Real Madrid’s bus was involved in a collision on Thursday on its return trip from Liverpool to Spain after the team’s Champions League defeat, sources have told ESPN, with the incident leaving no-one seriously hurt.
Madrid were beaten 2-0 at Anfield — their third loss in five Champions League games this season — with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, and Kylian Mbappé missing a penalty.
Sources said that Madrid’s players were not on the bus at the time of the accident, and that the two drivers in charge of the journey were unharmed.
The incident was a minor collision involving several vehicles, and only the headlights of the team bus were broken. The Madrid squad and coaching staff were not on the bus because they returned home by plane from Liverpool on Wednesday night.
The aftermath of the accident was recorded by fans who shared videos of the damaged bus on social media.
Real Madrid, like most big European clubs, always send their own bus for use in away fixtures for marketing and logistical reasons.
In the case of Champions League trips, the club sends the bus in advance so that it can pick up the players on arrival at the airport terminal, take them to their hotel, then to the stadium and back to the airport.
Once the players have left, the drivers spend the night in the city where Madrid are playing and return to Madrid the following day by road, working in shifts.