Real Madrid waited 18 years to win back the Copa del Rey trophy - only to drop the cup and watch it get crushed under the wheels of a bus.

Only hours after beating archrival Barcelona in the domestic cup final in Valencia, Madrid defender Sergio Ramos let the 15-kilogram (33-pound) cup fall from the top of the team bus during celebrations early on Thursday morning in the capital.

The front right wheel of the bus rolled over the trophy before the driver stopped.

Emergency services gathered up the broken pieces and returned them to the bus but the trophy did not reappear at the club’s traditional celebration spot of the Plaza de Cibeles in central Madrid.

“The cup fell, it fell,” Ramos said according to Europa Press agency. “But the cup is OK.”

The club said on Tuesday that the trophy will be repaired.

“It is not in good shape, evidently, it was run over by a bus,” Madrid spokeswoman Marta Santisteban told The Associated Press. “It has to be fixed.”

Once it is whole again, the cup will take its place alongside Madrid’s other silverware in its trophy case at the club museum.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid have a replica of the Copa del Rey trophy on display at their stadium.

The replacement is on display at the club’s trophy museum after the owner of the Madrid jewellers that made the trophy raced back from Wednesday’s match in Valencia to deliver the spare.

Madrid beat Barcelona 1-0 after extra time on Wednesday, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s header giving the club its first domestic cup since 1993 and their first trophy of any kind in three years.

Spanish reports said 60,000 fans gathered at Cibeles to celebrate the club’s first silverware under coach Jose Mourinho.

“After two complicated years, winning the Copa del Rey is a relief,” Madrid captain Iker Casillas said before following the tradition of wrapping a Madrid insignia and club scarf around the Roman goddess that marks the square.