A club in need of no introduction, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol has existed since 1902, and since the inception of La Liga as the top flight of Spanish football, they’ve never been relegated. Holding the most Champions League titles, most La Liga titles and a slew of others, Madrid is one of the most decorated clubs in the world.
It raises the question: who in their one-hundred and twenty-one-year history holds the most trophies?
Well having delved into the records, we now know the answers, so here are the top five most decorated players in Real Madrid history:
5: Manolo Sanchís, 1983 – 2001, 21 Trophies
One of the most iconic defenders of the 1980s, Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, aka Manolo, was a product of Real Madrid’s dominant youth system, La Fábrica.
He spent four years with the youth team before achieving his first team debut on 4th December 1983 as a sweeper vs. Real Murcia.
As a sweeper Sanchís was free to roam, and on his debut scored the only goal and won Madrid the game.
His debut would be a premonition of his career; success. Sanchís appeared in six-hundred and ninety-one games for Real Madrid and scored forty-one times, and he was a defender.
Ignoring his goals, Sanchís excelled in his defensive role through his composure, agility and situational awareness. Sanchís was often in the correct position to quash a mounting attack and was noted for his aggressive defending whilst also remaining fair.
It is these qualities that saw him named to La Quinta del Buitre, five players produced through La Fábrica whom dominated Spanish football through the 1980’s – and Sanchís was at the forefront.
Throughout his Madrid career, Sanchís achieved twenty-one trophies in iconic fashion. In his debut season, he won the UEFA Cup with Madrid and won it again the following season.
The same season, the Spanish giants won the Copa de la Liga and went on a tear in La Liga, taking the title home five seasons consecutively from ‘85-86 to ‘89-90 in comfortable fashion.
Sanchís and Real won the ‘88-89 Copa del Rey during this period, alongside a hat trick of wins in the Spanish Super Cup from ‘88-90.
The nineties dawned and Sanchís’ winning ways would slow – though he still enjoyed success. In ‘92-93 Madrid won the Copa del Rey once again, the ‘93 Spanish Cup and the league again the year following.
Sanchís would see out his final years at Madrid with wins in the Champions League in ‘97-98 and ‘99-00 – wins that had eluded him in his prime.
He won the Intercontinental Cup, another Spanish Cup and in his final season at Madrid won the league again, retiring as – at the time – the second most decorated player in the club’s history.
4: Sergio Ramos, 2005 – 2021, 22 Trophies
A name in the hat of the best defenders of all time, Sergio Ramos is known for his exceptional tackling, leadership skills, aerial ability, physical strength and pace.
A product of Sevilla’s youth system, Ramos was highly regarded due to his all-rounder skillset and arrived at Madrid in ‘05 with glory on his mind.
Ramos settled into his new home immediately, coming second in the league to a dominant Barcelona – though next season he began his tear proper.
Real Madrid won La Liga in ‘06-07 and the following season Ramos claimed his second and third trophies with the outfit as they won the Supercopa de Espana and La Liga again.
2009 was an unfortunate year for Madrid as they won no competitions, which makes his place on this list even more surprising.
By this point, Ramos had cemented a permanent place in the squad for himself and was appointed as one of Madrid’s four captains. 2010 was a return to form as Sergio Ramos and Madrid won the Copa del Rey, the following year won La Liga again and then won another Supercopa de Espana.
Ramos ramped it up toward the mid-2010’s as Real laid the groundwork for a period of European dominance.
They won the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in ‘13-14, alongside UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup wins in 2014. The ‘14-15 season was another trophyless affair for Madrid before they got to work.
In ‘15-16 Madrid won the Champions League and did so again the following two years, with Ramos playing an instrumental role in all three campaigns.
In the same period, Ramos assisted Madrid to two more Super Cup wins and three more in the Club World Cup, alongside another La Liga title and a Supercopa win.
