The players and staff of Real Madrid celebrated their 36th Spanish championship title on Sunday with several thousand supporters, already looking towards the future: the Champions League final against Dortmund and the possible arrival of Kylian Mbappé .
“Champions, Champions, ohé ohé ohé!”
Already assured of being crowned in La Liga since last weekend at the end of a season of exceptional solidity, the Madrilenians, led by their captain Nacho, brandished this 36th trophy in front of their supporters after a bus parade in the downtown of the Spanish capital.
Real captain Nacho holds up the Spanish champion trophy during a parade in Madrid, May 12, 2024 / OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
“It is a pride and a pleasure to be here in front of you. It is a very special day to celebrate this incredible season. Your support has been vital in allowing us to win this 36th title! It is a magical day, Hala Madrid!” the 34-year-old defender said to the crowd.
Croatian midfielder Luka Modric also took the microphone to promise his fans that their heroes would return here “after June 1”, the date of the Champions League final against Dortmund at Wembley, to celebrate a fifteenth C1.
“We are going to leave our soul there to return” President Florentino Pérez promised him during a reception at the headquarters of the community of Madrid.
As tradition dictates, Nacho then tied a scarf and a flag in Madrid colors around the statue of the Greek goddess Cybele, and kissed her on the cheek under a shower of confetti.
The double-decker bus carrying Real players, during the parade to celebrate the title, May 12, 2024 in Madrid / OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
Among the several thousand people gathered behind barriers, it was possible to see a child with a Real jersey flocked with Mbappé, as well as another supporter holding a scarf with the embroidered face of the French football star, strongly anticipated to Madrid after the formalization of his departure from PSG.
A little earlier in the day, the future of the Blues striker was invited to the protocol ceremony at Madrid town hall, where Mayor José Luis Martinez-Almeria caused some laughter in a sequence widely covered by the media Spanish.
“I want to thank President Florentino Perez for all the sporting work done, the new Santiago Bernabéu… and then I heard the children here say to him ‘Mbappé, Mbappé, Mbappé’, and the children always tell the truth” , he declared with a smile.
