Real Madrid Attendances Dwindling, Cristiano Ronaldo Departure Blamed

Only 55,229 fans watched Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 at the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, continuing a trend of dwindling attendances since Cristiano Ronaldo departed the club in the summer. 

Only one Real home game all season has drawn more than 70,000 fans—78,562 watched the derby against Atletico Madrid—and the visit of Rayo was the third match in a row at the Bernabeu with an attendance under 56,000.

Manu de Juan of AS believes Ronaldo's absence is one of the key factors in the apparent lack of interest this season from Real's fans.

The Portuguese superstar moved to Juventus for £99.2 million in July, and the dip in attendances was immediate.

Real opened the 2018-19 La Liga season at the Bernabeu in front of just over 48,000 supporters, the lowest attendance at the stadium since Real's last league game of the 2008-09 campaign, just before Ronaldo joined the club.

Poor performances are likely another reason Real fans are staying away, but they are also linked with Ronaldo's departure.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner netted 450 goals in his nine seasons at the club. Real did not splash out on a new superstar to replace him, and as a result Los Blancos have struggled for goals.

In La Liga this season Real are netting 1.5 goals per game:

In each of the nine campaigns Ronaldo was at the club they averaged at least 2.5 goals per game in the Spanish top flight.

Real have been UEFA Champions League winners four times in the past five seasons.

They are regularly touted as being the biggest club in the world and should be filling out their stadium every time they play.

Real are not playing like European champions and not producing the thrilling football Los Blancos fans are used to under manager Santiago Solari, and the absence of Ronaldo is a major reason for that.