
Ivan Zamorano is remembered for having a "+" between his 18 squad number digits at Inter Milan by some – but for anyone in Spain, he's nothing but a tormentor of defenders.
Best typified by a 5-0 thrashing in the Clasico – in which the Chilean got a hat-trick and set up the other two – Zamorano was a pocket rocket: capable of beating defenders for pace, for headers and simply through his will to get a toe to anything. He managed over 100 goals in four seasons.
24. Iker Casillas
Mr Real Madrid. What more can be said about the legendary Iker Casillas. Second in the all-time appearance list behind Raul, Casillas turned out a whopping 725 times for Real Madrid across a 25 year career. He is widely seen as the club’s greatest-ever goalkeeper and won a whopping 19 titles, which included 5 La Liga crowns and 3 Champions Leagues. A modern day legend.
23. Marcelo
Not many defenders captured the hearts quite like Marcelo did. Technically superb, with outstanding defensive attributes, the Brazilian was often a little hot-headed, but that only added to the spice he brought throughout his career. One of the best to ever play for Real, he made 546 appearances and is the second-highest foreign appearance maker in the club's history, second to Karim Benzema.
22. Jose Santamaria
You don't get the nickname 'the Wall' for nothing. One of the greatest South American defenders ever, Jose Santamaria arrived from Uruguay in 1957 and played over 330 games for Real Madrid, winning 12 trophies in nine years. A solid presence who simply couldn't be beaten in the air, he was a leader in defence who allowed the Hollywood names to flourish at the top of the pitch.
21. Jose Antonio Camacho
Jose Antonio Camacho spent two years out of the game with a knee injury – and still managed nearly 600 games in a white shirt. The left-back was a pillar of strength, pace and boundless stamina over 15 years at the Bernabeu, winning 17 domestic titles and two UEFA Cups, back-to-back in the 1980s. His passion and desire to win is still the bar that many fans hold today.
20. Karim Benzema
Deadly in front of goal and arguably part of one of the best striking trios ever formed, Karim Benzema will forever be remembered as an icon at the Bernabeu. Arriving as a baby-faced 21-year-old, he went on to become the most deadly forward of the modern-era in Europe, with his partnership alongside Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo frightening to say the very least.
Second top scorer in the club’s esteemed history, Benzema left for Saudi Arabia in 2023 but will forever be idolised in the Spanish capital.
19. Martin Vazquez
One of the most skilful attacking midfielders of a generation, Martin Vazquez put the glamour into the ‘Quinta del Buitre’ quartet of the 80s. He helped Real Madrid to 16 titles with – including the 1989/90 La Liga trophy in which Real achieved a domestic record 107 goals. A mercurial passer and dribbler, he was a fans' favourite for his ability to change a game.
18. Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos at Real Madrid in that glorious all white Siemens Mobile strip, a homage to that very era of football. His left foot will be remembered as one of the most deadly of all time, a full-back that redefined attacking from the front with his marauding runs and deadly shot power.
Carlos won ten titles in Madrid during an 11-year stay. Still holding dear the record of all-time games played by a foreign, his impact as one of the club’s most iconic Brazilian still stands firm.
17. Paco Gento
Some believe him to be the greatest left-winger of all time. If we're going off trophies, it's no contest.
Paco Gento won six European Cup titles at Real Madrid, with his speed and precision a vital ingredient in making Los Blancos the incredible threat they were in transition back then. The Spaniard was nicknamed the ‘Storm of the Cantabrian’ for his bustling style and in 18 years at Real, he barely changed gear. In 600 games for the club, he played for the first five European Cup wins before captaining the "Ye-Ye" side of 1966 to the trophy.
16. Ronaldo
In truth, Ronaldo gave his electric best to Barcelona. By the time he made the switch to the Bernabeu, his body had been ravaged by injury: but he was still a World Cup winner and a true Galactico.
R9 – or R11, as he was here – netted 104 goals in 177 matches in a white shirt, forming a potent partnership with Raul. He only won one title in his time in the Spanish capital but dazzled with his explosive bursts and unbelievable eye for goal.
15. Santiago Bernabeu
He's best remembered as a president (and, err, a stadium) but without Santiago Bernabeu the player, Real Madrid would look very different today.
Bernabeu joined the club at the age of 14 and after breaking into the first team, it wasn't long before he captained them as a senior figure. In 79 official matches, he scored 68 times, leading from the front with physical strength and the kind of leadership that he'd later give to the club off the pitch.
Better, more talented players would follow, of course – though that goal record and commitment could certainly argue Bernabeu as deserving to be in the upper reaches of any list – but there has arguably never been a more important player in the club's history.
14. Luis Figo
A man that did the unthinkable, Luis Figo was at one point the most hated man in Spain after his 2000 move from Barcelona. A sensational creator with dazzling trickery and footwork, Figo’s five years at Real were littered with success. Very much a leader on the pitch, Figo was part of the iconic dream team that included Beckham, Carlos, Raul, Ronaldo and Zidane that earned them the nickname the Galacticos.
Turning out 163 times for Los Blancos, his performance in Glasgow stands out above all.
13. Sergio Ramos
One of the all-time greats, Sergio Ramos won everything there was to win in the beautiful game whilst personifying what it was like to be a model professional. Defensively magnificent, a winner of 22 titles goes without staying, with his loyalty to Real no more evident than the 671 times he turned out for Madrid across his career.
“I would play for Real Madrid for free,” said the Spaniard in 2019. We don’t doubt that for a second.
12. Luka Modric
Croatia’s golden boy. Why did Tottenham ever part with the genius that is, Luka Modric?
