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La Liga

Organising body	Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP)
Founded	1929; 90 years ago (1929)
Country	Spain
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	20
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Segunda División
Domestic cup(s)	Copa del Rey Supercopa de España
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Barcelona (25th title)
Most championships	Real Madrid (33 titles)
Most appearances	Andoni Zubizarreta (622)
Top goalscorer	Lionel Messi (400 goals)
TV partners	List of broadcasters
Website	www.laliga.es/en
2018–19 La Liga

The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División,^[a] commonly known as La Liga^[b] (La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons with Santander),^[2] is the men's top professional football division of the Spanish football league system.^[3] Administered by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (English: National Professional Football League), also known as the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), La Liga is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top two teams in that division plus the winner of a play-off.

62 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 33 times and Barcelona 25 times. Barcelona won the inaugural La Liga in 1929 with Athletic Bilbao claiming several titles in the league's early years. Barcelona and Real Madrid dominated the championship in the 1950s, winning four La Liga titles each throughout the decade. Real Madrid dominated La Liga from the 1960s through the 1980s, when Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Sociedad won the league twice in those years. From the 1990s onward, Barcelona has dominated La Liga, winning 15 titles. Although Real Madrid has been prominent, winning 8 titles, La Liga has also seen other champions, including Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de La Coruña. In the 2010s, Atlético Madrid has become an increasingly stronger team, forming a trio alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona.

According to UEFA's league coefficient, La Liga has been the top league in Europe over the last five years and has led Europe for more years (21) than any other country. It has also produced the continent's top-rated club more times (21) than any other league, more than double that of second-placed Serie A. Its clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League (18), UEFA Europa League (11), UEFA Super Cup (15), and FIFA Club World Cup (7) titles, and its players have accumulated the highest number of Ballon d'Or awards (22), The Best FIFA Men's Player including FIFA World Player of the Year (19) and UEFA Men's Player of the Year including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (11).

La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 26,983 for league matches in the 2017–18 season. This is the sixth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind the Bundesliga, and the Premier League.^[4][5]

Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from August to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for 38 matchdays. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion.

Promotion and relegation

A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. The three lowest placed teams in La Liga are relegated to the Segunda División, and the top two teams from the Segunda División promoted to La Liga, with an additional club promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

Number of clubs in La Liga throughout the years

Period (in years)	No. of clubs
1929–1934	10 clubs
1934–1941	12 clubs
1941–1950	14 clubs
1950–1971	16 clubs
1971–1987	18 clubs
1987–1995	20 clubs
1995–1997	22 clubs
1997–present	20 clubs

Ranking of clubs on equal points

If points are equal between two or more clubs, the rules are:^[6]

• If all clubs involved have played each other twice:
  
  
  
  • If the tie is between two clubs, then the tie is broken using the goal difference for the two matches those clubs have played against each other (without away goals rule)
  
  
  • If the tie is between more than two clubs, then the tie is broken using the games the clubs have played against each other:
    
    
    
    • a) head-to-head points
    
    
    • b) head-to-head goal difference
    
    
    • c) total goal difference
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• If two legged games between all clubs involved have not been played, or the tie is not broken by the rules above, it is broken using:
  
  
  
  • a) total goal difference
  
  
  • b) total goals scored
  
  
  
  


• If the tie is still not broken, the winner will be determined by Fair Play scales.^[7] These are:
  
  
  
  • 
    yellow card, 1 point
  
  
  • 
    doubled yellow card/ejection, 2 points
  
  
  • 
    direct red card, 3 points
  
  
  • suspension or disqualification of coach, executive or other club personnel (outside referees' decisions), 5 points
  
  
  • misconduct of the supporters: mild 5 points, serious 6 points, very serious 7 points
  
  
  • stadium closure, 10 points
  
  
  • if the Competition Committee removes a penalty, the points are also removed
  
  
  
  


• If the tie is still not broken, it will be resolved with a tie-break match in a neutral stadium.

Qualification for European competitions

Current Criteria

The top 4 teams in La Liga qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League Group Stage. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League also qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League Group Stage. If this means 6 La Liga teams qualify, then the 4th place team in La Liga instead plays in the UEFA Europa League, as any single nation is limited to a maximum of 5 teams.

