Real Madrid fans welcome team ahead of first game at Bernabeu in over 500 days

Thousands of Real Madrid fans gathered outside Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday to welcome the team before the first game in the club's stadium in over 500 days.

With building work continuing, Real will return to their home to host Celta Vigo in the Spanish Primera Liga with a limited number of fans set to be in attendance.

The club are in the midst of a reconstruction project at their 74-year-old stadium, which will cost almost £700-million pounds ($968-million US dollars) and is scheduled to take three-and-a-half years to complete.

New features at the ground will include a retractable roof, a 360-degree video screen and around 4,000 extra seats, which will raise the Bernabeu's capacity to just over 85,000.