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The Real Deal: A History of Real Madrid Kindle Edition

by Jimmy Burns (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
When David Beckham moved to Real Madrid in 2003 it captured the imagination of the world's sporting public. The world's most glamorous footballer joined forces with the world's most glamorous club.

Spanish football was about to take on the world. After Beckham's arrival it became the most flamboyant, successful league in the world. And Real Madrid, the relentless, rich and ambitious soccer machine in the Spanish capital, was at the heart of its rise to global glory.

From its early modest amateur beginnings near a bullring to its modern era of star signings, the history of Real Madrid, as told by Jimmy Burns, is one of world football's most absorbing and entertaining stories.

Burns's knowledge of Spanish football and its politics, and access to some of the club legends, makes this a must read for followers of La Liga as well those with a more general interest in Spain.

Praise for The Real Deal...


“There has been a slew of books about Beckham… of which Jimmy Burns’s is the most authoritative.” - Irish Times Weekend Review, October 2004

“Excellent” - Simon Kuper, Financial Times, October 2004

“An absorbing account of Real Madrid’s complex history… well-researched and cleverly written” - World Soccer Magazine, October 2004

“If you thought everything had been said on the subject, think again. Burns, a former Financial Times reporter who was born in Spain, goes far beyond the Beckham phenomenon to look at how Spain became the world’s most exciting football nation, and how its politics, culture and soccer are so intrinsically linked.” - Esquire, October 2004

“An insight into the exciting period when Becks joined Real Madrid in 2003.” - Daily Mirror, 3 September 2004

“A contender for serious football book of the season. This is really a thoughtful and discursive analysis, through football, of modern Spanish society and culture… fascinating and highly likeable.” - Sunday Telegraph, September 2004

“Burns’s obviously superb knowledge of Spanish football, its politics and background make this a must read for all fans of La Liga.” - Sunday Business Post, September 2004


Jimmy Burns is an award winning journalist and author. His books include the internationally acclaimed Hand of God: The Life of Diego Maradona and Barca: A People's Passion.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Accessibility
    Learn more
  4. Publication date
    1 Oct. 2012
  5. File size
    3.6 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B009KPQFJ6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 Oct. 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.6 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer reviews:
    3.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

Customer reviews

3.4 out of 5 stars
21 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Stu
    4.0 out of 5 stars Kindle version
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2013
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Great text, but the kindle version is full of typing errors, makes it harder to read at speed. Still guess the story and facts are the main thing and it helped understand my visit to the Santiago Bernabeu recently.
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  • Dosh
    3.0 out of 5 stars Annoying
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2013
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    As a Liverpool fan buying a book on the history of another great club should not centre around David Beckham. Burns has some great information about Madrid but I can't help but agree with Daymo. THE SPELLING ERRORS RUIN THIS BOOK.
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  • Liam Montgomery
    5.0 out of 5 stars As a madrista I loved this book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2014
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    I loved this book and anyone with an interest in real madrid or even just Spanish football should read this book.
    Not only does it give you amazing facts about the best club of the 20th century, it gives you an insight to Spanish history and what personifies real Madrid.

    HALA MADRID!!!!
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  • Dunxjambo
    4.0 out of 5 stars Madrid fc
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2013
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Jimmy burns as always covers his subject well.
    A very good read and should be read in a cafe on las rambles.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • trevor ion
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2016
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    reallly fascinating read
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  • Daymo
    1.0 out of 5 stars riddled with spelling errors
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2013
    Format: Kindle Edition
    Jimmy Burns is a fantastic author, however this kindle edition has too many spelling errors, you get fed up reading about "Raw" the great Madrid legend obviously should be Raul and the Brazilian "Ronalda". They are 2 of many errors in this book. I gave up a third of the way through, I reckon Jimmy would be embarrassed by it.

    Cheers
    Damien
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  • Luke S. Hyams
    4.0 out of 5 stars Superior football book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2012
    Format: Kindle Edition
    The Real Deal gets under the skin of Real Madrid and encompasses politics, history and the key personalities off the pitch as well as on it. The book does not shy away from some inconvenient truths about the Franco era, but so too Burns cannot help but admire the power and beauty of the football played during Madrid's dominance of European football.As with his other books, Barca and La Roja, the author is great at tracking down players and fans and interviewing them (letting them talk, rather than talking at them). As with Barcelona too the history of Real Madrid includes a foreign as well domestic element.
    Although slightly updated, one wishes that the book could examine more of what's happened over the past five to ten years.I think that Barca is the better book, as it's written more from the heart, but Burns uses his head with the Real Deal and scores a goal.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Miss HP
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent (perhaps definitive).
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 March 2013
    Format: Kindle Edition
    An excellent (perhaps definitive) history of Real Madrid. Jimmy Burns, through research and original interviews with key people on and off the pitch, gets under the skin of the club and is not afraid to be critical of some of the darker moments of its past and also latter day commercialism. The Real Deal also rightly celebrates some of the great players and traditions of club too. Book is far more weighted towards club's history and era of Beckham and Galacticos, but don't let this put you off if you enjoy good football books.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • ADR
    1.0 out of 5 stars El libro de las erratas
    Reviewed in Spain on 29 November 2023
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Aparte de unas opiniones muy discutibles sobre política aplicada al Madrid y al Barcelona, así como de manifiestos fallos en datos de diversos asuntos españoles, lo que es particularmente llamativo en el caso de una persona a la que se le presupone un buen conocimiento de España, lo que descalifica por completo al menos esta edición es el impresionante número de erratas que te encuentras. Dar con una página en la que haya sólo una errata es motivo de alegría, a la vista del desaguisado, pues lo habitual es que se encadenen casi sin cesar. Es el libro de las erratas. Una pena. Y una inmensa vergüenza.
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  • Usni
    1.0 out of 5 stars Endeavour Press and Jimmy Burns should be ashamed
    Reviewed in the United States on 21 July 2014
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    The book is full of ridiculous typos. Usually there are one or two in every eBook but this book is littered with them.

    Some examples:

    "Beck ham's" (Location 1536)
    "biographer1ichael" (Location 1342)
    "page, wi.th a" (Location 1513)
    "universityeducated" (Location 652)

    These go beyond the honest mistake and show a complete breakdown in editing. More inexcusable is that I submitted these correction three months ago through my Kindle and they still haven't been fixed. This is one of the best features of a eBook, the ability to quickly correct mistakes like this.

    It really demonstrates the lack of professionalism Endeavour Press has and the lack of concern JImmy Burns has for his own work. Unfortunately I started reading the book after the refund period so I wasn't able to return it.

    I usually don't factor in grammatical errors when rating a book but in this case I had to because it makes the book unreadable.
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