The 5th place team in La Liga qualifies for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League Group Stage. The winner of the Copa del Rey also qualifies for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League Group Stage, but if the winner also finished in the top 5 places in La Liga, then this place reverts to the team that finished 6th in La Liga. Furthermore the 6th place (or 7th if 6th already qualifies) team qualifies for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round.^[8]

The number of places allocated to Spanish clubs in UEFA competitions is dependent upon the position a country holds in the UEFA country coefficients, which are calculated based upon the performance of teams in UEFA competitions in the previous 5 years. Currently the ranking of Spain (and de facto La Liga) is 1st.

Extracted from the 2018 ranking of nations by their UEFA coefficient^[9]

Rank 2018	Rank 2017	Change	League	2013-2014	2014-2015	2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	Coefficient	Places in UEFA Champions League						Places in Europa League
										GS	PO	Q3	Q2	Q1	PQ	GS	PO	Q3	Q2	Q1	PQ
1	1	=	Spain	23,000	20,214	23,928	20,142	19,714	106,998	4	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	-
2	3	+1	England	16,785	13,571	14,250	14,928	20,071	79,605	4	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	-
3	4	+1	Italy	14,166	19,000	11,500	14,250	17,333	76,249	4	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	-
4	2	-2	Germany	14,714	15,857	16,428	14,571	9,857	71,427	4	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	-
5	5	=	France	8,500	10,916	11,083	14,416	11,500	56,415	2	-	1	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	-
6	6	=	Russia	10,416	9,666	11,500	9,200	12,600	53,382	2	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-
7	7	=	Portugal	9,916	9,083	10,500	8,083	9,666	47,248	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-
8	8	=	Ukraine	7,833	10,000	9,800	5,500	8,000	41,133	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-
9	9	=	Belgium	6,400	9,600	7,400	12,500	2,600	38,500	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-
10	10	=	Turkey	6,700	6,000	6,600	9,700	6,800	35,800	1	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-

In addition, the winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League automatically qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the subsequent season. A maximum of 5 teams are allowed from any one association, so if 6 teams qualify for the UEFA Champions League, the 4th place team in the domestic league competes in the UEFA Europa League.

History

Foundation

In April 1927, José María Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol eventually agreed on the ten teams who would form the first Primera División in 1929. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up and Racing de Santander qualified through a knockout competition. Only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División.

The 1930s: Athletic Bilbao

Although Barcelona won the very first Liga in 1929 and Real Madrid won their first titles in 1932 and 1933, it was Athletic Bilbao that set the early pace winning Primera División in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won their only title to date. Primera División was suspended during the Spanish Civil War.

In 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on 28 September 2007, Barcelona requested the Royal Spanish Football Federation (Spanish acronym RFEF) to recognise that title as a Liga title. This action was taken after RFEF was asked to recognise Levante FC's Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy. Nevertheless, the governing body of Spanish football has not made an outright decision yet.

The 1940s: Atlético de Madrid and Valencia

When the Primera División resumed after the Spanish Civil War, it was Atlético Aviación (nowadays Atlético Madrid), Valencia, and FC Barcelona that emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético were only awarded a place during the 1939–40 season as a replacement for Real Oviedo, whose ground had been damaged during the war. The club subsequently won their first Liga title and retained it in 1941. While other clubs lost players to exile, execution, and as casualties of the war, the Atlético team was reinforced by a merger. The young, pre-war squad of Valencia had also remained intact and in the post-war years matured into champions, gaining three Liga titles in 1942, 1944, and 1947. They were also runners-up in 1948 and 1949. Sevilla also enjoyed a brief golden era, finishing as runners-up in 1940 and 1942 before winning their only title to date in 1946.

1950s: Barcelona and Real Madrid Dominate La Liga

Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera, the 1950s continued the success FC Barcelona had during the late 1940s after they had won back to back La Liga titles. During this decade, Barcelona's first golden era emerged. Under coach Ferdinand Daučík, FC Barcelona won back to back doubles, winning La Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1952 and 1953. In 1952, FC Barcelona made history yet again by winning five distinctive trophies in one year. This team, composed of László Kubala, Mariano Gonzalvo, Cesar Rodriguez and Joan Segarra won La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Copa Eva Duarte (predecessor of Spanish Super Cup), The Latin Cup and The Copa Martini Rossi.

