After the Spanish Civil War, the club was in ruins and it was Bernabéu who started to rebuild the club from scratch. In 1943, he was elected president, a position he held until his death on June 2, 1978.
He was a visionary and at the Hotel Ambassador in Paris he mapped out a scheme that would see the big football clubs take off in a continental exhibition tournament UEFA later became interested and designed a tournament called the European Champions Club Cup, which was later renamed League
During his time as club president, Real Madrid won one Intercontinental Cup, six European Cups, 16 league titles, six Spanish Cups, two Latin Cups and an Eva Duarte Cup. He breathed his last breath during the 1978 World Cup and FIFA decreed three days of mourning during the tournament.
