5 lesser known off-field stories from Real Madrid

Real Madrid players are always in the thick of things when it comes to dealing with the press. Usually, the players make headlines for the right reasons with their superlative exploits on the field hard to go unnoticed. However, just like everyone else, the squad enjoys a good laugh every now and then behind the scenes when they are not wearing the Blancos shirt.We take a look at some notable incidents in the recent past which saw Real Madrid players in some funny and even dangerous situations.

#1 Sergio Ramos drops the Copa del Rey

Sergio Ramos dropped the Copa del Rey trophy at the victory parade

In the wake of Real Madrid’s triumphant 1-0 win in the Copa Del Rey final against fierce rivals Barcelona, the unthinkable happened. As the players were celebrating their victory with great pomp, team vice-captain Sergio Ramos had the huge cup perched on his head and appeared to be trying to jump up and down with his teammates when the cup slipped from his hands.

The trophy fell onto the tarmac in front of the moving bus and was run over. A helpless Ramos cried out, "The cup has fallen!” as TV pictures showed the cup disappearing under the right front wheel of the slow-moving bus. The cup is now housed in the Museum of the Spanish National Team, which contains an incredible collection of items from Spanish footballing history.

The bus crushed the cup under its wheels

Since then, various theories have done the rounds trying to explain how the cup met its fate. The most common assessment being that the bus braked slightly causing Ramos to lose his balance and letting the trophy slip out of his hands. Shortly after the incident, Marcelo noticed what had happened and burst into fits of laughter.

Ramos joked about the incident on Twitter the next morning and tweeted: “There has been a misunderstanding about the cup, it didn't fall, it jumped when it got to Cibeles and saw so many Madridistas.”

#2 Asier Illarramendi Bullfighting

Since his big money move to Los Blancos, Asier Illarramendi has rarely made the headlines. And when he did do, it was for all the wrong reasons. That’s right; during the Carnival celebrations in the Basque province of Azpeitia, a video posted on social media caught the Real Madrid midfielder running in front of a bull dressed as the caped crusader Batman.

The Basque midfielder apparently violated a clause that the Real Madrid players have in their contracts prohibiting them from participating in risky activities, as stated in the club's code of conduct. Real Madrid's internal regulations expressly prohibit bullfighting, but the club appreciated the player's heart-felt apologies and decided not to impose any financial penalty on him.

The player wanted to clear the issue up as early as possible and took the step of going for a personal chat with both the club president Florentino Pérez and his then-coach Carlo Ancelotti. Both Florentino and Ancelotti proved to be understanding with him but still reprimanded the Basque man for his behaviour, reminding him that Real Madrid players need to have a different attitude. He was asked to be more serious in his public behaviour, including on his days off.

Illarramendi has since left Real Madrid to try his fortune at his home club Real Sociedad but the incident still remains an amusing one.

#3 Carlo Ancelotti\'s fable of the lion and gazelle

Carlo Ancelotti once recounted the fable of the Lion and the Gazelle to the press in a bid to explain the day-to-day workings at Real Madrid. To explain the importance of hard work, the Italian manager recounted the following tale.

“There is a legend about a lion and a gazelle. The lion wakes up thinking about running to hunt for food. If he doesn't run, he doesn't catch his prey.

“And the gazelle wakes up thinking about running so it doesn't get caught by the lion. And I have told my players that it makes no difference whether they wake up thinking like lions or gazelles; the important thing is to run.”

Run they did as Real Madrid raced to the Cup double having clinched the Copa del Rey and the historic 10th UEFA Champions League trophy (La Decima) in the Italian’s first season in charge. In his second season at the club, Real Madrid failed to defend the trophies which they had won but still managed to win another cup double – the UEFA Super Cup and The FIFA Club World Cup.

#4 Luka Modric\'s haircut and Dani Carvajal\'s blonde beard

For a long time, Real Madrid’s La Decima proved elusive. 12 years after winning El Novena, Los Blancos were finally within earshot of the coveted cup and the players naturally made bets as to what they would do if they win.

Luka Modric promised to cut his hair if Real Madrid won their tenth European Cup. A hallmark of the Croatian skipper, parting with his long blonde hair must have been quite difficult for the player. A day after the triumph, Modric stayed true to his word.

If Luka Modric kept his promise after winning the Champions League and had his hair cut, Daniel Carvajal was also true to his word. He daringly dyed his beard blond following the famous victory after he promised fellow Spanish international Arbeloa to do so.

So, a jubilant and quite bemused Arbeloa posted a photo on Twitter with the message: "Promise kept by @DaniCarvajal92. What a guy!"

Promesa cumplida por @DaniCarvajal92 ¡Genio! pic.twitter.com/Bezl3c1OsF

— Álvaro Arbeloa (@aarbeloa17) May 25, 2014

Carvajal went on to address the crowd in his blonde beard from the balcony of the Madrid government's headquarters and shared the joy of the Champions League triumph with the fans.

#5 Marcelo - the prankster

Marcelo makes light of everything. Having the Brazilian in the dressing room is always a plus as he helps the other squad members relax by constantly cracking jokes. Over the years, Marcelo has developed a deep friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo, a friendship which has paid dividends on the field for Los Blancos, with the duo’s telepathic understanding of each other’s whereabouts carving open the most resolute of defences.

In the video below, we take a look at some of the funny moments from the Real Madrid training ground featuring the Portuguese-speaking duo of Marcelo and Ronaldo regularly. The video depicts Marcelo breaking into a frenzy of karate moves, Ronaldo teaching a reporter how to pronounce his friend and ex-teammate Fabio Coentrão’s name correctly and also features Kaka as he teams up with Marcelo to play a prank on Pepe.

In the end, Modric is left out of the joke Ronaldo and Pepe play on him. At first, Marcelo was mixing Portuguese and Spanish and whispers to Ronaldo that he got confused. Of course, Luka had no clue as to what was going on. Then, a reporter shouts, “Can you hear me Luka?” and Marcelo is seen whispering to Ronaldo that Modric obviously can’t, because the Croatian’s hair is blocking his ears. With this, the duo break into fits of laughter as a clueless Modric is left looking perplexed.