Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, , Royal Sporting Club Mallorca), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, they currently compete in , holding home games at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix with a 25,736-seat capacity.
The club had its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, reaching a best-ever third place in La Liga in 1999 and 2001 and winning the Copa del Rey in 2003 following final defeats in 1991, 1998 and 2024. Mallorca also won the 1998 Supercopa de España and reached the 1999 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final.
Mallorca traditionally play in red shirts with black shorts and socks.
History
The early years
Founded on 5 March 1916, what would later become RCD Mallorca was registered at the Spanish Football Federation under the name of Alfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club.
Weeks after its establishment, the club wasted little time forming the directors of Alfonso XIII FBC, headed by engineer Adolfo Vázquez Humasqué and eight other football fans.
Their first stadium, the Buenos Aires field, was inaugurated with a competitive fixture against FC Barcelona just 20 days after registering further fast-tracked development.
Despite the fixture ending in a disappointing 8–0 defeat, it was not long before King Alfonso XIII himself requested the royal adoption of ‘Real’ in the team's title, therefore becoming Real Sociedad Alfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club. In 1917, the Catalan Federation granted Real Sociedad Alfonso XIII admission into the second-tier league championship as an unofficial champion of the Balearic Islands. Booking a place in the final, Los Bermellones went on to record their first title with a resounding 3–1 victory over Futbol Club Palafrugell, in Barcelona.
Until the 1930s, the board of directors managed to organise fixtures against peninsular clubs such as RCD Espanyol and Real Murcia, while also hosting rare exhibitions against foreign sides including: Ajax in 1923, Uruguay's national team in 1925, Chilean outfit Colo-Colo in 1927 and one of the Czech Republic's oldest teams, Prague Meteor, in 1930, the latter under coach Jack Greenwell, and with Antolín Arnau, Felipe Ferrer, and Pedro Pizá among its players.
In 1931, following the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic which prohibited any form of reference to monarchy, the club was renamed to Club Deportivo Mallorca.
Although major fixtures and competitions across Spain were soon interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936, the squad enjoyed a highly successful spell by winning every possible championship they entered into, as football on the island remained resistant to the deferral experienced throughout the country.
When the war finally ended, matches with teams from the Peninsula were quick to resume and the Second Division was inaugurated, based on five groups of eight teams each.
It was during a period in the Second Division that, on 22 September 1945, the time had come to wave goodbye to Buenos Aires Field and up sticks to Es Fortí, a 16,000-maximum capacity stadium which would be called home for over half a century and undergo several expansions.
A line-up featuring forward Sebastián Pocoví, defender Saturnino Grech and goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets beat Jerez 3–0 on the opening game of the new campaign the following day, with Carlos Sanz scoring Es Fortí's first goal in front of packed-out terraces.
The title Es Fortí was short-lived however, with the board later changing the name of the stadium to Lluís Sitjar, in honour of the man who had driven the construction of the field.
During the 1949–1950 season, the Balearic club recovered their "Real" title, becoming Real Club Deportivo Mallorca
1960–1990
On 17 April 1960 Mallorca beat Levante 2-1 which confirmed promotion to La Liga for the first time in the clubs 44 year history.
In their first season in the Spanish First Division, the 1960/61 season, Mallorca finished 9th out of 16 teams, on 28 points just 2 points Oviedo in the relegation playoffs. They were knocked out of the Copa Del Rey in the round of 16 to Sevilla 4-3 across two legs.
Mallorca were then relegated back down to the Segunda Division after finishing 13th in the 1962/63 season, losing to Espanyol in the playoffs.
After finishing first in the 1964/65 Segunda Division season they were relegated again in the 1965/66 La Liga season after finishing a disappointing 15th, tied on points with Sabadell in 14th and Real Betis in 16th.
Mallorca would spend a few more seasons which saw them finish in the top 5 every season but were not promoted until the 1968/69 season which saw them finish 3rd, just 3 points off of first place Sevilla.
Despite this, Mallorca once again were relegated immediately, ending the 1969/70 La Liga season in 15th, only above Pontevedra who finished on just 13 points.
Mallorca would then sit in the lower half of the Segunda Division until the 1974/75 season which saw them finish a lowly 17th and ultimately being relegated to the Tercera División for the 1975/76 season, in which they finished 8th in their group.
Mallorca would then fall further down the Spanish football divisions being relegated to the 4th division for the 1978/79 season.
These tough times would not last however, as Mallorca would get back-to-back promotions, finishing first in the 1979/80 fourth division season and then again in the 1980/81 Tercera División.
Mallorca continued this streak of form with another promotion back to La Liga after finishing third in the 1982/83 Segunda Division.
These good times would end as Mallorca would end up relegated again after finishing the 1983/84 La Liga season in 17th on a mere 21 points.
Once again, Mallorca would come back after finishing the 1985/86 Segunda Division in 3rd, gaining promotion to La Liga for the 1986/87 season.
1990s and 2000s: Peak
In 1990–91, despite finishing the season 15th, Mallorca reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time, losing by one goal to Atlético Madrid.
Argentine Héctor Cúper was hired as manager in 1997. In his first season, the club reached the 1998 Copa del Rey Final, and lost on penalties to FC Barcelona after a 1–1 draw in Mestalla.
However, as Barcelona also won the league, Mallorca were their opponents in the 1998 Supercopa de España and won 3–1 on aggregate for their first major honour.
Barcelona's double also meant Mallorca entered the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the final staging of the tournament – they lost the final with a 2–1 score to Lazio at Villa Park.
