Real Madrid C · History

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol «C» was founded in Madrid in 1952 as Real Madrid Aficionados. It was the club’s amateur side and sat below the first reserve team in the academy structure. Over time it became Real Madrid’s third team and played in the Tercera División and in Segunda División B, the Spanish fourth and third tiers of the period. The club disbanded the side in June 2015. In 2023 it returned to national competition.

The Real Madrid Aficionados years

For its first decades the team played amateur football and in the Castilian regional leagues. Between 1959-60 and 1969-70 it won eight Spanish Amateur Championships, the national competition for amateur sides. That record earned it places in the Copa del Generalísimo, and it reached the second round in 1970-71. In 1981 it was promoted from the Castilian Preferente to the Tercera División, the division where it would spend most of its existence. It won its Tercera group in 1984-85 but turned down its place in the promotion play-offs. In the 1986-87 Copa del Rey it reached the round of 16, where it lost 4-1 on aggregate to Atlético de Madrid’s first team.

From Aficionados to the «C» team

In the early 1990s the Spanish federation’s rules on affiliated teams forced a change of name, and the side became Real Madrid C. The change coincided with its strongest run in the Tercera División: it won its group in 1990-91 and again in 1991-92. In 1993 it earned its first promotion to Segunda División B and played four seasons at that level. Its relegation in 1997 came from the rules on reserve teams rather than its league position. Real Madrid Castilla had dropped out of the Spanish second division, and two teams from the same club could not compete in the same division.

A stepping stone to the first team

The C team bridged the gap between the youth sides and Castilla, and several players who later reached the top level came through its squad. Santiago Cañizares played for the team in 1988-89 and Guti in 1994-95. In 1998-99 the squad included Iker Casillas, César Navas and Fernando Fernández, among others, and the side won its Tercera group again that season. Later squads included Álvaro Arbeloa in 2002-03, Borja Valero in 2004-05 and Lucas Vázquez in 2010-11. In 2005-06 the C team won its group once more. It lost the promotion play-off to Guijuelo on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

Back in Segunda B, then disbanded

The team returned to Segunda División B in 2012. It finished fifth in Group I in its first season back, its best league finish. Mariano Díaz and Raúl de Tomás were among the players in that squad. The stay lasted two seasons. In 2014 Castilla were relegated to Segunda B, and the reserve-team rules once again forced the third team down to the Tercera División. The C team played the 2014-15 season at that level. In June 2015 Real Madrid decided to disband the side, and players moved straight from the youth teams to Castilla.

Revival in the Tercera Federación

In July 2022 Real Madrid signed an affiliation agreement with RSC Internacional FC. During the 2022-23 season, that Madrid club played in the Tercera Federación with players from Real Madrid’s academy. In 2023 the C team was brought back and took Internacional’s place in Group VII of the Tercera Federación, playing its home games at the Ciudad Real Madrid training complex in Valdebebas. On 28 April 2024, with Pau Quesada as coach, the side mathematically clinched the Group VII title and promotion to the Segunda Federación. It sealed the title with a 1-1 draw against Parla, with Loren Zúñiga scoring.

Segunda Federación

Real Madrid’s third team made its debut in the Segunda Federación in 2024-25. In May 2025 it played a relegation play-off against Villanovense and stayed up with a 2-1 win in the second leg. A year later it was back in the relegation play-offs. In May 2026 it lost its tie to Estepona 3-1 on aggregate, a result that sent it down to the Tercera Federación. In July 2026 the club took over the vacant place left by CD Arenteiro, and the federation placed Real Madrid C in Group 5 of the Segunda Federación.