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 at the end of each season relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division.

Real Madrid's woes sunk to a new level in La Liga on Saturday after Los Blancos were defeated 2-1 by Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu. Two goals for the visitors in the opening 13 minutes saw. The 2017–18 La Liga season, also known as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 87th since its establishment. The season began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018. [4] The fixtures were released on 21 July 2017.

A total of 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 26 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 16 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.

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 (22) than any other country. It has also produced the continent's top-rated club more times (22) 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]

• 1Competition format
  • 1.3Qualification for European competitions
• 2History
• 3Clubs
• 5Champions
• 7All-time La Liga table
• 8Players
• 9Player records

Competition format[edit]

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[edit]

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;

Ranking of clubs on equal points[edit]

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[edit]

Current Criteria[edit]

The top four 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.

History[edit]

Foundation[edit]

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[edit]

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, Valencia and Barcelona[edit]

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.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Spain, FC Barcelona began to emerge as a force under the legendary Josep Samitier. A Spanish footballer for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, Samitier cemented his legacy with Barcelona. During his playing career with them, he scored 333 goals, won the inaugural La Liga title and five Copa Del Rey. In 1944, Samitier returned to Barcelona as a coach and guided them in winning their second La Liga title in 1945. Under Samitier and legendary players Cesar Rodriguez, Josep Escola, Estanislau Basora and Mariano Gonzalvo, Barcelona dominated La Liga in the late 1940s,^[10] winning back to back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949. The 1940s proved to be a successful season for Barcelona, winning three La Liga titles and one Copa Del Rey, but the 1950s proved to be a decade of dominance, not just from Barcelona, but from Real Madrid.

1950s: Real Madrid Dominate La Liga[edit]

La Liga 13 9 Cigar

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. Their success in winning five different trophies in one year earned them the name 'L’equip de les cinc Copes'^[11] or The Team of The Five Cups. In the latter parts of the 1950s, coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez, Barcelona won yet again their third set of back to back La Ligas, winning them in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, FC Barcelona also won another double of La Liga / Copa Del Rey, conquering three doubles in the 1950s.

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[edit]

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 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 there were 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 La Quinta del Buitre – Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.^{[citation needed]}

The 1990s: Barcelona's Dream Team[edit]

Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary Dream Team.^[12] When Cruyff took hold of this Barcelona side they had won only two La Liga titles 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 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 protégé 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 the La Liga title in 1998 and 1999, included their fourth double of Liga and the Copa Del Rey in 1998. All in all, Barcelona won six La Liga titles in the 1990's and continued their success through the 2000s.

New winners and Real Madrid/Barcelona dominance (2000s–present)[edit]

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 five 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 Leagues 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 2009, 2010 and 2011. 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 4 La Liga titles and 2 Champions League.

In the 2011–12 season, Real Madrid won its 32nd title under the management of José Mourinho with records at the time of 100 points, 118 goals scored, and overall (32) and away (16) wins in a La Liga season. A year later in the 2012-2013 season, 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 trio of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez nicknamed 'MSN', Barcelona made history by becoming the first team to achieve a second treble. MSN hit a record-breaking 122 goals,^[13] eclipsing the 118 goals scored by Madrid in the 2011–12 season. Barcelona continued their 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,^[14] for a total of 7 La Liga titles in 10 years. Barcelona retained the title yet again and won their 26th La Liga title in the 2018-2019 season, for a total of 8 La liga titles in 11 years.

Clubs[edit]

20 teams contest the league in its current season, including the top 17 sides from the 2018–19 season and three promoted from the 2018–19 Segunda División. The promoted clubs include Osasuna and Granada, promoted directly from the second division, and the winner of the promotion play-off, Mallorca.

Stadiums and locations[edit]

La Liga clubs in Europe[edit]

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.^[35]

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 Atlético Madrid — with five Champions League appearances in a row, including a semifinal appearance in 2003–04.^[36]

In 2005–06, Barcelona won the Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup, making La Liga the first league to do the European 'double' since 1997. This feat was repeated in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018. On 25 August 2015, La Liga became the first league to qualify five teams for the UEFA Champions League group stage (Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia).