In 1999, Mallorca also finished a best-ever 3rd and qualified for the first time to the UEFA Champions League, but were eliminated on the away goals rule by Molde FK of Norway before the group stage. Luis Aragonés matched 3rd place in 2001, before leaving for an Atlético Madrid still in the second tier.
Mallorca's 2001–02 season was turbulent, with the club going through three different coaches and finishing 16th in the table.
For the 2002–03 season, Gregorio Manzano was appointed as the club's manager. Mallorca finished ninth in the table with inconsistent form. That season Mallorca won their first Copa del Rey title; in their route to the final, they beat Real Madrid in the quarterfinals 4-0, and then eliminated defending champions Deportivo La Coruña.
In the final on 28 June 2003, Mallorca beat Recreativo de Huelva 3–0 in Elche with goals scored by Walter Pandiani and Samuel Eto'o. The Copa Del Rey title gave the club a berth in the UEFA Cup; they progressed through three rounds before being eliminated by Newcastle 7-1 on aggregate.
In the next few seasons the club comfortably finished mid-table; in the 2009–10 season the club had a great campaign and finished 5th while making the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. However, their Europa League spot was ceded to Villarreal due to Mallorca's economic difficulties.
2010s: Decline and return
Mallorca was relegated from La Liga on the last day of the 2012–13 season.
In January 2016, with the team at risk of relegation to the third tier, American investor Robert Sarver and former NBA player Steve Nash bought the club for just over €20 million.
On 4 June 2017, Mallorca fell into the third tier for the first time since 1981, with one game of the season still to play. A year later, they bounced back in the 2017–18 season after winning the group winners promotion play-off against Mirandés, under new manager Vicente Moreno.
In June 2019, Mallorca secured a second consecutive promotion to the 2019–20 La Liga, following a 3–2 win on aggregate over Deportivo de La Coruña in the 2019 Segunda División play-offs – having lost the first game 2–0. However, they were relegated a year later.
A year later, Mallorca bounced back to the top tier following an Almería defeat to Cartagena.
In 2024, Mallorca reached the Copa del Rey final for the first time since last winning the competition in 2003.
In May 2026, Mallorca were relegated to second division on the final match day of the 2025–26 season, after five seasons in the top tier.
Season to season SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1931–3233ª4thRound of 321932–3342ndDid not play1933–3444thDNP1934–3543rdDNP1935–3641stSecond round1939–4022ª7thDNP1940–4142ndDNP1941–4241stDNP1942–4341stDNP1943–4433ª1stRound of 321944–4522ª11thFirst round1945–4622ª8thFirst round1946–4722ª5thFirst round1947–4822ª13thFifth round1948–4933ª3rdFifth round1949–5022ª11thRound of 161950–5122ª12thDNP1951–5222ª6thDNP1952–5322ª8thSecond round1953–5422ª16thDNPSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1954–5533ª1stDNP1955–5633ª2ndDNP1956–5733ª1stDNP1957–5833ª1stDNP1958–5933ª1stDNP1959–6022ª1stQuarter-finals1960–6111ª9thRound of 161961–6211ª11thRound of 161962–6311ª13thRound of 321963–6422ª3rdRound of 321964–6522ª1stRound of 161965–6611ª15thRound of 161966–6722ª5thRound of 321967–6822ª4thFirst round1968–6922ª3rdDNP1969–7011ª15thRound of 321970–7122ª9thRound of 321971–7222ª12thFourth round1972–7322ª10thFourth round1973–7422ª11thThird round SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1974–7522ª17thRound of 321975–7633ª9thFirst round1976–7733ª3rdSecond round1977–7832ª B18thFirst round1978–7943ª13thDNP1979–8043ª1stThird round1980–8132ª B1stThird round1981–8222ª6thFourth round1982–8322ª3rdFourth round1983–8411ª17thThird round1984–8522ª7thRound of 161985–8622ª3rdFourth round1986–8711ª6thQuarter-finals1987–8811ª18thRound of 321988–8922ª4thQuarter-finals1989–9011ª10thFirst round1990–9111ª15thRunners-up1991–9211ª20thFourth round1992–9322ª4thRound of 161993–9422ª5thThird roundSeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey1994–9522ª12thQuarter-finals1995–9622ª3rdSecond round1996–9722ª3rdSecond round1997–9811ª5thRunners-up1998–9911ª3rdQuarter-finals1999–200011ª10thSecond round2000–0111ª3rdQuarter-finals2001–0211ª16thRound of 162002–0311ª9thWinners2003–0411ª11thRound of 322004–0511ª17thRound of 322005–0611ª13thThird round2006–0711ª12thRound of 162007–0811ª7thQuarter-finals2008–0911ª9thSemi-finals2009–1011ª5thQuarter-finals2010–1111ª17thRound of 162011–1211ª8thQuarter-finals2012–1311ª18thRound of 162013–1422ª17thSecond round SeasonTierDivisionPlaceCopa del Rey2014–1522ª16thSecond round2015–1622ª17thSecond round2016–1722ª20thThird round2017–1832ª B1stSecond round2018–1922ª5thRound of 322019–2011ª19thRound of 322020–2122ª2ndSecond Round2021–2211ª16thQuarter-finals2022–2311ª9thRound of 162023–2411ª15thRunners-up2024–2511ª10thRound of 322025–2611ª18thRound of 322026–2722ªTBD
33 seasons in La Liga 38 seasons in Segunda División 3 seasons in Segunda División B 12 seasons in Tercera División 7 seasons in Divisiones Regionales
Players Current squad
Reserve team
Out on loan
Management and staff
Technical staff
Board of directors +PositionStaffPresident Andy KohlbergBoard of directors Sam Garvin Glenn Carlson Honorary secretary Rosemary MafuzVice-secretary Alfonso Díaz
Sporting department