The 1950s also saw the beginning of the Real Madrid dominance. During the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, there were strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases, clubs could only have three foreign players in their squads, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. During the 1950s, however, these rules were circumvented by Real Madrid who naturalized Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás. Di Stéfano, Puskás, Raymond Kopa and Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Madrid won the first division in 1954, 21 years later since 1933, and retained its title in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. All in all, Barcelona and Real Madrid won 4 La Liga titles each, with Atletico De Madrid and Atletico De Bilbao winning one each during this decade.

The 1960s–1980s: The Real Madrid years

Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated the Primera División, being crowned champions 14 times, including five-in-a-row from 1961 to 1965 and two three-in-a-row sequences (1967–1969 and 1978–1980). However, their only European Cup triumph during this period came in 1966, a sharp contrast to their five successive victories in the competition from 1956.

During this era, only Atlético Madrid offered Real Madrid any serious challenge, adding four more titles to their tally in 1966, 1970, 1973, and 1977. Of the other clubs, only Valencia in 1971 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Barcelona of 1974 broke the dominance of Real Madrid.

The Madrid winning sequence was interrupted more significantly in 1981 when Real Sociedad won their first-ever title. They retained it in 1982, and their two in a row was followed by fellow Basque team Athletic Bilbao, who won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984. Terry Venables led Barcelona to a solitary title in 1985 before Real Madrid put together another five in a row sequence (1986–1990) with a team guided by Leo Beenhakker and including Hugo Sánchez and the legendary La Quinta del Buitre – Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.^{[citation needed]}

The 1990s: Barcelona's dream team

Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary Dream Team. When Cruyff took hold of this Barcelona side they had only won two La Liga title in the past 11 years. Cruyff, who knew the history of FC Barcelona as a player, did not want history to repeat itself. He decided to build a team composed of international stars and La Masia graduates in order to restore Barcelona to their former glorious days. This team was formed by international stars such as Brazilian legend Romario, Denmark’s magician Michael Laudrup, Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov, Dutchman Ronald Koeman, and Spaniards Andoni Zubizarreta and Jose Mari Bakero. Cruyff’s Dream Team also consisted of La Masia graduates Pep Guardiola, Albert Ferrer, and Guillermo Amor.

Johan Cruyff changed the way modern football was played and incorporated the principles of ‘Total Football’ into this team. The success of possession-based football was revolutionary and Johan Cruyff’s team won their first European Cup in 1992 and four consecutive La Liga titles between 1991 and 1994. In total, Cruyff won 11 trophies in eight years, making him the most successful manager in Barcelona’s history until the record was broken by his protege Pep Guardiola two decades later.

Barcelona's run ended with Real Madrid winning La Liga in 1995. Atlético Madrid won their ninth Primera División title in 1996 before Real Madrid added another Liga trophy to their cabinet in 1997. After the success of Cruyff, another Dutchman – Ajax manager Louis van Gaal – arrived at the Camp Nou, and with the talents of Luís Figo, Luis Enrique, and Rivaldo, Barcelona won La Liga title in 1998 and 1999, which included their fourth double of Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1998.

The 2000s

As Primera División entered a new century, the two giants of Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, found themselves facing new challengers. Between 1999/00 and 2004, Deportivo La Coruña finished in the top three on ten occasions, a better record than either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and in 2000, under Javier Irureta, Deportivo became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Valencia were also a fierce team in the 2000s and under the management of Héctor Cúper, Valencia finished as Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001. His successor, Rafael Benítez, built on this and led the club to a Liga title in 2002, as well as winning the UEFA Cup and La Liga in 2004.

Real Madrid won two Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and also the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2002. With world-class players like Raúl, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuaín, Real Madrid won back-to-back La Liga titles in 2006–07 and 2007–08. All in all, Madrid won 4 La Liga's and two champions league from 2000-2010.

The 2000s also continued the success of FC Barcelona. In the 2004–05 season, Barcelona won their first title of the new century under the brilliance of Ronaldinho. Barcelona retained the title and won it again in the 2005-2006 season, as well as winning the UEFA Champions League against Arsenal, achieving their second European Double. Under the era of Pep Guardiola, powered by La Masia's talent, such as Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, Barcelona added three straight Liga titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010. FC Barcelona also became the first team in Spain to achieve the Treble in the 2008/09 season, winning all three major competitions in a single season consisting of La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. From 2000-2010, FC Barcelona won 5 La Liga titles and 2 Champions League.

