All-Time Real Madrid Starting XI

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against Bayern Munich during a Champions League soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid in 2012. Daniel Ochoa de Olza / AP Photo
No club in world football is as aristocratic as Real Madrid, and nobody can come as close to its dominance of its continent’s premier competition, the European Cup, or the Champions League, as it later became.
Real has won the Champions League/European Cup 13 times — the first five European Cups, another in 1966, three around the turn of the 20th century and then four in five seasons from 2014 to 2018.
Being the richest in terms of revenue has allowed the club to buy the best players on the planet, frequently smashing world-record transfer fees for players. Real’s pull is one that few players resist, though the club has developed its fair share of youth products who have delivered for the white shirt.
These days, a rivalry with Barcelona might define the club, but in Spain, Real has been the premier club in La Liga, with 33 titles won. Many great players have contributed to the team’s success since its founding in 1902.
These are the 23 best players in Real Madrid history, and they include some of the greatest to ever play the game.
Related: All-Time Barcelona Team
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas

Position: Goalkeeper
Experience: 23 years (1998-2020)
Years with Real Madrid: 18 years (1998-2015)
Career stats: Won the World Cup and two European Championships with the Spanish national team. Became the youngest goalkeeper to win the Champions League at 21 in 2000. First player in Champions League history to reach the knock-out stages 19 times.
From being a teenage keeper when Real won the 2000 European Cup to 14 years later in Lisbon, when he was captain, Iker Casillas was a mainstay and heartbeat of the club.
Perhaps his finest hour came in the 2002 final, as a substitute, keeping a rampant Bayer Leverkusen at bay in Glasgow to help Real win 2-1.
Defender: Chendo

Position: Defender
Experience: 19 years, all with Real Madrid (1979-98)
Career stats: Spent his entire professional career with Real Madrid. Played at 1986 and 1990 World Cups for Spain. Won the UEFA Cup in 1985 and 1986.
A speedy, tough defender, Chendeo was a huge figure in a team that often dominated the domestic scene but struggled to meet the standards of the club’s glorious past.
Real finally won the Champions League in 1998, after 32 years of trying. After that, a veteran Chendo hung up his boots at 37.
Defender: Sergio Ramos

Position: Defender
Experience: 21 years (2003-present)
Years with Real Madrid: 17 years (2005-21)
Career stats: Most red cards of any player in Europe’s top leagues with 25. Won the World Cup and two European Championships with the Spanish national team. Alongside Lionel Messi, the only player to score in 15 consecutive La Liga seasons.
Sergio Ramos is a club icon icon of the club and was a leading light from 2005 to 2021 and his move to Paris St. Germain. A defender of real class but also true skulduggery, Ramos is one of those players loved at his club while feared and reviled elsewhere.
Defender: Fernando Hierro

Position: Defender
Experience: 18 years (1987-2005)
Years with Real Madrid: 14 years (1989-2003)
Career stats: Was Spain’s record scorer with 29 goals when playing as a defender. Scored 21 league goals in the 1991-92 Liga season, the second most. Coached Spain at the 2018 World Cup as a last-minute replacement for Julen Lopetegui.
Fernando Hierro, tall and powerful at 6-foot-2, strode through matches, and was capable of playing on defense and in central midfield.
Adept at free kicks, and a fine header of the ball, Hierro was a regular goalscorer, notching an amazing 102 in La Liga.