Unprecedented circumstances
Due to the unprecedented circumstances forced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, such a gathering was not possible when Real Madrid clinched their 34th La Liga title in 2019-20.
The club announced that the players would not be visiting and local authorities urged fans to stay away both the fountain and the square - la Plaza de Cibeles - which surrounds it in the event of victory.
Greek goddess
But all Los Blancos' other titles since the mid-1980s have been toasted with a party in front of the Greek goddess. Before then, small groups of both Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid fans had visited the Plaza de Cibeles on occasion to celebrate major successes, in all likeliness due simply to its central location.
In fact, hard as it is to believe today, it is widely believed that the first instance of such a celebration came after Atletico Madrid won the 1961-62 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Fiorentina, before fans of both capital city clubs and of the Spanish national team gathered at the fountain for other important victories over the following years.
Distinct identity
However, it was during the 1980s, and the era of dominance for Real Madrid's so-called Quinta del Buitre team, that celebrating at Cibeles cemented itself as a distinctly Real Madrid tradition.
They certainly celebrated there a lot, winning five La Liga Santander titles in a row between 1985 and 1990. Atletico Madrid's trophy drought in the 1980s and Real Madrid's trophy addiction made the goddess a Madridista for life. By the time Atletico Madrid started winning again with a pair of Copa del Rey triumphs in 1991 and 1992, their fans had decided to move their celebrations 500M down the Paseo del Prado to Neptuno, 'Neptune's Fountain.' They left Cibeles exclusively to Los Blancos.
Ramos still savours it
When Real Madrid do celebrate there, it is the captains who have the honour of dressing Cibeles up in club colours after a big win. The last captain who could experience that, Sergio Ramos, had done this several times, having won a horde of trophies from taking on the captain's armband in 2015 until leaving the club in 2021.
"It's a true platonic love," Ramos said of his relationship with the statue of the goddess in an episode of Movistar's Informe Robinson series. "Spending a moment with Cibeles is like when you see your mother again after going two or three months without seeing her. Whenever I drive by the fountain, I sit gazing at the statue for as long as the traffic lights stay red."