Madrid is Spain's biggest city and has an illustrious association with the beautiful game.
The Spanish capital is home to just over 3m people, most of whom support local giants Real and Atletico. However, there are a number of other decent-sized Primera Liga teams in the city and a whole host of non-league clubs - meaning there's some great grounds to visit.
2 hours 30 mins • 900 miles • Late August - late May • Spanish • Euro (€)
Map of football stadiums in Madrid
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (Real Madrid)
Santiago Bernabeu - the biggest and most famous football stadium in Madrid
The Bernabeu has been home to Real Madrid since 1947. Its capacity of 81,044 makes it the 2nd biggest stadium in Spain (some 20,000 seats smaller than Barcelona's Nou Camp).
The record attendance is a whopping 129,690 set for a European Cup tie against AC Milan in 1956. This still stands as one of the biggest attendances ever recorded.
There are plans to renovate the stadium which include the addition of a roof and 360-degree screen as well as a shopping centre, restaurants and hotel - with some rooms having a view of the pitch. Strangely, the capacity will remain unchanged.
The €525m project is due to start in 2019 and take 3.5 years to complete. Improved wifi will better connect fans to the outside world, meaning the gamblers amongst us who can take advantage of enhanced odds and in-play betting through websites such as omegatipsters.
Atletico Madrid moved into the Wanda Metropolitano at the start of the 2017/2018 season.
The stadium is actually almost 30 years old, having being originally built for the 1997 World Atletics Championships. Madrid's failed bid for the 2016 Olympics saw the land sold to Atletico who knocked the old stadium down and spent €240m building the new 67,829 venue.
The ultra-modern stadium is a big change for Atleti's former home, the Vicente Calderon which the club called home for 50 years. The old stadium is due to be demolished in 2019.
Whilst it's easy to focus on Madrid's 2 mega clubs, there are a number of smaller, yet successful teams located in the Spanish capital...
Coliseum Alfonso Perez (Getafe)
The Coliseum Alfonso Perez - home of Getafe
Getafe have played in the Alfonso Perez since it was built in 1998. Located to the south of the city, it has a capacity of 17,393 yet is usually only half full, despite Getafe being a relatively permanent fixture in La Liga in recent years.
Campo de Futbol de Vallecas - home of Rayo Vallecano
Located a couple of miles south east of the city centre, Rayo's 14,505 capacity home was closed in 2018 as the local council judged the stadium to be unsafe.
This also wins our award for Most Boring Stadium Name in the City of Madrid, but there are a couple of interesting facts that might just make it worth a visit...
The Vallecas was actually Atletico's temporary home for four years in the early 1940s after their stadium at the time was destroyed in the Spanish Civil War.
It also hosted a Queen concert in 1986, which was one of the last ones with the original band members (3rd from last if you really needed to know).
And if that wasn't enough... the basement of the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas is home to the Chess Federation of Madrid.
CD Leganes' Municipal de Batarque has been the club's home since the stadium was built in 1998 (the same year as Getafe's ground - the last 90s evidently being a boom time for Madrid stadium contractors).
The original capacity of 8,138 was expanded to 10,954 following Leganes' promotion to La Liga in 2016. It was soon expanded to 12,450 with Leganes successfully retaining their La Liga status.
Alcoron's Santo Domingo stadium is located around 12 miles to the south west of Madrid. The 7,000 seater stadium was first opened in 1999 and has seen Alcoron promoted from Spain's regional leagues through to the Segunda B (3rd tier) and Segunda division (2nd tier).
Rob is the owner of footballgroundmap.com. A Sheffield United fan and father of two, Rob loves nothing more than a good game of football whether that's watching the Blades or one his local non-League teams. He's somewhat of a traditionalist, preferring the older grounds to newer purpose-built ones.
Away from footballgroundmap.com, Rob works as an Ecommerce Development Project Manager for one of the UK's largest clothing retailers. He also owns and runs kick22.com, a system which allows junior and non-League clubs to create their own low cost website.
Sheffield United supporter •
107 grounds visited •
57/92
Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.
An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances
Football Ground Map
