The Cincinnati Bengals are going to use the home locker room at Bernabeu Stadium for the second NFL game played in Spain. It is typically reserved for Real Madrid.
As cool as it is from a historical perspective, the facility is far inferior to most American football programs in the United States.
I don’t know whether there is more money in the NFL or what, but Sunday will be a step down for both teams. They both have a better setup waiting for them at home!
The NFL will return to Spain on Sunday.
The first-ever regular-season NFL game in Spain took place last November. The Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Commanders in overtime in front of a sold-out crowd at Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
Bernabeu, which was formerly known as Santiago Bernabeu, opened 78 years ago in 1947. It has served as the home stadium for Real Madrid ever since.
One of the most famous soccer stadiums in the world was renovated in 1982, 2001 and 2024, and expanded in 1952, 1992, 1994 and 2011. The most recent renovation was a complete remodel at a total cost of more than $1 billion.
A majority of the construction was completed by the end of 2024. The Dolphins defeated the Commanders at Bernabeu Stadium less than 12 months later in front of a maximum capacity crowd of ~80,000. Regardless of how you feel about the international series, it was an overwhelming success for the NFL. The league decided to run it back in 2026.
Cincinnati will play Atlanta in Madrid on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET. The Falcons are the designated home team. The Bengals are the designated away team.
However, that same logic apparently does not apply to the use of Real Madrid’s facilities!
The Cincinnati Bengals will use Real Madrid’s locker room.
Although Cincinnati is considered the “away” team, it will use the home locker room. Baltimore will use the vistor’s locker room.
Here is a look inside both of the locker rooms:
Here is a more expansive look at the Bengals’ locker room for this coming weekend:
The #Bengals will be in Real Madrid’s home locker room. Truly incredible.
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) November 5, 2026
Who will take Mbappé’s locker? @FOX19 pic.twitter.com/hnNLUrP43I
Real Madrid is worth more than $9 billion as a club. And yet, its locker room pales in comparison to most NFL and college football facilities. Real Madrid has nothing on Texas A&M, Texas or Florida, among others. The Bengals debuted a new team locker room at Paycor Stadium in 2024 that is much nicer than the one in Spain. The Falcons did the same.
Perhaps a locker room is not as important for soccer as it is for football. Maybe Real Madrid is (already) behind the times.
Either way, the home and away locker rooms for the NFL game at Bernabeu are inferior to the NFL locker rooms stateside.