66 championships! Real Madrid President celebrates 25th anniversary, Florentino writes the most glorious era of Real Madrid

On July 16, 2025, Real Madrid President Florentino celebrated his 25th anniversary as the club's chairman. The 78-year-old construction tycoon took a quarter of a century to push the century-old club to its most brilliant victory cycle in 123 years of history. In the July 2000 presidential election, Florentino faced Sanz, who had just led the team to win the Champions League for three years and twice, and expressed his promise that I would sign Figo. At that time, no one believed that this campaign statement could come true, after all, Figo was the star of his arch-rival Barcelona. But he was not only successfully elected, but also completed this soccer transfer at a sky-high price of 60 million euros.

At that time, Real Madrid was in a quagmire of 330 million euros, and they were even working on a typewriter in their office. Florentino showed the keenness of a businessman and sold the city center training ground to the Madrid government for 480 million euros, not only paying off the debts, but also providing sufficient start-up funds for the Galaxy Battleship program.

66 championships have set a new record!

25 years, Real Madrid's trophy showroom has added 66 new championship trophys, achieving double-line dominance between football and basketball:

37 championships in the football field: including 7 Champions League (6 in the past 11 years), 7 Club World Cup and 7 La Liga championships

29 championships in the basketball field: 3 European basketball league champions and 9 Spanish basketball league champions

This result allowed Florentino to surpass the legendary chairman Bernabeu and become the chairman with the most championships in Real Madrid's century history.

From debt to the world's most valuable club, Florentino integrated real estate thinking into sports operations: in 2006, he led Real Madrid to surpass Manchester United to top the Deloitte Wealth List, breaking the long-term monopoly of Premier League clubs, and creating the "Galaxy Battleship" brand effect: When signing Zidane with napkin and Ronaldo appeared at the Bernabeu, 94,000 viewers were present, all of which became classic famous scene cases in the football world. The Bernabeu Stadium is transformed into a technological landmark, with an open-closed ceiling and 360° LED curtain wall that add 150 million euros per year. Now Real Madrid has ranked Forbes' most valuable sports club for a valuation of 6.07 billion euros, with commercial revenue increasing by 140% compared with 2001.

The controversial "Zidane + Pavin" policy proved its vitality among the two generations of Galaxy battleships:

1. The first period Galaxy battleship: a superstar lineup composed of Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo and Bell. Zidane's "Flying Immortals in the Sky" in the 2002 Champions League final became an eternal classic

2. The core team of the second period: Ronaldo, Benzema, Modric and others laid the foundation for winning the Champions League in 11 years

3. The inheritance of the new era: Mbappe, Vinicius, Bellingham, and other superstars rose, continuing the team's championship genes

His investment in basketball is also commendable: building the NBA-level Waldbebas Basketball Hall, helping the men's basketball team win 29 championships in 15 years.

25 years in the blink of an eye. When the Bernabeu lights up for the 15th Champions League trophy, illuminating the boiling white ocean in the stands, I wonder if Lafayette would remember the self who bet everything and signed Figo back then? From a napkin to a superstar signing to the 66 heavy championship trophys, Florentino spent 25 years not only reshaping Real Madrid, but also redefining how modern football giants should survive and develop. What he left behind was a true legend of the sports empire.