A 2018 Ballon d’Or winner, the talented technician could orchestrate almost anything and it felt only right he was given a platform to do so when he moved to Madrid back in 2012. It is a place he has called home ever since, and says so much about the man who continues to dazzle at 39, standing as Los Blancos’ oldest-ever player too. A six time Champions League winner, not many can have an impact in football as Modric will have.
11. Ricardo Zamora
'The Divine One', Ricardo Zamora gave his name to the goalkeeping trophy that's still awarded to the custodian with the most clean sheets in a LaLiga season. The Spaniard is still regarded as one of his nation's most important footballers of all time and was between the sticks when Los Blancos won the 1931/32 title without losing once. Had the Zamora Trophy existed during his playing career, he'd have won it three times.
10. Emilio Butragueno
Barcelona may well be more associated with culture: but Emilio Butragueno was a true artist. The ball simply stuck to his feet when 'the Vulture' took flight and for 13 years, he was the Galactico to watch. Butragueno played over 450 matches in Real white, winning six titles and two UEFA Cups: but it's the moments of genius and extraordinary goals that fans hold so dear today.
9. Pirri
In 16 years, Pirri played in defence, midfield, up front and even in the 1971 Cup Winner's Cup final with his arm in a sling. There was simply no keeping him down: in the 10 league titles he won with Los Blancos, Pirri netted double digits in five, with his tenacity and aggression a must-need component for the Merengues for over a decade. He's one of only two players to have the Laureada award bestowed upon him by president Santiago Bernabeu.
8. Toni Kroos
Wherever Toni Kroos needed to be, he found himself. His decision-making was second to none, like he had a map of the pitch in his head and knew exactly how to connect his teammates. The German was one of the less flashy buys of the 21st Century but one of the most important, offering Real consistency, class and a metronomic presence in midfield.
7. Hugo Sanchez
Hugo Sanchez's record of 208 goals in 282 matches – all in just seven years – is frankly astounding. But they only tell half the story of quite how brilliant he was. The Mexican was perfect converter for the ‘Quinta del Buitre’: ruthless, cold and always in the right place when he needed to be. He was La Liga top scorer four times and won nine trophies with Real.
6. Raymond Kopa
A Ballon d'Or recipient, three-time European champion and the first football player to receive the Legion d'honneur in his native France, Raymond Kopa was a superstar of his era. His speed, balance and playmaking would have made him a success in any era of the game, however – and though he only played 101 times in Real white, he left an indelible mark on the club forever. He was one of the first true Galacticos: in every sense of the title.
5. Ferenc Puskas
'The Galloping Major' had already had one career before he wound up in Spain: a career in which he'd scored 358 goals for Budapest Honved in 350 games and dazzled as part of the Magnificent Magyars.
Ferenc Puskas reinvented himself at Real Madrid, however. He still had his velvet touch, his ability to bamboozle defenders and an unreal set-piece ability but alongside his new superstar teammates, he was happy to supply, too. He won three European Cups – and scored a hat-trick in a final that Los Blancos lost: he also scored four hat-tricks in his first season.
4. Raul
Raul bridged a gap between the talent-producing Real of the 80s and the home for superstars in the 2000s. He was both at once: despite his first coach, Jorge Valdano calling him limited technically.
But what Raul may have lacked in natural genius, he more than made up for in sheer confidence. He scored even when Real Madrid were woeful in the league – and ended his time at the Bernabeu with six titles and three Champions League. David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo arrived: but neither could take the no.7 shirt off of him. Raul was always the King of Madrid.
3. Zinedine Zidane
It was eight years that Zinedine Zidane's record of being the most expensive footballer on Earth stood. He made every penny count when he swivelled and walloped home Roberto Carlos's cross in the 2002 Champions League final.
Zizou is the Galactico: a player of grace and delicateness, yet capable of true fiery power whenever he flicked the switch. He was a myth of a man to those growing up in the 2000s. He could transform football matches on his own and though his time at Real Madrid was one of tactical flux, he sparkled like few others ever had done in that brilliant white shirt.
That he came back to manage the Threepeat side only cemented him as a Merengues favourite. As a player, though, he's one of the most talented human beings to ever touch a football – and he completely defines everything that Real Madrid hold dear as a football club.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
No one has ever played at 100% of their physical capacity quite as often as Cristiano Ronaldo. No one has ever had his blend of physicality, speed, touch and movement – and no one has ever scored more goals. For Real Madrid, or for anyone.
By the time he'd departed the Bernabeu, CR7 had 450 in fewer games than that. Every season he was at Real, he scored over 30 goals a season: twice, he hit over 60. He wasn't a man, he was a machine. He gradually earned a reputation for single-handedly propelling this team to glory, whether or not they were playing well or not.
Because aside from everything he had physically, Ronaldo arguably had the most driven mentality of any footballer to ever pull on Los Blancos colours. 15 titles in eight years – and a bag full of memories of overhead kicks, El Clasico strikes, impossible finishes, hat-tricks and moments of magic – cemented him as the greatest player in the club's history. According to some, he's the best-ever…
1. Alfredo Di Stefano
It was a man from Buenos Aires who made Madrid “Real”. 'The Golden Arrow' was some footballer: and managed to set the direction of an entire institution.
Alfredo Stefano was a total footballer, too: strong, lean and skilful was stamina that few had seen in that era. He had incredible vision, too – though he liked the spotlight curving towards his dashing runs: he completed 11 seasons in Merengues colours, scoring over 300 goals in just under 400 games. In the first five European Cup finals, Di Stefano scored in each.
The undisputable superstar of eight league titles and five European triumphs, Di Stefano embodies the glamour and the mystique that become associated with the club. It's not just thanks to him that so other stars flocked to the Spanish capital in the 50s: it's thanks to him that they continue to, to this day.
