Ciudad Real Madrid

The Ciudad Real Madrid (Real Madrid City) is the name given to Real Madrid’s training complex, located outside Madrid in Valdebebas. It covers approximately 1,067 hectares of land and is a short distance from the nearby Terminal 4 of Madrid-Barajas Airport, which was opened a few months after the Real Madrid City. Also hosting the club’s youth academy, known conceptually as La Fábrica, the facility replaced the old Ciudad Deportiva (Spanish: Sports City).

The complex has an area of 1,200,000 m2.

The sale of Ciudad Deportiva, under the auspices of Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, led to Real earning approximately €480 million. The complex has been nicknamed, and is known to the players, trainers and club staff as ‘Valdebebas’ (val-de-bay-bahs), and is named after the district of the city where the complex is located. The project was designed by the architect Carlos Lamela and Emilio Butragueño was the master of ceremonies at the opening.

This giant, T-shaped building has some 9,000 m2 of space and contains dressing rooms, gymnasiums, classrooms, conference rooms, offices, a hydrotherapy pool and medical centre, press area, etc. on both sides of the complex. There are 10 grass and astroturf football pitches surrounded by stands with a capacity for more than 11,000 spectators. This sports complex has put Real Madrid at the forefront of world training facilities.

The first place where visitors to the City arrive is the car park which has a capacity for more than 300 vehicles. This is where we enter the building. Then we come to the entrance hall, which leads to the café-restaurant called ‘La Cantera’, which has 500 m2 inside and an outside terrace of 200 m2. Through the enormous windows here, fans can watch training sessions on the nearby pitches.

Only people who work for the club can enter the area reserved for the youth teams. Visiting teams and referees can enter their own dressing rooms but not the rest of the building. Fans are allowed to enter the playing field area but they must do so from the outside of the building. Opposite the dressing rooms, there are seven pitches for the youth teams. Each pitch has its own stand and uses the same natural grass as that used on the pitch in the Santiago Bernabéu, which comes from Holland.

The first team players have their own private car park for their vehicles. From there, they enter the famous ‘T’ where they have their working area. This is also where we can find the offices of the managers and coaches of the first team and is a space where the players have everything they need for their job.

From there, players enter the medical centre which is one of the best in the world. On the ground floor, there is a large physiotherapy room and an amazing hydrotherapy area which has four swimming pools, two small baths (with hot and cold water), as well as a sauna and a Turkish bath. On the top floor there is a VIP room for the players and some 2,000 m2 of space reserved for the media.

The first team dressing room is a “dream come true” for those who have made their way up through the youth system to the first team. It leads directly to a spectacular gym, which is the largest single structure in the City and is also connected to the training pitches. There is a warm-up area with natural grass and three training pitches which have the same grass as that used in the Bernabéu as well as their own stands (with a seating capacity of 6,000 and standing room for 5,000).

The residence boasts an indoor swimming pool, games room, cinema and 57 individual bedrooms across an area of more than 7,800 meters squared. It is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the promoting the growth, coexistence and improved performance of elite players.

This construction is also designed as a training centre for the basketball teams, both the first team and academy sides. It can also be used to hold institutional and commercial events.

This building has been home to the club’s employees since April 2018. It’s an avant-garde building of the highest architectural and functional quality. It consists of five floors and its 14,000 m2 of constructed surface area has enabled the club’s employees to improve their working conditions. It also houses the club member’s attention office. This building is part of the process of modernising and improving the management of the club and has taken into account basic Real Madrid values such as simplicity, transparency, sustainability and modernity. The office building has two entrances: one on the Avenida de las Fuerzas Armadas and the other from inside Real Madrid City.