Tucked away in the Chamartin business district of Madrid, the Santiago Bernabéu stadium is one of the world's great football grounds. Although Florentino Pérez's first spell as president is more commonly remembered for his introduction of Los Galacticos, he was also responsible for instigating improvements to a stadium that was looking rather the worse for wear.
Now, with Pérez back at the helm and the superstars clamouring to join him, this ground is a showcase to be proud of. Holding up to 80,000 spectators, there are now the kinds of bar, restaurant and general facilities that you can expect of a UEFA Five Star stadium – a status is has recently been awarded.
Having captured La Liga on consecutive years in 2007 and 2008, Real Madrid had to take a back seat to their Barcelona rivals in 2009 and 2010 – as well as suffering what has become their annual early exit from the Champions League knockout rounds.