The 2010s

In the 2011–12 season, Real Madrid won its 32nd title under the management of José Mourinho with a then record-breaking 100 points, a then record of 118 number of goals scored, most overall (32) and away (16) wins in a single season in La Liga. A year later, Barcelona replicated the same feat under coach Tito Vilanova matching the 100-point record. Atlético Madrid won the 2013–14 title, their first in 18 years, and the first title in ten years that Real Madrid or Barcelona had not won.

In the 2014–15 season, under the deadly trio of Messi, Neymar, Suarez, nicknamed the 'MSN', Barcelona made history by becoming the first team to achieve a second Treble. The 'MSN' hit a record breaking 122 goals, eclipsing the 118 goals scored by Madrid in the 2011–12 season. Barcelona continued the dominance in the 2015–16 season, winning the Liga/Copa Del Rey double resulting in 4 titles in 6 years.

Real Madrid brought back the La Liga title under the management of Zinedine Zidane in 2016–17, but Barcelona won the title in the 2017–18 season, as well as winning their eighth double, for a total of 7 La Liga titles in 10 years.

Clubs

20 teams contest the league in its current season, including the top 17 sides from the 2017–18 season and three promoted from the 2017–18 Segunda División. Rayo Vallecano and Huesca are the two clubs promoted directly from the second division, and the winner of the play-offs, Valladolid.

Stadiums and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Alavés	Vitoria-Gasteiz	Mendizorrotza	7004198400000000000♠19,840[10]
Athletic Bilbao	Bilbao	San Mamés	7004532890000000000♠53,289[11]
Atlético Madrid	Madrid	Wanda Metropolitano	7004677030000000000♠67,703[12]
Barcelona	Barcelona	Camp Nou	7004993540000000000♠99,354[13]
Celta Vigo	Vigo	Balaídos	7004290000000000000♠29,000[14]
Eibar	Eibar	Ipurua	7003708300000000000♠7,083[15]
Espanyol	Barcelona	RCDE Stadium	7004405000000000000♠40,500[16]
Getafe	Getafe	Coliseum Alfonso Pérez	7004173930000000000♠17,393[17]
Girona	Girona	Montilivi	7004135000000000000♠13,500[18]
Huesca	Huesca	El Alcoraz	7003763800000000000♠7,638[19]
Leganés	Leganés	Butarque	7004114540000000000♠11,454[20]
Levante	Valencia	Ciutat de València	7004263540000000000♠26,354[21]
Rayo Vallecano	Madrid	Vallecas	7004147080000000000♠14,708
Real Betis	Seville	Benito Villamarín	7004607200000000000♠60,720[22]
Real Madrid	Madrid	Santiago Bernabéu	7004810440000000000♠81,044[23]
Real Sociedad	San Sebastián	Anoeta	7004250000000000000♠25,000[24]
Sevilla	Seville	Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán	7004425000000000000♠42,500[25]
Valencia	Valencia	Mestalla	7004550000000000000♠55,000[26]
Valladolid	Valladolid	José Zorrilla	7004265120000000000♠26,512[27]
Villarreal	Villarreal	Estadio de la Cerámica	7004235000000000000♠23,500[28]

La Liga clubs in Europe

The Primera División is currently first in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, ahead of England's Premier League, Italy's Serie A, and Germany's Bundesliga in fourth.^[29]

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies.^{[citation needed]} These three clubs, along with
Sevilla and Atlético Madrid, are five of the most successful teams in European competition history; these five are the only Spanish clubs to have won five or more international trophies. Deportivo La Coruña are the joint fifth-most participating Spanish team in the Champions League with Sevilla — after Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid — with five Champions League appearances in a row, including a semifinal appearance in 2003–04.^[30]

In 2005–06, Barcelona won the Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup, making the La Liga the first league to do the European "double" since 1997. On 25 August 2015, La Liga became the first league to classify five teams for the UEFA Champions League group stage (Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia).

