championships. Considered as one of the most sucessful club of the 21st century. Real Madrid was recognised as the FIFA Club of the Century on 11 December 2000 with 42.35% of the vote, and received the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit on 20 May 2004. The club was also named Best European Club of the 20th Century by the IFFHS on 11 May 2010. Real Madrid is the only club to have win three consecutive titles in the Champions League twice, first in 1955-56, 1956–57, 1957–58, and second in 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18. In May 2022, they won a record-extending fourteenth European Cup in 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, making it five titles in the last nine seasons. Real Madrid is the first club across all of Europe's top five leagues to win 100 trophies from all competitions. , Real Madrid are ranked fifth behind Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea in the UEFA club rankings. History Early years (1902–1943) Real Madrid's origins go back to when football was introduced to Madrid by the academics and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, which included several Cambridge and Oxford University graduates. They founded (Sociedad) Sky Football in 1897, commonly known as La Sociedad (The Society) as it was the only one based in Madrid, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. In 1900, conflict between members caused some of them to leave and create a new club, Nueva Sociedad de Football (New Society of Football), to distinguish themselves from Sky Football. Among the dissenters were Julián Palacios, recognized as the first Real Madrid president, Juan Padrós and Carlos Padrós, the latter two being brothers and future presidents of Real Madrid. In 1901, this new club was renamed as Madrid Football Club. Later, following a restructuring in 1902, Sky was renamed as "New Foot-Ball Club". On 6 March 1902, after a new Board presided by Juan Padrós had been elected, Madrid Football Club was officially founded. The Padrós brothers summoned other football enthusiasts to a meeting in the back room of Al Capricho, the family business. They viewed football as a mass sport that should be accessible to representatives of all social classes, and thought the new club should embody that idea. The brothers proposed the name, Madrid Football Club, which was unanimously accepted. The membership fee was also set, two pesetas a month, and the color of the shirt was chosen to