A reporter commented that the sea of fans in the stands at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá in Tibás wearing purple, and the tremendous noise they were generating, made him feel like he was "in the presence of a thousand headed monster".

Saprissa has won 40 Primera División de Costa Rica championships, including six consecutive national titles in the 70s.

For the period 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008 the club was ranked the 106th best team in the world by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, an organization recognized by FIFA.

Their main partner is a Costa Rican Investment Consortium named Horizonte Morado (Purple Horizon), composed mainly of Juan Carlos Rojas Callán, Edgar Zurcher, and Televisora de Costa Rica.

They were promoted to the Primera División de Costa Rica, making their debut in the top flight on 21 August 1949.

Saprissa won the 2005 CONCACAF Champions Cup, beating Mexican club UNAM in the final over two legs, in May 2005.

In the semi-finals they were beaten 3–0 by English club Liverpool, who were the Champions League holders that year, making it the strongest team in Europe.

Saborío was joint top scorer, and Bolaños was awarded the Bronze Ball by FIFA as third best player of the championship out of 5 teams.

When the new kit for 1937 (red and blue) was being manufactured, some of the threads got mixed evenly along the sides of the jerseys, producing a type of purple, resembling a burgundy/maroon colour.

It was decided that the team's shield would appear on the chest of the uniform, with a notable bold white letter "S".

A new site for a stadium was bought in 1965 and on 27 August 1972 after six years of construction and upgrades, Estadio Ricardo Saprissa was officially opened.

Due to the negative atmosphere and press coverage, Saprissa officials stepped in to restore order to a group that they had help create.

They maintain the style of a classic Ultras group, with chants, choreos[clarification needed], pyro shows (flares and gunpowder), abundant flags, giant banners, and the constant beat of an oversized bass drum.

The mascot was designed in Mexico and many club supporters felt that it was a campy, superhero-like purple monster.

The new costume was manufactured by Fernando Thiel, a widely recognized Argentina-born puppeteer who lives in Costa Rica.

As of 30 January 2025 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.