Champions

Performance by club

Performance by individual clubs in Primera División

Teams	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
Real Madrid	33	23	1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2016–17
Barcelona	25	25	1929–29, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
Atlético Madrid	10	10	1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1995–96, 2013–14
Athletic Bilbao	8	7	1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1942–43, 1955–56, 1982–83, 1983–84
Valencia	6	6	1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1970–71, 2001–02, 2003–04
Real Sociedad	2	3	1980–81, 1981–82
Deportivo La Coruña	1	5	1999–00
Sevilla	1	4	1945–46
Real Betis	1	0	1934–35

Performance comparison this century

Performance comparison of top teams since 2000.

Teams	99–00	00–01	01–02	02–03	03–04	04–05	05–06	06–07	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18
BAR	2	4	4	6	2	1	1	2	3	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1	2	1
RMA	5	1	3	1	4	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	1	2	3	2	2	1	3
VAL	3	5	1	5	1	7	3	4	10	6	3	3	3	5	8	4	12	12	4
ATM	19	-	-	12	7	11	10	7	4	4	9	7	5	3	1	3	3	3	2
DEP	1	2	2	3	3	8	8	13	9	7	10	18	-	19	-	16	15	16	18
SEV	20	-	8	10	6	6	5	3	5	3	4	5	9	9	5	5	7	4	7
ATH	11	12	9	7	5	9	12	17	11	13	8	6	10	12	4	7	5	7	16
RSO	13	13	13	2	15	14	16	19	-	-	-	15	12	4	7	12	9	6	12
ESP	14	9	14	17	16	5	15	11	12	10	11	8	14	13	14	10	13	8	11
BET	18	-	6	8	9	4	14	16	13	18	-	-	13	7	20	-	10	15	6
VIL	-	7	15	15	8	3	7	5	2	5	7	4	18	-	6	6	4	5	5
League champions      Champions League      Europa League      Relegation

All-time La Liga table

The All-time La Liga table^[31] is an overall record of all match results, points, and goals of every team that has played in La Liga since its inception in 1929. The table is accurate as of the end of the 2017–18 season.^[32] Teams in bold are part of the 2018–19 La Liga.

