Thousands of fans fill the streets as Real Madrid celebrates their La Liga title with an Open Top Bus

Real Madrid won La Liga with the most emphatic of victories on Saturday, crushing Espanyol 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu to seal the title with four games to go. The engine of the open-top bus had been running for weeks due to the inevitability of Madrid’s title victory, and it finally cranked into motion on Saturday evening, transporting the players and staff from the stadium to the city center to continue the festivities.

As the bus passed through the city, it approached the Cibeles fountain, the city’s most famous symbol, where the club traditionally celebrates its triumphs. Around 150,000 ecstatic Real Madrid supporters shouted and sang the club’s 35th La Liga triumph.

Real Madrid fans began congregating around the Cibeles fountain about an hour before the game ended on Saturday, which Real won comfortably thanks to two first-half goals from Rodrygo, as well as goals from Marcos Asensio and Karim Benzema. On Friday, traffic restrictions were implemented, and a stage was constructed around the fountain, where players on an open-top bus customarily join fans arriving from the Bernabeu to continue the celebrations.

It’s the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that Real supporters have been able to meet without masks for a celebration, as the club’s last league title triumph in 2020 occurred when the city was under lockdown. The players came to Cibeles two hours after the game, and Marcelo, in what is expected to be his final season at the club after 16 years, took the traditional obligation of ‘crowning’ the Greek goddess statue.

He wrapped a Real Madrid scarf around the statue’s head and a white flag bearing the club’s coat of arms across her chest while his teammates and fans lifted their hands, waving in time to the loudly playing “We Are The Champions.”

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, known for his cool and collected demeanor, was one of the more animated during the celebrations, concluding his speech to the fans by exclaiming, “Let’s go against Man City!” about their Champions League semi-final, second leg on Wednesday. Because of that game, the party ended early by Spanish standards, with the players departing just after 9 p.m. local time. With Real hosting the second leg in just a few days and trailing 4-3, Ancelotti rested several regular starters.