Transnistria’s FC Sheriff shocks Real Madrid in Champions League

Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history.

FC Sheriff Tiraspol, a football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave of Europe’s poorest country, Moldova, has pulled off one of the biggest shocks in Champions League history by beating Spanish giants Real Madrid.

“We came here to win,” Frank Castaneda, the Sheriff captain, told AFP news agency after his side’s 2-1 victory at Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium.

The estimated value of the entire Sheriff squad is 12 million euros ($14m), about the same as the annual salary of Madrid defender David Alaba