All-time La Liga table

Pos	Team	S	Pts	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	T	Debut	Since/ Last App	Best
1	Real Madrid	86	4461	2800	1669	562	569	6041	3184	33	23	9	8	3	4	80	1929	1929	1
2	Barcelona	86	4355	2800	1609	569	622	5999	3143	25	25	12	12	4	6	84	1929	1929	1
3	Atlético Madrid	81	3521	2652	1264	608	780	4592	3331	10	10	16	9	7	6	57	1929	2002–03	1
4	Valencia	83	3459	2702	1209	623	870	4463	3507	6	6	10	12	10	7	51	1931–32	1987–88	1
5	Athletic Bilbao	86	3411	2800	1219	646	935	4672	3749	8	7	10	5	8	10	49	1929	1929	1
6	Sevilla	74	2877	2446	1007	538	901	3729	3431	1	4	4	5	12	6	32	1934–35	2001–02	1
7	Espanyol	83	2841	2664	960	621	1083	3645	3926	–	–	4	5	2	5	16	1929	1994–95	3
8	Real Sociedad	71	2622	2340	878	584	878	3294	3289	2	3	2	5	4	3	19	1929	2010–11	1
9	Zaragoza	58	2109	1986	698	522	766	2683	2847	–	1	4	5	4	4	18	1939–40	2012–13	2
10	Real Betis	52	1945	1766	624	446	696	2222	2552	1	–	2	3	4	5	15	1932–33	2015–16	1
11	Deportivo La Coruña	46	1843	1568	569	403	596	2090	2269	1	5	4	1	–	1	12	1941–42	2017–18	1
12	Celta Vigo	52	1838	1736	599	399	738	2337	2685	–	–	–	2	4	5	11	1939–40	2012–13	4
13	Valladolid	42	1471	1466	463	384	619	1767	2180	–	–	–	1	1	1	3	1948–49	2018–19	4
14	Racing Santander	44	1416	1428	453	336	639	1843	2368	–	1	1	2	–	1	5	1929	2011–12	2
15	Sporting Gijón	43	1389	1458	471	358	629	1753	2152	–	1	1	2	2	1	7	1944–45	2016–17	2
16	Osasuna	37	1351	1318	426	327	565	1497	1833	–	–	–	2	2	2	6	1935–36	2016–17	4
17	Málaga	37	1334	1293	395	335	563	1445	1824	–	–	–	1	–	1	2	1949–50	2017–18	4
18	Oviedo	38	1174	1192	408	292	492	1642	1951	–	–	3	2	2	4	11	1933–34	2000–01	3
19	Mallorca	27	1148	988	333	256	399	1182	1371	–	–	2	–	2	1	5	1960–61	2012–13	3
20	Las Palmas	34	1042	1134	372	249	513	1371	1820	–	1	1	1	1	1	5	1951–52	2017–18	2
21	Villarreal	18	1031	684	284	179	221	949	839	–	1	1	2	4	2	10	1998–99	2013–14	2
22	Granada	23	667	742	218	175	349	819	1158	–	–	–	–	–	2	2	1941–42	2016–17	6
23	Rayo Vallecano	17	662	652	189	148	305	760	1088	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1977–78	2018–19	8
24	Getafe	13	608	494	162	122	210	562	662	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	2004–05	2017–18	6
25	Elche	21	606	678	203	180	295	750	1022	–	–	–	–	1	1	2	1959–60	2014–15	5
26	Hércules	20	538	628	184	149	295	716	1050	–	–	–	–	1	4	5	1935–36	2010–11	5
27	Tenerife	13	510	494	155	128	211	619	744	–	–	–	–	2	–	2	1961–62	2009–10	5
28	Alavés	13	468	418	140	83	195	498	673	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1930–31	2016–17	6
29	Levante	12	462	440	124	108	208	474	690	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1963–64	2017–18	6
30	Murcia	18	445	586	145	143	298	607	992	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1940–41	2007–08	11
31	Salamanca	12	375	423	123	102	198	422	581	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1974–75	1998–99	7
32	Sabadell	14	353	426	129	95	202	492	720	–	–	–	1	1	–	2	1943–44	1987–88	4
33	Cádiz	12	343	448	104	127	217	393	662	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1977–78	2005–06	12
34	Logroñés	9	293	346	96	92	158	291	489	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1987–88	1996–97	7
35	Castellón	11	285	334	103	79	152	419	588	–	–	–	1	2	–	3	1941–42	1990–91	4
36	Albacete	7	277	270	76	76	118	320	410	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1991–92	2004–05	7
37	Almería	6	242	228	62	56	110	244	366	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2007–08	2014–15	8
38	Córdoba	9	230	282	82	63	137	285	430	–	–	–	–	1	–	1	1962–63	2014–15	5
39	Compostela	4	190	160	52	45	63	199	241	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1994–95	1997–98	10
40	Recreativo	5	188	186	50	46	90	202	296	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1978–79	2008–09	8
41	Eibar	4	183	152	49	36	67	183	217	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2014–15	2014–15	9[33]
42	Burgos CF	6	168	204	59	50	95	216	310	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1971–72	1979–80	12
43	Pontevedra	6	150	180	53	44	83	165	221	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1963–64	1969–70	7
44	Numancia	4	148	152	37	37	78	155	253	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1999–00	2008–09	17
45	Arenas	7	107	130	43	21	66	227	308	–	–	1	–	3	–	4	1929	1934–35	3
46	Real Burgos	3	96	114	26	44	44	101	139	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1990–91	1992–93	9
47	Gimnàstic	4	91	116	34	16	66	181	295	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1947–48	2006–07	7
48	Extremadura	2	83	80	20	23	37	62	117	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1996–97	1998–99	17
49	Mérida	2	81	80	19	24	37	70	115	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1995–96	1997–98	19
50	Leganés	2	78	76	20	18	38	70	106	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2016–17	2016–17	17
51	Alcoyano	4	76	108	30	16	62	145	252	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1945–46	1950–51	10
52	Jaén	3	71	90	29	13	48	121	183	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1953–54	1957–58	14
53	Real Unión	4	56	72	21	14	37	153	184	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1929	1931–32	6
54	AD Almería	2	52	68	17	18	33	71	116	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1979–80	1980–81	10
55	Girona	1	51	38	14	9	15	50	59	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2017–18	2017–18	9
56	Europa	3	42	54	18	6	30	97	131	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1929	1930–31	8
57	Lleida	2	40	68	13	14	41	70	182	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1950–51	1993–94	16
58	Xerez	1	34	38	8	10	20	38	66	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2009–10	2009–10	20
59	Condal	1	22	30	7	8	15	37	57	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1956–57	1956–57	16
60	Atlético Tetuán	1	19	30	7	5	18	51	85	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1951–52	1951–52	16
61	Cultural Leonesa	1	14	30	5	4	21	34	65	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1955–56	1955–56	15
62	Huesca	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2018–19	2018–19	–
Notes
Note: Despite finishing the season in the 13th position in the 2014-15 La Liga, on 5 June, Elche was relegated to Segunda División due to its financial struggles, Newcomers Eibar, who finished the season in the 18th position, took Elche's place in 2015–16 La Liga.