He achieved one further Supercopa and La Liga win each, and left the club after another trophyless season in 2021. Despite three winless seasons, he stands as the fourth most decorated player in the history of the club.
3: Paco Gento, 1953 – 1971, 23 Trophies
Paco Gento is an icon of early Real Madrid history. A pace merchant, Gento was often referred to as La Galerna del Cantábrico, ‘The Gale of the Cantabrian Sea’; due to his explosive pace down the wing.
He played on the left as an attacker and began at Racing Santander, and in a game vs. Madrid Gento impressed so much that they signed him three days later.
In his debut season, he took home his first title as Madrid won La Liga, though he failed to score.
Form quickly came for the young Spaniard however as he became an integral part of Madrid’s attacking lineup for the rest of his career, cementing his place in the starting line-up with prolific seasons as Madrid won the title the following season.
He missed the La Liga title the following year but instead won the Latin Cup and the European Cup (Champions League) and kickstarted a period of dominance in which Madrid won the competition five years on the bounce.
This was supplemented with back-to-back La Liga wins in ‘56-57 and ‘57-58 and another Latin Cup victory in ‘57.
As their European Cup dominance ended, Madrid’s La Liga dominance began.
Gento was instrumental to Real Madrid across the following eight seasons, their dominant attacking force propelling them to a near decade of wins from ‘60-61 to ‘68-69. He became club captain in ‘67.
Gento also claimed a further European Cup win in ‘65-66, alongside one more Copa del Rey win in his penultimate season. He retired as the most decorated player in the history of the club, a record that would stand until 2022.
2: Karim Benzema, 2009 – 2023, 24 Trophies
The first international player of the list, Karim Benzema arrived at Real in 2009 hot off of some prolific seasons with Lyon.
Employed as a false 9 behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, often referred to as BBC, Benzema, the trio and Madrid as a whole enjoyed near-immediate success.
Though his first season at the outfit was trophyless, he soon settled into the winning form he had so enjoyed at Lyon as Madrid won the ‘10-11 Copa del Rey and his first trophy.
The season following, Benzema was integral as Madrid dominated La Liga with one hundred points. The same year they took the Supercopa de Espana back home with them too.
The ‘12-13 season was another winless one for both Benzema and Madrid, one they would make up for over the coming years.
In their ‘13-14 campaign they narrowly missed out on La Liga but won the Copa del Rey, the Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League as recompense.
During this period he enjoyed the same wins as Ramos as they shared time at the club, but Benzema remained as Ramos left in 2021.
Despite joining Madrid four years later than Ramos he managed to catch him with Madrid’s win in the ‘21-22 Champions League and later surpassed him and matched Gento by winning the Super Cup again in 2022.
His final trophy to secure his second-place position came with the 2023 Copa del Rey and as the season concluded he departed, leaving a lasting legacy as one of the most successful players at the club of all time.
1: Marcelo, 2007 – 2022, 25 Trophies
As a perhaps surprising finale, Marcelo’s time at Real Madrid is a bridger of the gap between Ramos and Benzema’s time with the outfit. He joined slightly after Ramos, whilst joining before Benzema’s transfer and leaving just before him.
This unique playing period slots Marcelo in a time that would earn him three more trophies than Ramos and just one more than Benzema, edging him out as the most decorated player in Real Madrid history.
Where Marcelo gains the edge is through wins in La Liga in ‘06-07 and a Supercopa de Espana win in 2008.
Aside from these, the two share the remaining twenty-three trophies.
Benzema, having left later than Marcelo, won the 2023 Copa del Rey to bring him one behind but left at the end of the season, just narrowly missing the opportunity to secure the top spot for himself.
Marcelo lifted his final trophy with the club in tears; he had not participated in the game and announced his transfer afterwards. We have a full article on him here for a full overview of his illustrious career.
So those are the most decorated Madrid players of all time (as of writing). With a sixty-year gap between Gento’s record and Marcelo breaking it, we probably won’t have to update this list for half a century; watch this space…
