Football Stadiums in Madrid

Among the citizens of Madrid, football (soccer) is arguably the most popular sport. Madrid is also home to some of the best clubs in the world – Real Madrid might even be the most famous, and Atlético Madrid has also enjoyed quite a bit of success.

For that reason, it is popular to watch live football at one of the many stadiums. And here is a full overview of each major one.

Major football clubs in Madrid

Before we take a look at the stadiums, let’s just mention all the best football clubs in Madrid:

• Real Madrid
• Atlético Madrid
• Getafe
• Leganés
• Rayo Vallecano

These are the Madrid-based teams that are currently found in La Liga (season 2018-19).

Santiago Bernabéu: Real Madrid

By far the most famous stadium in Madrid. With space for 80.000 people, it is the second largest in Spain (Barcelona’s Camp Nou is larger), but this one could be the most well-known.

Estádio Santiago Bernabéu is located in Paseo de la Castellana in the Chamartín neighborhood of Madrid. It is quite central, and it has a metro line going there.

You can watch all Real Madrid’s home games at Santiago Bernabéu. Aside from that, you can also get a tour of the stadium, visit the team museum or the official shop. When you take the tour, you will get to see the stadium from the inside, the locker room, the player’s tunnel, a room that shows the history of the club, and much more.

It feels amazing to be at the venue where the most successful football club in history has made its achievements.

The Spanish national football team does not have an official home stadium, but their most important qualifying matches are usually played at Santiago Bernabéu.

Wanda Metropolitano: Atlético Madrid

Atlético Madrid used to play their home games at Vicente Calderon Stadium, but they have moved their location to the new Wanda Metropolitano stadium, located in the east of Madrid. Atlético officially moved there in 2017.

This is a huge modern stadium that was opened in 1994. However, it was never used for much until Atlético got the rights to use it in 2013. When it first opened, Wanda Metropolitano could fit around 20.000 people. After the Atlético re-build, it now has room for almost 68.000 spectators.

Wanda Metropolitano has a half-roof that covers the viewers. It has a grass-surface but it is a very agile stadium that can be changed for many events. The Spanish national team has played a couple of games here since it was rebuilt, and Atlético Madrid has offered it to be a permanent venue for Copa del Rey, the Spanish cup tournament.

In addition, Wanda Metropolitano is the venue for the 2019 Champions League final.

Other football stadiums in Madrid

Rayo Vallecano is based in Vallecas and plays at Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas. It’s a small stadium with just about 15.000 seats, but tickets are way cheaper, and the stadium has plenty of good teams coming by, as Rayo Vallecano is in La Liga. You can get there with the metro line 1 that departs from central Madrid (Sol, Atocha).

Getafe and Leganés are both located a bit outside of Madrid. They are cities on their own, but they are part of the Madrid metropolitan area. Getafe and Leganés are rivals to each other, due to their close proximity.

Getafe plays at Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, a relatively new stadium that has room for 17.000 people. Over recent years, Getafe CF has established itself as a solid mid-of-the-pack club in Spanish football.

Leganés plays at Estádio Municipal de Butarque. It is one of the smallest stadiums of major Madrid clubs, as it only has room for 12.450 people. However, Leganés fans are very passionate and it is a great venue.

You can reach both Getafe and Leganés by taking the city trains – Renfe Cercanías. There are trains that depart from Atocha all the time. You can also take the metro down to the circular line 12, which passes through both cities.

There are other minor football stadiums in Madrid that belong to smaller clubs, not currently to be found in La Liga. In other words, it’s never hard to find a place to watch live football in Madrid, whether you like big or small clubs!