League or status for 2018–19 season

	2018–19 La Liga
	2018–19 Segunda División
	2018–19 Segunda División B
	2018–19 Tercera División
	2018–19 Divisiones Regionales
	To be determined
	No longer exists

All-time La Liga table (3 pts. since 1995)

All-time La Liga table (wins, 3 points)

Pos	Team	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	FC Barcelona	882	599	175	139	1201	1972
2	Real Madrid CF	882	561	166	155	1041	1849
3	Valencia CF	882	418	207	257	364	1461
4	Atlético de Madrid	806	385	192	229	381	1347
5	Athletic Club	882	327	242	313	-29	1223
6	Sevilla FC	768	325	177	266	130	1152
7	RCD Espanyol	882	300	237	345	-112	1137
8	Deportivo de La Coruña	806	302	227	277	12	1133
9	Real Sociedad	768	282	202	284	-1	1048
10	Villarreal CF	684	284	179	221	110	1031
11	Real Betis	730	251	206	273	-102	959
12	Celta de Vigo	654	241	168	245	-8	891
13	RCD Mallorca	608	226	151	231	-39	829
14	Málaga CF	646	208	165	273	-121	789
15	Real Zaragoza	616	191	181	244	-114	754
16	Racing de Santander	616	175	184	257	-181	709
17	CA Osasuna	570	172	153	245	-183	669
18	Real Valladolid CF	540	161	159	220	-139	642
19	Getafe CF	494	162	122	210	-104	608
20	Rayo Vallecano	426	136	83	207	-211	491
21	Levante UD	380	106	96	178	-189	414
22	Deportivo Alavés	304	105	65	134	-88	380
23	Real Sporting	350	89	79	182	-209	346
24	CD Tenerife	236	72	65	99	-68	281
25	Real Oviedo	236	66	69	101	-98	267
26	UD Almería	228	62	56	110	-123	242
27	Granada CF	228	56	51	121	-172	219
28	UD Las Palmas	190	49	44	97	-109	191
29	SD Eibar	152	49	36	67	-34	183
30	Recreativo	152	42	41	69	-67	167
31	SD Compostela	122	41	33	48	-30	156
32	CD Numancia	152	37	37	78	-98	148
33	Albacete	118	29	30	59	-57	117
34	UD Salamanca	118	27	24	67	-66	105
35	CF Extremadura	80	20	23	37	-55	83
36	CP Mérida	80	19	24	37	-45	81
37	Elche CF	76	20	21	35	-47	81
38	CD Leganés	76	20	18	38	-36	78
39	Hércules CF	80	21	13	46	-61	76
40	Real Murcia CF	76	12	20	44	-57	56
41	Girona FC	38	14	9	15	-9	51
42	Cádiz CF	38	8	12	18	-16	36
43	Xerez CD	38	8	10	20	-28	34
44	CD Logroñés	42	9	6	27	-52	33
45	Gimnàstic	38	7	7	24	-35	28
46	Córdoba CF	38	3	11	24	-46	20

Players

Eligibility of non-EU players

In La Liga, players can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry, he can claim Spanish citizenship after playing in Spain for five years. Sometimes, this can lead to a triple-citizenship situation; for example, Leo Franco, who was born in Argentina, is of Italian heritage yet can claim a Spanish passport, having played in La Liga for over five years.

In addition, players from the ACP countries — countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement — are not counted against non-EU quotas due to the Kolpak ruling.