Champions[edit]

Performance by club[edit]

Performance comparison this century[edit]

Performance comparison of top teams since 2000.

All-time La Liga table[edit]

The all-time La Liga table^[37] 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 2018–19 season.^[38] Teams in bold are part of the 2019–20 La Liga.

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

Players[edit]

Eligibility of non-EU players[edit]

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[edit]

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.^[40] 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[edit]

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 (£3.3 million in 2018). Twelve years later, Johan Cruyff was the first player to join a La Liga club for a record fee, £922,000 (£11 million in 2018) from Ajax to Barcelona. In 1982, Barcelona again set the record by signing Diego Maradona from Boca Juniors for £5 million (£17 million in 2018).^[41] Real Betis set the world record in 1998 when they signed Denílson from São Paulo for £21.5 million (£37.2 million in 2018).^[42]

Four of the last six world transfer records have been set by Real Madrid, signing Luís Figo,^[43]Zinedine Zidane,^[44]Cristiano Ronaldo^[45] (plus a deal for Kaká days before Ronaldo^[46] which fell just below a world record due to the way the fee was calculated)^[47] and finally Gareth Bale, who was bought in 2013 for £85.3m (€103.4m or $140m at the time; £96m in 2018) from Tottenham Hotspur.^[48]

La Liga 133 Tabla

The Brazilian forward Neymar was the subject of an expensive and complicated transfer arrangement when he joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013,^[49][50] and his outgoing transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 set a new world record fee at €222m via his buyout clause.^[51] Barcelona soon invested a large amount of the money received from this transfer in a replacement, Ousmane Dembélé, whose deal – €105m – was the second most expensive ever before Philippe Coutinho's transfer to Barcelona for €142m in January 2018.^[52][53]

Player records[edit]

Most goals[edit]

As of matches played 20 May 2019

Boldface indicates a player still active in La Liga.

Most appearances[edit]

As of 21 May 2019

Sponsors[edit]

• LiveScore
• Sportium
• Marqués del Atrio

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Spanish: [kampeoˈnato naθjoˈnal de ˈliɣa ðe pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon]; 'First Division National League Championship'
2. ^English: /læˈliːɡə/,^[1]Spanish: [la ˈliɣa]; 'The League'

References[edit]

