“Let’s get the 15th!“: happy but never satisfied, the players of Real Madrid presented Sunday to their supporters the 14th European Cup gleaned the day before in Paris, with a lap of honor in the Spanish capital which ended with a big party at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The day started with a jokeEder Militaowho voluntarily rang the security gates of the Paris airport by wearing the “Big ear cut” in her arms.
Then the merengue procession returned to Madrid in the afternoon to begin its lap of honor in the evening. The players left the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium by bus around 6:00 p.m., with the two recently won trophies (the Champions League and La Liga) enthroned behind the windshield.
The bus made a first stop at the Almudena Cathedral, then a second at the famous Puerta del Sol square and at the headquarters of the Madrid region.
“This European Cup will be remembered as one of the greatest in the history of the Champions League“, said the president Florentino Perez in his speech, concluding with: “Real is eternal. And now let’s get the 15th!“.
In the bus, the smiles do not leave the faces of the players. “I didn’t sleep much, I had too much adrenaline. I still couldn’t believe it. The feelings are incredible“, breathed Thibaut Courtoiswhile his teammates sang in chorus with the supporters the famous song: “How am I not going to love you, if you made me European champion so many times?“.
The procession then visited Madrid City Hall, where the Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-AlmeidaAtlético supporter, had to save face: “That you make it difficult to be a supporter of a team other than Real“, he joked.
In the process, the players climbed the Cibeles fountain, a traditional place for celebrating Madrid’s coronations since the 1980s.
Marcelowho played his last match at Real on Saturday, took the microphone under the insulting chants against Kylian Mbappéthen Karim Benzema took over, applauded by “Karim, Ballon d’Or“, (Karim Ballon d’Or, in Spanish). Eden Hazardin Spanish, made a promise: “The last three years, I had a lot of injuries… But next season, I promise to give my all for you!“, he assured, before being surrounded by his teammates.
The bus then made a last short journey of five kilometers to return to the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium, where the party continued into the night, in the presence of around 60,000 “Madridistas“.