Individual awards

Until the 2008–09 season, no official individual awards existed in La Liga. In 2008–09 season, the LFP governing body created the LFP Awards (now called La Liga Awards), awarded each season to individual players and coaches.^[34] Additional awards relating to La Liga are distributed, some not sanctioned by the LFP or RFEF and therefore not regarded as official. The most notable of these are four awarded by Spain's largest sports paper, Marca, namely the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer of the season; the Ricardo Zamora Trophy, for the goalkeeper with the fewest goals allowed per game (minimum 28 games); the Alfredo di Stéfano Trophy, for the player judged to be the best overall player in the division; and the Zarra Trophy, for the top scorer among Spanish domestic players.

Since the 2013–14 season, La Liga has also bestowed the monthly manager of the month and player of the month awards.

Transfers

The first La Liga player to be involved in a transfer which broke the world record was Luis Suárez in 1961, who moved from Barcelona to Internazionale for £152,000 (£3.1 million in 2016). Twelve years later, Johan Cruyff was the first player to join a La Liga club for a record fee, £922,000 (£10.2 million in 2016) from Ajax to Barcelona. In 1982, Barcelona again set the record by signing Diego Maradona from Boca Juniors for £5 million (£16 million in 2016).^[35] Real Betis set the world record in 1998 when they signed Denílson from São Paulo for £21.5 million (£34.7 million in 2016).^[36]

Four of the last six world transfer records have been set by Real Madrid, signing Luís Figo,^[37]Zinedine Zidane,^[38]Cristiano Ronaldo^[39] (plus a deal for Kaká days before Ronaldo^[40] which fell just below a world record due to the way the fee was calculated)^[41] and finally Gareth Bale, who was bought in 2013 for £85.3m (€103.4m or $140m at the time; £89.7m in 2016) from Tottenham Hotspur.^[42]

The Brazilian forward Neymar was the subject of an expensive and complicated transfer arrangement when he joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013,^[43][44] and his outgoing transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 set a new world record fee at €222m via his buyout clause.^[45] Barcelona soon invested a large chunk of this money in a replacement, Ousmane Dembélé, whose deal – €105m – was the second most expensive ever before Philippe Coutinho's transfer to Barcelona for €142m in 2018.^[46][47]

Player records

Most goals

As of matches played 13 January 2019

Boldface indicates a player still active in La Liga.

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Years	Goals	Apps	Ratio
1	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	2004–	400	435	0.92
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	2009–2018	311	292	1.07
3	Telmo Zarra	Athletic Bilbao	1940–1955	251	278	0.9
4	Hugo Sánchez	Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano	1981–1994	234	347	0.67
5	Raúl	Real Madrid	1994–2010	228	550	0.41
6	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid, Espanyol	1953–1966	227	329	0.69
7	César Rodríguez	Granada, Barcelona, Cultural Leonesa, Elche	1939–1955	223	353	0.63
8	Quini	Sporting Gijón, Barcelona	1970–1987	219	448	0.49
9	Pahiño	Celta, Real Madrid, Deportivo	1943–1956	210	278	0.76
10	Edmundo Suárez	Valencia, Alcoyano	1939–1950	195	231	0.84

Most appearances

As of 16 May 2016

Rank	Player	Years	Apps	Goals
1	Andoni Zubizarreta	1981–1998	622	0
2	Raúl	1994–2010	550	228
3	Eusebio Sacristán	1983–2002	543	36
4	Francisco Buyo	1980–1997	542	0
5	Manuel Sanchís	1983–2001	523	32
6	Iker Casillas	1999–2015	510	0
7	Xavi	1998–2015	505	58
8	Miquel Soler	1983–2003	504	12
9	Fernando Hierro	1987–2003	497	104
10	Joaquín Sánchez	2001–Act	488	60

Sponsors

• Banco Santander


• Nike, Inc


• El Corte Inglés


• TAG Heuer


• EA Sports


• Samsung


• Sportium


• STIHL


• Mazda


• Mahou


• Allianz


• Groupe Danone


• Marqués del Atrio


• Kalise Menorquina


• Solán de Cabras

See also

• Football records in Spain


• List of football clubs in Spain


• List of foreign La Liga players


• List of La Liga broadcasters


• List of La Liga stadiums


• List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues


• Sports broadcasting contracts in Spain

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Liga.

• 
  (in English) Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional
  


• 
  (in Spanish) Royal Spanish Football Federation