Praise for The Real Madrid Way
“This book will be one of the most influential books on sports ever written. It doesn’t matter if you are a soccer or Real Madrid fan, you will look at sports and business in a different way after reading this book.”
—BILLY BEANE, executive vice president of baseball operations and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics
“The fact that Steven Mandis was given complete access into the inner sanctum of the richest football [soccer] club in the world testifies to the trust Real Madrid placed on Steven’s head, which is quite amazing. This is the definitive, comprehensive survey on the essential workings of this famous club. It is an eye-opening account, clinical and done with a sensitive touch.”
—SIR ALEX FERGUSON, manager of Manchester United 1986–2013
“With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, this book is the most complete study of any sports team ever done, analyzing both on the field and off the field performance—which leads to fascinating conclusions.”
—DAVID STERN, NBA commissioner emeritus
“The book magisterially penetrates through all the mystique of Real Madrid, football [soccer] and sports. This is the ultimate look behind the regal velvet ropes and steel curtains both in the boardroom and locker room at the most successful and valuable team in sports, Real Madrid.”
—RAY HUDSON, soccer commentator for beIN Sport, retired English professional soccer player, and former MLS coach
“This book expands on and challenges aspects of Soccernomics and The Numbers Game because of Mandis’s access and organizational considerations and reexamines and questions facets and applications of Moneyball.”
—FRANCISCO PÉREZ CUTIÑO, whose graduate research at Cambridge University is referenced in Soccernomics
“This is much more than a book about a soccer team. If you love the NFL, MLB, or NBA, this book is a must-read because it will change the way you view your favorite team.”
—GEOFF POPE, cornerback for 2008 New York Giants, XLII Super Bowl Champions
“No Real Madrid book, or sports book for that matter, has ever been written like it. Mandis’s unique background in business and academics and outsider’s perspective produce an essential book for any Madridista’s library collection.”
—GABE LEZRA, founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of ManagingMadrid.com
“The Real Madrid Way delivers ground-breaking insights about the success formula for a legendary sports franchise. An in-depth exploration of organization culture provides a great balance to the role of sports analytics and makes this a must-read leadership book for anyone interested in sports management.”
—VINCE GENNARO, director of the Masters of Science in Sports Management program at Columbia University, author of Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball, and president of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
“Mandis explains the incredible power of community brands—where a global community feels so deeply passionate about the brand that the brand is synonymous with one’s identity, values, and much more.”
—ANDREW MESSICK, CEO of IRONMAN
“The Real Madrid Way explains how Real Madrid has created and maintained a culture that drives both financial and on-the-field success. An educational and inspiring example for sports fans and executives alike.”
—Lindsay McGregor and Neel Doshi, cofounders of Vega Factor and New York Times bestselling coauthors of Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation
“Mandis has created a gripping narrative exploring how Real Madrid has done the seemingly impossible: used a strong culture and shared values to overcome the problem of the too-much-talent effect. The book is a must for anyone interested in culture, leadership, and high performance.”
—ADAM GALINSKY, chair and Vikram S. Pandit Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and coauthor of Friend & Foe
Copyright © 2016 by Steven G. Mandis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Photos used courtesy of Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.
BenBella Books, Inc.
10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 800
Dallas, TX 75231
Send feedback to [email protected]
First E-Book Edition: October 2016
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
e-ISBN: 978-1-942952-55-8
Copyediting by Scott Calamar
Proofreading by Brittney Martinez and Sarah Vostok
Indexing by Amy Murphy Indexing & Editorial
Text design and composition by John Reinhardt Book Design
Front cover by Bradford Foltz
Full cover by Sarah Dombrowsky
Author photo by Alexandra Mandis
Logo courtesy of Real Madrid
Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing
Distributed by Perseus Distribution
To place orders through Perseus Distribution:
Tel: (800) 343-4499
Fax: (800) 351-5073
E-mail: [email protected]
Special discounts for bulk sales (minimum of 25 copies) are available. Please contact Aida Herrera at [email protected].
This book is dedicated to the people of Spain.
My family and I admire your beautiful
and fascinating culture, history, and language.
Most of all, we appreciate your warmth and kindness.
“Real Madrid’s secret to success on the field and off the field, more than money, talent, and data analytics, is the values and passion in its fans’ hearts and souls. It starts and ends there.”
—A Real Madrid Executive
CONTENTS