One of the greatest honors a player can have in their career is to be named the captain of their club, with the Real Madrid captaincy being one of, if not the most prestigious in the sport. We've seen legends like Fernando Hierro, Raul, Iker Casillas, and Sergio Ramos all wear the captain's armband during their time at the Bernabeu.
The captaincy has somewhat bounced around at Real Madrid recently, with five different captains in the last five seasons, each with varying degrees of success, but their impact can't go unnoticed in Real Madrid's history. Let's take a look at the last five captains at Real Madrid and rank them from "worst" to best.
The Real Madrid captian's armband may be heavier than the shirt
5. Dani Carvajal (2025-26)
It seems somewhat harsh to put Carvajal as the worst of the recent captains, however when looking back on his time last season, it wasn't smooth sailing with the armband. He spent a decent amount of the season injured and towards the end of the season started most matches on the bench meaning vice captain Fede Valverde wore the armband more than the Spaniard did.
Carvajal had a tremendous legacy at Real Madrid and seemed like the perfect player to be club captain, however some things just aren't meant to be, so unfortunately Carvajal comes in last in Real's recent captains.
4. Luka Modric (2024-25)
Next is Luka Modric, which again seems harsh and it is not the player's doing. He is one of the greatest midfielders to ever pull on a Real Madrid jersey, however he was captain during one of the worst seasons in recent memory for Real Madrid. He was actually a great captain whenever he was on the pitch, with a strong leadership mentality but that just didn't result in trophies for Los Blancos, so sadly the Croatian comes in at fourth on this list.
3. Marcelo (2021-22)
Coming in at third we have Marcelo. The Brazilian seemed destined to one day be captain at Real Madrid and that time finally came in the 21/22 season, which happened to be his finally year at the club, (better late than never right). While Real had a strong season, winning the La Liga and Champions League double, Marcelo rarely played with Ferland Mendy serving as the starting left-back for almost the whole season.
The reason Marcelo comes in at third is his ability to inspire and will on the players without always having to play. He spent over a decade at the club winning everything imaginable and developing an infectious leadership mentality, that played a huge part in other players performances that season.
2. Karim Benzema (2022-23)
At second we have Karim Benzema, a player Real Madrid are desperately missing, not just for his goals but for his mentality and leadership. The Frenchman was a strong captain during a season that only saw Real take home a UEFA Super Cup and Copa del Rey, but what he gave during his entire time at the club is what sees him come in at number two. He helped carry Los Blancos through some difficult season following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure and was always a reference point not just for youngsters but for veterans as well.
1. Nacho Fernandez (2023-24)
And coming in at number one we have Nacho Fernandez, which may be somewhat of a controversial take, but we have to look at the season he was captain. No Karim Benzema, no Sergio Ramos, no Marcelo, not Thibaut Courtois, a season that looked destined for disaster without a captain, and Real Madrid only lost two of 55 games played that season, bringing home another La Liga and Champions League double and a big part of all that success was Nacho stepping up and motivating the players to get the very best out of them, something we haven't seen since then.
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