1. ^'La Liga'. Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
2. ^'LaLiga and Santander strike title sponsorship deal'. LaLiga. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
3. ^'Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División' (in Spanish). RFEF. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
4. ^'Attendances in India, China and the USA catching up with the major European leagues'. World Soccer. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
5. ^'European football statistics'. 2008.
6. ^'Reglamento General de la RFEF 2010 (Artículo 201.2) (page 138)'(PDF) (in Spanish). RFEF. 7 June 2010. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
7. ^'Criterios de puntuación del juego limpio' (in Spanish). RFEF. 30 October 1998. Archived from the original on 7 April 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
8. ^'Premier League clubs' UEFA qualification explained'. Premier League. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
9. ^'Country Coefficients 2018/19'. UEFA.com.
10. ^'1939-50. Years of perseverance'. www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
11. ^'El 'Barça de les Cinc Copes' rompió con la furia española'. La Vanguardia. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
12. ^'1988-1996. The era of the 'Dream Team''. www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
13. ^Hayward, Ben. '131 to beat - Messi, Suarez & Neymar on target for more goals than ever in third season together | Goal.com'. www.goal.com. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
14. ^'LaLiga - Barcelona: Unbeatable champions: Barcelona win LaLiga with their eighth double'. MARCA in English. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
15. ^'Mendizorroza' (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
16. ^'The Stadium'. Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
17. ^'Wanda Metropolitano'. Atlético Madrid. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
18. ^'Facilities - Camp Nou'. FC Barcelona. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
19. ^'Facilities'. Celta Vigo. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
20. ^'Ipurua Stadium'. SD Eibar. 1 July 2019.
21. ^'Facilities - RCDE Stadium'. RCD Espanyol. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
22. ^'Datos Generales' (in Spanish). Getafe CF. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
23. ^'Datos del Club' (in Spanish). Granada CF. 1 July 2019.
24. ^'Facilities - Butarque'. CD Leganés. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
25. ^'Así luce actualmente el estadio Ciutat de València' (in Spanish). Levante UD. 1 July 2019.
26. ^'Son Moix Stadium'. RCD Mallorca. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
27. ^'Instalaciones - Estadio El Sadar' (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
28. ^'Benito Villamarín Stadium'. Real Betis. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
29. ^'Santiago Bernabéu Stadium'. Real Madrid CF. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
30. ^'Facilities - Anoeta'. Real Sociedad. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
31. ^'RAMÓN SÁNCHEZ-PIZJUÁN STADIUM'. Sevilla FC. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
32. ^'Facilities - Mestalla'. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
33. ^'Estadio José Zorrilla' (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
34. ^'Estadio de la Cerámica' (in Spanish). Estadio de la Cerámica. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
35. ^'UEFA ranking of European leagues'. Bert Kassies. November 2017.
36. ^'UEFA club competitions press kit (.PDF archive, page 23)'(PDF). UEFA Official Website. Retrieved 25 August 2006.
37. ^'Clasificación Histórica Liga BBVA'. LFP. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
38. ^All Time Table of Spanish team in La Liga Rsssf.com
39. ^'Official statement'. LaLiga.es. 2015.
40. ^'La Liga cancels 2016-17 award ceremony'. ESPN.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
41. ^'Gareth Bale: The history of the world transfer record'. BBC Sport. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
42. ^'World Cup winner Denilson on trial at Bolton Wanderers'. Daily Mail. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
43. ^Nash, Elizabeth (25 July 2000). 'Figo defects to Real Madrid for record £36.2m'. The Independent. London. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
44. ^'Zidane al Real'. Juventus F.C. (in Italian). 9 July 2001. Archived from the original on 6 August 2001. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
45. ^Ogden, Mark (11 June 2009). 'Cristiano Ronaldo transfer: Real Madrid agree £80 million fee with Manchester United'. The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
46. ^Wilson, Jeremy (7 June 2009). 'Real Madrid to confirm world record £56m signing of Kaka'. The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
47. ^'Kaka completes Real Madrid switch'. BBC. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
48. ^'Gareth Bale contract leak sparks panic at Real Madrid - and agent's fury'. The Telegraph (21 January 2016). 21 January 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
49. ^'Barcelona: Neymar deal has damaged brand of La Liga club'. BBC Sport. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
50. ^'Barcelona reveal details of deal to sign Brazil star Neymar'. Sky Sports. 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
51. ^'Neymar: Paris St-Germain sign Barcelona forward for world record 222m euros'. BBC. The British Broadcasting Corporation. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
52. ^'Barcelona signs Ousmane Dembele, its Neymar replacement in more ways than one'. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
53. ^Sport, Telegraph (8 January 2018). 'Philippe Coutinho's Barcelona debut delayed by 20 days because of injury as he completes £142m move' – via www.telegraph.co.uk.

External links[edit]

• (in English)Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional
• (in Spanish)Royal Spanish Football Federation

The 2018–19 La Liga season, also known as La Liga Santander for sponsorship reasons,^[2] was the 88th since its establishment. The season began on 17 August 2018 and finished on 26 May 2019.^[3] Fixtures for the 2018–19 season were announced on 24 July 2018.^[4] This was the first La Liga season using VAR.^[5]

Barcelona were the defending champions after winning La Liga last season for the 25th time. Huesca, Rayo Vallecano and Valladolid join as the promoted clubs from the 2017–18 Segunda División. They replaced Málaga, Las Palmas and Deportivo La Coruña who were relegated to the 2018–19 Segunda División. Barcelona were crowned as league winners for the second season in a row on the 28 April, after defeating Levante 1–0 with 3 games to spare.^[6]

• 2Teams
• 3League table
• 4Season statistics
  • 4.6Discipline^[92]
• 6LFP Awards

