Every season millions of supporters of Los Blancos prepare themselves for the various clashes against their eternal rival FC Barcelona, including some familiar faces.
It’s arguably the biggest club game in the world. Real Madrid face Barcelona in the first leg of the Copa del Rey on Thursday 2 March. That is followed by a league encounter on 19 March and the second leg of the cup on 5 April. Yes, it’s Clásico heaven for many, although loyal followers may not have much of their nails left over after the latest trilogy, with so much at stake.
Real Madrid’s famous fans
Among the millions of football fans tuning in to watch these games will be a series of celebrities from the world of film, music and sport with Los Blancos commanding a huge global fan base including many well known personalities such as: Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Russell Crowe, Viggo Mortensen, Russell Crowe, Robbie Williams and Tom Cruise.
Nadal
Rafael Nadal is one of the best tennis players that the game has ever known with the Spaniard winning just about every trophy imaginable not unlike his beloved Real Madrid.
Despite being born in Manacor on the island of Palma (home to LaLiga side RCD Mallorca) and with his uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal having spent eight seasons as a centre-back at FC Barcelona, the 36-year-old became a ‘Madridista’ from an early age and is a regular at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Last April, the tennis star was invited to take the honorary kick-off at the Bernabéu ahead of Madrid’s league game against Espanyol - a game which saw them club crowned champions of Spain for a record 35th time.
Embiid
The 76ers star makes no secret of his allegiance to Real Madrid with countless posts on his Twitter and Instagram accounts with the 28-year-old a keen follower of soccer in general with constant posts on the major developments in the game including posts on events in the Premier League.
Embiid will be glued to a television screen as the players take to the pitch on Sunday and will be hoping that Ancelotti’s team get a result that will knock Barcelona off top spot to become LaLiga leaders in their own right.
Doncic
The Dallas Mavericks point guard is another high profile NBA Real Madrid fan. The Slovenian spent three years with Madrid’s basketball team before making the move to Texas in 2018.
The point guard was asked about his sporting allegiances by Shaq O’Neal on TNT back in 2021 and the Ljubljana-born player replied: “Of course, you know I was there (at Real Madrid) for several years and you know, that’s my team in both basketball and soccer”.
Fernando Alonso
Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso supports two clubs - his hometown club Oviedo and Real Madrid. As he has explained on numerous occasions: “I was born in Oviedo, I’m an Oviedo fan but a little more towards Real Madrid. If I was a footballer, then I would like to play for Real Madrid, the team I support and love. Driving for McLaren is like playing for Real Madrid”.