White Week of the Real Madrid Graduate School - European University kicks off with four legends

The White Week of the Real Madrid Graduate School - European University kicked off with four legends of our club. Roberto Carlos, Sergio Rodríguez, Felipe Reyes, and Rudy Fernández led the opening day, which was moderated by the director of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueño. Roberto Carlos, Real Madrid legend and ambassador, inaugurated this edition: “I am very grateful because playing for the best club in the world has earned me the affection of the people. It is an honor to be an ambassador for this club and share its story around the world. Off the pitch, you see the greatness of this badge. Here, when you win, you celebrate, but the most important thing is the mentality of this institution. Real Madrid is unique.”

“This club teaches you respect, how to be proper, and how to learn to win. Football is a school, and living alongside many nationalities teaches you many things. Regarding my retirement, I prepared a lot while playing for that moment. I made the decision to stop after achieving everything in football, but being well-prepared, which is something important, helped me a lot.”

His career
“Since I started playing football at the age of three, every day has been challenging. I always tried to be an example, and I like it when people speak well of me, but I have never considered myself the best because the best left-backs have played here. The numbers are good, but what I did was simply enjoy myself and train. I am grateful that people have that perception of me.”

Winning the Champions League with Real Madrid
“When I arrived, I hadn’t played in the Champions League, and I began to understand what this competition meant when the music played before the match started. In 1998, it had been 32 years since the club last won the competition, and achieving it against Juventus that year was incredible. When we came together, we were unstoppable. The Champions League is a unique competition and means a lot to the club.”

Basketball in the spotlight
Sergio Rodríguez, Felipe Reyes, and Rudy Fernández closed the first day of White Week by discussing the basketball section. Sergio Rodríguez, legend and basketball sporting director of our club, said: “Being able to sit here, retired, and talk about how we feel is fantastic. Madrid is a fundamental pillar in our careers. When we recall our best moments, they are always linked to Real Madrid, like those two consecutive EuroLeagues we won in 2015 and 2016. We are very fortunate.”

His new role in the club
“Throughout my career, I have learned routines that help me understand what benefits you. Now, as sporting director, I am also learning a lot. I am very excited about this new phase and thrilled to experience it this way. At Real Madrid, you always have to be prepared to handle the pressure during moments of maximum tension. This has been somewhat the key in the finals I’ve played, and I try to continue applying it now.”

Achieving goals
“You have to enjoy the journey. We focus a lot on the goal and the end, but when you reach the goal, you remember what you experienced. We can talk about many happy moments, but when we gather, we talk about how we reached that goal and what took us there. You always have to enjoy that process, which is very beautiful.”

Felipe Reyes: “It’s an honor to have been able to give great things to Real Madrid’s fans”
“I am very happy to be part of White Week once again. Real Madrid has been our home for many years. We’ve lived through very beautiful moments, like the League we won in Vitoria in the fifth game in 2004. It’s an honor to have been able to give great things to this club’s fans.”

Being captain of Real Madrid
“Leadership is commitment. It’s about being an example on and off the court. It’s about going to training every day and giving 100%, ensuring your teammates see you as an example. This way, you compel them to do the same. I’ve tried to do this throughout my career and as captain of Real Madrid. This way of being, of giving my all, is part of who I am and is something I’ve greatly enhanced in the club. I’ve learned never to give up and to fight until the end.”

Rudy: “Being part of Real Madrid has been an honor”
“When we played, we knew the responsibility that comes with this badge. Being part of Real Madrid has been an honor, as has the opportunity to end our sports careers at the club that has given us so much. The commitment we had as players was immense.”

The tribute in his last game
“The moment of the tribute in 2024 may surpass everything I’ve achieved. The fact that the fans expressed gratitude for all those years of playing was one of the best moments of my career, without a doubt. The demands of the club’s fans push you to be better, and thanks to that, what has been accomplished has been achieved.”

Other contributions
The first day of White Week also featured the participation of Silvia Montes-Jovellar, director of Projects at the Real Madrid Foundation, who, along with Alaia and Mauro, members of the Real Madrid Foundation, discussed the important work of the Real Madrid Foundation: the soul of the club.

Alaia is part of the adapted and inclusive basketball schools of the Foundation. “Thanks to the Foundation and the coaches, I enjoy playing and representing the values of sport. I feel very good when I go to play basketball. One of my favorite moments with the Foundation was when I attended a basketball game of the first team.”

Mauro practices adapted football for visually impaired individuals in the sensory social sports schools of the Real Madrid Foundation. “For a person my age, it’s very important to do sports because it’s something you need to feel better about yourself and also to connect with other people. This way, I can meet more people who share the same passion as me, which is football.”

To conclude the day, Rodrigo Marín, director of Strategy and Corporate Projects at Real Madrid, focused his intervention on the State of the football industry and the Real Madrid formula.

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.