Summary[edit]

Several clubs made managerial changes before the start of the season. Among them were Real Madrid, when Zinedine Zidane resigned following the club's third consecutive UEFA Champions League victory. He was replaced by Julen Lopetegui, who was managing the Spanish national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at the time of announcement and was dismissed from that job as a result.^[7] Other incomers included Pablo Machín at Sevilla, who was hired after his success with newly promoted Girona the previous season.^[8]

In the transfer window, the biggest deal saw Real Madrid lose Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for a fee of €112 million; the Portuguese forward had scored 450 goals in 438 games during his nine years in the Spanish capital.^[9] Real Madrid's additions included Belgium international goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for €35 million from Chelsea, and striker Mariano returned to the club from Lyon for €22 million.^[10][11] Defending champions Barcelona added Clément Lenglet to their defence, Arturo Vidal to midfield, and spent over €40 million on Brazilian forward Malcom.^[12] Players exiting Barcelona included Andrés Iniesta at the end of a successful 16-year-spell, as he signed for Vissel Kobe in Japan.^[13]

Veterans Gabi and Fernando Torres also left Atlético Madrid for new teams in Asia,^[14] while the same club welcomed in the likes of World Cup-winning French midfielder Thomas Lemar and Portugal's Gelson Martins.^[15] After a successful previous season, in which the team finished fourth and returned to the Champions League, Valencia made permanent the loan signing of Portuguese winger Gonçalo Guedes from Paris Saint-Germain. Forward Simone Zaza and midfielder João Cancelo both left to Italy, while Kevin Gameiro and Geoffrey Kondogbia arrived as replacements.^[16]Athletic Bilbao sold Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelsea for €80 million, a world record fee for a goalkeeper.^[17]

The tenth round of matches featured the first El Clásico of the season, which Barcelona won 5–1 at home against Real Madrid with a hat-trick by Luis Suárez. The result put Madrid into 9th place,^[18] and led to the dismissal of Lopetegui after only five months.^[19] Other early pace-setters included Sevilla with their prolific strike partnership of André Silva and Wissam Ben Yedder,^[20]Alavés who were briefly league leaders in mid-October,^[21]Espanyol, and Valladolid who had been taken over by former Brazil international Ronaldo.^[22]

Teams[edit]

Promotion and relegation (pre-season)[edit]

A total of 20 teams will contest the league, including 17 sides from the 2017–18 season and three promoted from the 2017–18 Segunda División. This will include the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the winners of the play-offs.

Teams relegated to Segunda Division

The first team to be relegated from La Liga were Málaga. Their relegation was ensured on 19 April 2018, following a late 0−1 defeat to Levante, ending their 10-year spell in the top division.^[23]

The second team to be relegated were Las Palmas, after a 0−4 home defeat to Deportivo Alavés on 22 April 2018, ending their three-year spell in the league.^[24]

The last team to be relegated were Deportivo La Coruña, following a 2−4 home loss to Barcelona on 29 April 2018. This result ensured Deportivo's third relegation in seven years, and also handed Barcelona their 25th La Liga title.^[25]

Teams promoted from Segunda Division

On 21 May 2018, Huesca were promoted to La Liga for the first time ever by winning 2–0 at Lugo.

Rayo Vallecano was the second team to earn promotion to La Liga on 27 May 2018 by winning against Lugo as well, this time 1–0. Rayo returns after a two-year absence.

Real Valladolid was the last team to be promoted after beating Sporting Gijón and Numancia in the play-offs. Valladolid returned to top division after 4 years.

This was the first season since the 2014–15 season without any teams from the archipelagos of Spain (teams located on the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands) since Las Palmas was relegated and Tenerife failed to qualify for the promotion play-offs.

