EL CLÁSICO
El Clásico: Which celebrities support Real Madrid or Barcelona? Rafa Nadal, Luka Doncic...
Los Blancos and Los Cules are two of the best supported teams in the world and they count some famous faces amongst their ranks.
It’s undoubtedly one of the biggest club games in the world. Barcelona host Real Madrid on Saturday, 28 October in the first meeting of the 2023/24 season between the eternal rivals.
El Clásico: Spain’s biggest rivalry splits global celebrities
Yes, it’s Clásico heaven! But loyal supporters may not have much of their nails left over after the latest game, with so much at stake for both sides looking to edge ahead in the title race and have those all important bragging rights until the next clash.
Real Madrid’s famous fans
Among the millions of football fans tuning in to watch these encounters will be a series of celebrities from the world of film, music and sport. Few teams in world football can compete with Madrid when it comes to their incredible popularity and Los Blancos command a huge global fan base, including the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Russell Crowe, Viggo Mortensen, Russell Crowe, Robbie Williams and Tom Cruise.
Here’s some of Real Madrid’s other notable supporters...
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is one of the best tennis players that the game has ever known and the Spaniard has won just about every trophy imaginable, not unlike his beloved Real Madrid.
Despite being born in Manacor on the island of Palma (home to LaLiga side RCD Mallorca) and his uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, having spent eight seasons as a centre-back at FC Barcelona, the 36-year-old became a ‘Madridista’ from an early age and is a regular at the Santiago Bernabéu.
In 2022, the tennis star was even invited to take the honorary kick-off at the Bernabéu ahead of Madrid’s league game against Espanyol - a game which saw them club crowned champions of Spain for a record 35th time.
Joel Embiid
The 76ers star makes no secret of his allegiance to Real Madrid with countless posts on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The 28-year-old is a keen fan of soccer in general and provides his followers with regular updates on the developments in the game including posts on events in the Premier League.
Embiid will be glued to a television screen as the players take to the pitch on Sunday and will be hoping that Ancelotti’s team can reduce the gap to league leaders Barcelona.
Luka Doncic
The Dallas Mavericks point guard is another high profile NBA Real Madrid fan and he has closer links to the club than most celebrity fans. The Slovenian spent three years with Madrid’s basketball team before making the move to Texas in 2018.
The point guard was asked about his sporting allegiances by Shaq O’Neal on TNT back in 2021 and the Ljubljana-born player replied: “Of course, you know I was there (at Real Madrid) for several years and you know, that’s my team in both basketball and soccer”.
Fernando Alonso
Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso supports two clubs - his hometown club Oviedo and Real Madrid. As he has explained on numerous occasions: “I was born in Oviedo, I’m an Oviedo fan but a little more towards Real Madrid. If I was a footballer, then I would like to play for Real Madrid, the team I support and love. Driving for McLaren is like playing for Real Madrid.”
Barcelona’s famous fans
Just like their capital counterparts, the club’s legendary status in the game has seen on-field greats like Cruyff, Maradona, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi inspire and excite millions of supporters across the globe. And this has included celebrities from across industries including Spanish actress Andrea Duro, reggaeton singer Nicky Jam, One Direction’s Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, Snoop Dogg, and the late, great Kobe Bryant. Here are a few more...
Bill Gates
The US philanthropist has made a number of visits to the Camp Nou and met with club presidents and players.
Alex Morgan
The record-breaking US striker has yet to represent Barça, although there were rumours at one stage before she joined Lyon, but she continues to support the Camp Nou side from afar.
Shakira
The Colombian superstar met Gerard Piqué at the 2010 World Cup and has been a staunch Barça supporter ever since, singing at one of their many title triumphs a couple of years ago. Things have soured somewhat between the couple.
Justin Bieber
The US singer is friendly with Neymar and Lionel Messi.
Lady Gaga
The superstar singer and now Oscar-nominated actress suprised fans by donning a Barça shirt during a concert.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel
The F1 world champions like a sure bet when it comes to football as well. Barça may not win everything, but in recent years they’ve tended to make the podium more often than not.
Magic Johnson
The NBA legend visited Camp Nou a few years ago. Maybe his appearance in the city with the US Dream Team in the 90s had an influence.
So, hopefully your favourite celebrity away from the game doesn’t mean you’re now torn about who to follow when El Clásico comes around.