You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger Real Madrid fan than Sergio Garcia.
The Spanish golfer is a massive supporter of Real Madrid, and his relationship with the iconic club is different from the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who both own minority stakes in Leeds United.
Garcia is an honorary member of Real Madrid, which is a title he has held since 2012. The club is owned by its members, and as one of Madrid’s most prominent celebrity supporters, he was granted this title.
Garcia also has a relationship with the club’s president, Florentino Perez, who made a promise to the golfer that he would grant under one condition: he wins a major championship.
For decades, Garcia was the nearly man of golf, coming close on many occasions but never winning one of golf’s major titles. That was until 2017, when he won The Masters, and Perez granted Garcia his wish.
The promise Florentino Perez made to Sergio Garcia
Years before Garcia finally won his major, Perez made a promise to Garcia. The Madrid president said that should Garcia ever win a major championship, he would be invited to perform an honorary kick-off at the Bernabeu.
And in 2017, in a dramatic playoff at Augusta National, Garcia defeated Justin Rose to win The Masters. The victory didn’t just earn him a Green Jacket; it triggered the long-standing agreement with Perez.
True to his word, Pérez invited Garcia to perform the honorary kick-off just two weeks later. And the timing could not have been better. It was El Clásico, one of the biggest rivalries in the sport between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Garcia took to the Bernabeu pitch wearing his Green Jacket, and was greeted by a standing ovation from the 80,000 fans.
Before the match began, he shared a warm embrace with captain Sergio Ramos and exchanged a few words with Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta. Garcia later described the experience as “incredible” and “emotional.”
Unfortunately for Garcia and Madrid, that was the night that Lionel Messi silenced the Bernabeu with a late winner, before holding his shirt up to the crowd.
The football club that Sergio Garcia used to own
While Sergio Garcia is famously a Real Madrid fan, his actual foray into club management and ownership took place on a much more personal level in his home province of Castellón. The club he owned and chaired was his hometown team, CF Borriol.
Garcia’s relationship with CF Borriol began in the mid-2000s, when the golfer took over as the club’s Chairman and primary owner. Under his leadership, the club experienced its most successful era, achieving a historic promotion to the fourth tier of Spanish football in 2010.
And Garcia’s ownership saw him take to the pitch that year. He officially registered as a player for CF Borriol and made his debut as a substitute in a match against Vall de Uxó.
Garcia served as the club’s president for over a decade, steering them through various financial and competitive cycles in the regional leagues. However, the demands of his global golf career and the challenges of sustaining a small club eventually led to his departure.
He officially stepped down as Chairman in June 2018, shortly after the club suffered another relegation. And although he is no longer at the helm, he remains the most significant figure in the history of the club.
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