Real Madrid celebrated on Sunday its ceremony awarding badges to its longest-serving members, presided over by Florentino Perez at the basketball arena of Real Madrid City. There were 730 honorees: 440 with the gold badge for 50 uninterrupted years as members, and 290 with the gold-and-diamond badge for 60 years of belonging to the club.

The president emphasized the importance from the beginning: "This is one of the most emotional events we hold at our club." Before beginning the tribute, he asked for a minute of silence for deceased Madridistas. "Today you surely remember your fathers, your mothers, your grandfathers and grandmothers, those relatives and friends with whom you learned to live Madridismo," Florentino said.

The president made the tribute his own on a personal level. He recalled that he himself received his badge from former honorary president Amancio Amaro and added: "I share your emotions because I know very well what this moment means."

He defined Madridismo in terms that go beyond football: "It is an attitude toward life that has to do with work, with sacrifice, with constant improvement, with humility, with respect, camaraderie, and solidarity."

Florentino highlighted the global dimension of the club — "700 million people who feel Madridismo as something universal, that crosses all borders" — and connected the veteran members with that community: "When they see that Real Madrid has this recognition and this gratitude toward those of you who have dedicated an entire life to this crest, they feel emotion and pride."

And he underscored the extraordinary nature of the bond being honored: "For 50 and even 60 years, we are members of Real Madrid. Something extraordinary."

On an institutional level, the president took stock of the last decade and a half: "We have won 58 titles in the last 15 years, among them 6 European Cups in football and 3 in basketball." But he accompanied the data with a reflection.

"That we value things in their proper measure and that we are aware of the difficulties of achieving each triumph and each title." A phrase that, in the week of the return leg against Bayern at the Allianz Arena, takes on a second meaning.

Florentino also referred to the renovated Bernabeu — "a vanguard icon, modern and one of the great tourist epicenters of our city, a source of pride for Madrid and for Spain" — and to the Real Madrid Foundation, which he defined as "the soul of our club," present in more than 100 countries with 1,400 projects and more than 400,000 beneficiaries annually.

The closing was a statement of principles directed both to the honored members and to Madridismo in general: "I have always said that the loyalty of Madridismo is our great strength."

And he concluded: "No one gives up here and we will continue fighting year after year until the last moment to try to keep adding titles to the greatest trophy collection in the history of sport." The honor of presiding over that project, he said, keeps him going: "It is an honor to have your support to continue pursuing the best club in history."

The tone of Florentino's speech was one of pure celebration, without edges. Far from the institutional toughness that marked the general assembly at the end of 2025, the president reserved this Sunday for words of gratitude, emotion, and pride of belonging. A speech without adversaries, only with protagonists.

After his words, the delivery of badges began by the president and by Pirri, the club's honorary president, with Emilio Butragueno naming each member one by one. First came the turn for the gold and diamonds badges, then for the gold badges, with legends like Camacho, Roberto Carlos, Felipe Reyes, and Solari already on stage.

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