Ever wondered why so many teams in Spain have the word ‘Real’ in their name? Well you’ve come to the right place. In this article we’ll be taking a brief look at the origins of the famous naming convention.
In summary, ‘Real’ translates directly from Spanish to ‘Royal’. The real preface in a club’s name was traditionally bestowed upon Spanish clubs that declared the King as their honorary president. In return, clubs received the support of the Spanish monarch.
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History of the “Real” name
In the early 1900s, football was gaining popularity in Spain, and the teams we all know today were beginning to form. Spain was (and still is) under a monarchy. And the King at the time, Alfonso Xlll, was an avid football supporter.
‘Real’ translates directly from Spanish to ‘Royal’. The Real title was given to clubs that had acknowledged the reigning Spanish king as their “honorary president”.
If a club desired this royal charter, they would first announce to the monarch that they acknowledge their rule. In many cases, the king would then approve of this acknowledgement and grant them the permission to insert the term in their name. A royal seal of approval, if you will.
Once approved, a team was also given permission to put a royal crown on their badge.
Successful teams with royal patronage
Several Spanish teams were on the receiving end of this royal decree. Below is a list of arguably the five most famous/successful clubs to have been awarded the title.
Deportivo La Coruña (full name: Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña)
Formed in 1906, Deportivo La Coruna was the first club to be granted the mark of royalty. They were granted the title in 1907, just one year after they were formed.
Real Sociedad (full name: Real Sociedad de Fútbol)
Following Deportivo, Real Sociedad was awarded the patronage of the king in 1910. It is speculated that this was, in part, due to the fact that the king would use San Sebastian (Sociedad’s home city) as his summer residence.
Espanyol (full name: Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol)
Similar to Real Sociedad, Espanyol were granted the right to use the royal crown in their badge, in 1910.
Real Betis (full name: Real Betis Balompié)
Betis received royal patronage in 1914.
Real Madrid (full name: Real Madrid Club de Fútbol)
In 1920, Madrid FC (at the time) were acknowledged by the crown and given permission to use “Real” in their name.
An interesting fact is that Real Madrid were not always as successful as they are today. Leading up to their royal patronage, they had failed to win a single league title. In fact, their first league victory only came in 1932.
Their widespread success only started to come into full effect in the 1950s, when they won the European cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) 5 times in a row. The only teams that has even come close to emulating that emulating that record is… Real Madrid.
They won the UEFA Champions league three years in a row between 2016 and 2018. Safe to say that Real Madrid is a special club.
Non-Spanish “Real” clubs
Due to the history and success of teams such as Real Madrid, there have understandably been teams that have adopted the Real title without explicit royal permission. An example of this is the MLS club, Real Salt Lake, a team founded in 2004.
The owner of Real Salt Lake, David Checketts has openly admitted to being a big fan of Real Madrid when he was younger. There’s no doubt that this played a large part in the naming of the American club.
Closing thoughts
Hopefully that clears up any question you have had on the ‘Real’ naming convention.
If you’re interested in a more in depth look behind the Spanish Monarch, Real Madrid and Barcelona FC, Goal.com has published a great article worth checking out.