Business and historical facts about Real Madrid - to understand better and to be inspired about your business. A digest produced by Neon42.

1. INSPIRATION STUDY - Real Madrid

2. REAL MADRID ORIGINS
The Real Madrid was created in 1902. The
club’s origins can be found through the
introduction of soccer in Spain by
academics and students.
They used to play football in white
because it was the colour of their jerseys
under their shirt. The players are still in
white while playing at home (stadium
Santiago Bernabeu)

3. A CLUB WITH A CLEAR MISSION
A clear mission for the Real Madrid was written when
president Fiorentino took over in 2000. This practice
was very usual for business, not so much for sports
team.
‘To be an open and multicultural club that is both
appreciated and respected throughout the world
both for its sporting successes and for the values it
disseminates, which based on the search for
excellence both on and off the field of play,
contribute toward fulfilling the expectations of its
members and followers’

4. AND STRONG VALUES
(extracts)
Will to Win - main objective of Real Madrid is to strive , to the best of its abilities, to win all the competitions it
enters while showing its commitment, its belief in hard work, and its loyalty to its supporters at all time
Sportsmanship - Real Madrid is a worthy and fair opponent on the field of play, upon which it competes with
goodwill and respect towards all rival clubs and their respective supporters.
Excellence and Quality - Real Madrid aspires to have the best Spanish and foreign players within its ranks, to
imbue them with the values to which the Club aspires, and to repay the support of its fans with a sporting
project based on quality, discipline, and sacrifice for the common cause.
Team Philosophy - All those who form part of the Real Madrid, be they sportspeople or other professionals,
make a commitment to working as a part of a team and to give the best they have to offer for the good of the
whole.

5. AND STRONG VALUES
(extracts)
Training - Real Madrid constantly devotes a great deal of effort to the discovery and instilling of new sporting
values. This involves channeling the necessary attention and resources into the youth teams and all its
sporting disciplines.
Social Responsibility - Real Madrid is aware of the high social repercussion of its activities and it is for this
reason that it dedicates all the resources within its power to complying with the highest standards of good
corporate governance.
Economic Responsibility - Real Madrid is aware that it manages tangible and intangible assets of exceptional
value and importance, and it is for this reason that it pledges to administer them responsibly, efficiently, and
honestly in benefit of its members.

6. A CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Florentino (president) said in 2000 when he took the
lead of the club ‘I want to make The secret of the Real
Madrid is to create a company value from community
values and expectations.
They built also a sustainable, circular model to win both
on and off the field. They Implemented the Harvard
Business School Robert Kaplan’s balanced scorecard - a
consistent tracking and alignment of the different
functional areas - it takes into account many criteria like
performance, revenue and integration
For example, the bonuses for all the employees of the
Real Madrid are not indexed on the successes of the
team but about the implication into the club’s life and
perspective

7. DATA IS EVERYTHING
Real Madrid is all about data...since 2000. The
club put in place a very refined data collection
system and analytical tools both on the field and
in the business. Everything seems to be tracked.
And they use those data also to feed the culture
that is at the core of the ecosystem.
Real Madrid uses data to explain complening
problems, from in-game performance to
front-office management.

8. REAL MADRID GOVERNANCE
The Real Madrid has the largest revenues and profits in
the football world. The club is worth 5,7 billion$.
But mostly, the club is mostly owned by 92.000 club
members (socios). Few of them are honorary members
like Placido Domingo (from 2011), Rafael Nadal (2012)
or Julio Iglesias (2012)

9. REVENUE GROWTH
Real Madrid doubled their revenue since 2000
The biggest revenue maker is marketing which
includes:
- Sponsorships for 37% (it was 26% in
2000)
- Memberships and ticketing combined
with broadcasting at 54%
- International and friendly games now
make up 9%

10. YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS
CAN INSPIRE OR CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS?
Franck Vinchon
Founder
+7 916 219 26 81 / +33 6 82 61 12 46
franck@neon42.com
neon42.com

11. FOOTBALL TOURISM
The Real Madrid museum is the 2nd
most visited tourist site in Madrid -
after El Prado

12. HISTORICAL FOOTBALL CLUB
The Real Madrid was recognized FIFA club of
the 21st century.
It received 42,4% of the votes during this event
- the second club is Manchester United which
culminated only at 9,7%...

13. FANS AND FOLLOWERS
450 millions fans around the world (and 200
millions are following the club on the
different social media platforms - including
China)

14. IMPORTANCE OF RITUALS
Very precise rituals were put in place in the
fan group, the community members
become surely the co producers of the
legendary club, who advocate and
evangelize the brand to the network.
One of them is striking - Real Madrid fans
give often a standing ovation to an
opposing star when he performed above
expectation.

15. REAL MADRID CAPTAINCY
The captain of the team is assigned
according to the seniority in the team and
not by assignment - making sure that the
player absorbed properly the Real Madrid’s
history, tradition, ritals, values and way of
conduct.

16. ZIDANE, ICON OF REAL MADRID
Zidane recently joined again the club as a coach...again.
But the story is more interesting about his recruitment
as a player.
In 2000, before signing Zidane, the club ran a survey
over the 5 continents about their favourite player of the
moment. Zidane was #1 on all continents and president
Fiorentino decided to put whatever price to get him.

17. ‘ZIDANES AND PAVONES’
The Club was bringing the best players from
around the world who fit the culture of the Real
Madrid. But they wanted to continue bringing up
some players from the academy (Raul was the
perfect example of the era).
Before talking about Galacticos 2.0 strategy,
the program was called ‘Zidanes and Pavones’,
with the clear objective to have the best
chemistry between international stars and the
promising talents from the Club (actually,
everybody talks about FC Barcelona’s La
Cantera (training camp for youth) being
efficient to spot the best talents, data shows
that Real Madrid has a better track record)

18. PLAYERS ‘WAY OF CONDUCT’
Players who put their personal and
professional aspirations first (going against
the stated team value sets, team philosophy,
including economic responsibility and
fairness) will have to leave the club as soon
as possible.

19. PLAYERS’ IMAGE RIGHTS
50% of any advertising/image related revenue
perceived by a specific player (on an
individual base) will go to the Real Madrid.
This is in each contract’s player from the very
beginning, announced very transparently in the
negotiations. The club might be always be
happy to hire players that have big
communication potential as a person
(Beckham, Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Figo,
Cristiano Ronaldo…). It’s considered partly
before hiring new players.

20. SOURCES
‘ The Real Madrid Way’ - Steven G. Mandis
‘Real Madrid football club: A new model of business organization for sports clubs in Spain’ - Blanco
Callejo Miguel, Francisco Javier Forcadell
‘Real Madrid Football Club: Applying a Relationship-Management Model to a Sport Organization in
Spain’ - Liwei Chen
‘Emotions’ management within the Real Madrid football club business model’ - Jesus
Rodriguez-Pomeda, Fernando Casani, Maria del Mar Alonso-Almeida
‘10 Things You Didn't Know About the Real Madrid C.F.’- Culture Trip

21. GET YOURSELF IN THE GAME
LET’S HAVE A FIRST TALK
Franck Vinchon
Founder
+7 916 219 26 81 / +33 6 82 61 12 46
franck@neon42.com
neon42.com

22. THANK YOU