On May 29, 2022, one day after their fourteenth European Cup, Real Madrid’s players completed a lap of honor in a packed Santiago Bernabéu and sang “Hala Madrid y nada más” with the crowd. The club’s own report that evening records the moment. It’s the song most people think of when they think of the Real Madrid anthem. This is not the first game of the club.
Here’s how two of Madrid’s great songs came to be, who made them, and where to hear them legally. Like our works at Manchester United and Liverpool, we tell the story and leave the words to the notes.
Real Madrid anthem at a glance
| Classic hymn | “¡Hala Madrid!”, a pleasant march from the early 1950s |
| Classical hymn singer | According to Tomelloso, José de Aguilar |
| Centennial Anthem | 2002, written by Jose Maria Cano, performed by Placido Domingo |
| Modern hymn | “Still Madrid and nothing else”, presented on 25 May 2014 |
| Music and Lyrics (2014) | Nadir Khayat (RedOne); words by journalist Manuel Jabois |
| Original Artists (2014) | First team squad and Carlo Ancelotti |
| Placido Domingo version | Recorded in December 2014, released in May 2016 |
Old song: pasodoble for golden jubilee
Start with the date, because even that is controversial.
English-language references to the first “¡Hala Madrid!” Commissioned by president Santiago Bernabeu for the club’s golden jubilee in 1952, it was written by Luis Cisneros Galiane, while Libertad Digital, who delved into the record, dates the recording to 1953, crediting the lyrics to Villegas and the music to renowned pasodob composer Marino. Both accounts agree with the vote. It was performed by the young tenor Jose de Aguilar from Tomelloso.
The Spanish edition adds a detail that Madrid fans rarely hear. According to his report, the commission came from a support group called El Club based on calle de la Victoria, which paid the singer 5,000 pesetas. Aguilar was not a football person and was never invited to club events.
The song is often called “Las mocitas madrileñas” after one verse. He never left. The Spanish edition of Goal notes that it is still sung in the south stand and at title celebrations, and flamenco singer José Merce later recorded a slower version.
From Centenary to La Decima
In 2002, for the club’s centenary, Madrid added a second anthem. José Maria Cano, founder of the pop group Mecano, wrote it and Placido Domingo wrote it.
It was not intended to replace the old pasodoble.
An even bigger change came twelve years later. Nadir Khayat, a Moroccan-born Swedish producer and Madrid fan known as RedOne, composed the melody while flying between Madrid and Morocco in 2010 and recorded the orchestral part in Sweden; president Florentino Perez asked for the song, journalist Manuel Jabois cut it to fit a longer project, and in April 2014, a team from Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas to Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić went to PKO Studios with Ancelotti to sing it.
The club presented “Hala Madrid y nada más” at the party organized for La Decima, the tenth European trophy won in Lisbon. In his report, RedOne is quoted as saying that he didn’t want an anthem, but “a song that everyone sings along to.” Peres predicted that fans would sing it “outside and inside the stadium.” He was right. The single reached number one in Spain in 2014 and topped the iTunes charts there and in 17 other countries.
Domingo later recorded his own version in December 2014. After La Undécima, it came out in May 2016 and is now often heard in matches.
In June 2024, news broke that RedOne was writing a new anthem. He denied them. Morocco World News reported that his Instagram post was just a thank you to Perez for the chance to be part of the club’s history.
Where to listen legally
Both songs are easy to find without dangerous downloads.
Check out the 2014 single by Real Madrid and RedOne on licensed services like Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube Music. The old song belongs to Jose de Aguilar. Shazam recognizes Aguilar’s recording. Releasing official versions pays the people who created them. No free MP3 from an unknown site. We do not store MP3 files or repeat lyrics.
Our take: Why Madrid’s song is traveling to Nigeria
Madrid’s relationship with Nigeria is not just about television.
On May 28, 2018, CAF President Ahmed Ahmed laid the foundation stone of the Real Madrid academy at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt at the initiative of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in the presence of Inigo Arenillas of the Real Madrid Foundation. In October 2019, Wike and the Foundation’s executive vice president, Enrique Sanchez, signed a ratification agreement. Sánchez said the Foundation will “continue to partner” with the state to educate Rivers children. You can read about it in our guide to Real Madrid football academy in Port Harcourt.
So the song has Nigerian echoes. For more, read about the only Nigerian to play for Real Madrid and compare Madrid’s story with Manchester United’s anthem and Liverpool’s anthem.
This article was last revised and updated 9 seconds ago