Stadia and locations[edit]

Celta signed a sponsorship contract with Abanca to rename their stadium as Abanca-Balaídos.^[26]

Matches outside Spain[edit]

On 16 August 2018, La Liga signed a 15-year agreement with Relevent Sports (owners of the International Champions Cup) to schedule one match per season within the United States. This would mark the first time ever that an official La Liga league match would be held there.^[47][48] The match between Girona and Barcelona, to be played on 27 January 2019, was selected to be played in Miami, but it required the approval of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.^[49] On 21 September 2018, the Spanish Football Federation denied approval of the match being held in Miami.^[50] On 26 October 2018, following a request for guidance from the Spanish Football Federation, US Soccer and CONCACAF, the FIFA Council discussed La Liga’s proposal. At the end of the meeting, the FIFA Council stated that 'Consistent with the opinion expressed by the Football Stakeholders Committee, the Council emphasised the sporting principle that official league matches must be played within the territory of the respective member association'.^[51] On 13 December 2018, Barcelona left their disposition to play the match in Miami without effect.^[52]

Personnel and sponsorship[edit]

1. ^On the back of shirt.

2. ^On the sleeves.

3. ^On the shorts.

4. ^On the away jersey.

1. ^Captain Alexander Szymanowski was on a recovery from Pubitis injury effectively making Bustinza captain for the remainder of the season.

Managerial changes[edit]

League table[edit]

Standings[edit]

1. ^ ^abGetafe finished ahead of Sevilla on head-to-head points: Sevilla 0–2 Getafe, Getafe 3–0 Sevilla.
2. ^ ^abSince the winners of the 2018–19 Copa del Rey, Valencia, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners (Europa League group stage) was passed to the sixth-placed team and the spot awarded to the sixth-placed team (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the seventh-placed team.
3. ^ ^abEspanyol finished ahead of Athletic Bilbao on head-to-head points: Espanyol 1–0 Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Bilbao 1–1 Espanyol.
4. ^ ^abcReal Sociedad finished ahead of Real Betis and Alavés on head-to-head points: Real Sociedad 6, Real Betis 5, Alavés 5. Real Betis finished ahead of Alavés on goal difference: Real Betis –8, Alavés –11.
5. ^ ^abVillarreal finished ahead of Levante on head-to-head points: Villarreal 1–1 Levante, Levante 0–2 Villarreal.
6. ^ ^abValladolid finished ahead of Celta Vigo on head-to-head points: Celta Vigo 3–3 Valladolid, Valladolid 2–1 Celta Vigo.

La Liga 13 99 00 Table

Positions by round[edit]

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches.
In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Results[edit]

Season statistics[edit]

Scoring[edit]

• First goal of the season:
  Roger Martí for Levante against Real Betis (17 August 2018)^[86]
• Last goal of the season:
  Pablo de Blasis for Eibar against Barcelona (19 May 2019)^[87]

Top goalscorers^[88][edit]

Top assists^[89][edit]

Zamora Trophy^[90][edit]

The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper has to have played at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.^[91]

Hat-tricks[edit]

Note

(H) – Home ; (A) – Away

Discipline^[92][edit]

Player[edit]

• Most yellow cards: 17
  • Álvaro (Villarreal)
  • Éver Banega (Sevilla)
  • Mario Gaspar (Villarreal)
• Most red cards: 2
  • Luis Advíncula (Rayo Vallecano)
  • Álvaro (Villarreal)
  • Abdoulaye Ba (Rayo Vallecano)
  • Éver Banega (Sevilla)
  • Erick Cabaco (Levante)
  • Gustavo Cabral (Celta Vigo)
  • Djené Dakonam (Getafe)
  • Óscar de Marcos (Athletic Bilbao)
  • Bernardo Espinosa (Girona)
  • Jorge Pulido (Huesca)
  • Rubén Rochina (Levante)

Team[edit]

La Liga 13 9 2016

• Most yellow cards: 121
  • Athletic Bilbao
• Most red cards: 8
  • Rayo Vallecano
• Fewest yellow cards: 77
  • Barcelona
• Fewest red cards: 0
  • Valladolid

Average attendances[edit]

Source: World Football
Notes:
1: Team played last season in Segunda División.

LFP Awards[edit]

Monthly[edit]

Number of teams by autonomous community[edit]

Source:^[101]

References[edit]

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