La Liga

The Primera División,[a] commonly known as La Liga[b] and as La Liga Santander for sponsorship
La Liga
reasons with Santander,[1] is the men's top professional football division of the Spanish football league
system. 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 aplay-off.
Organising body Liga de Fútbol
62 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine teams have been crowned champions, with
Profesional (LFP)
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 Founded 1929
Madrid dominated the championship in the 1950s, winning four La Liga titles each throughout the decade. Country Spain
Real Madrid dominated La Liga from the 1960s through the 1980s, when Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, and Confederation UEFA
Real Sociedad won the league twice in those years. From the 1990s onward, Barcelona has dominated La
Number of teams 20
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 Level on pyramid 1
Madrid has become an increasingly stronger team, forming a trio alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona. Relegation to Segunda División
Domestic cup(s) Copa del Rey
According to UEFA's league coefficient, La Liga has been the top league in Europe over the last five years
Supercopa de España
and has led Europe for more years (13) 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 International cup(s) UEFA Champions
have won the most UEFA Champions League (18), UEFA Europa League (11), UEFA Super Cup (15), and League
FIFA Club World Cup (6) titles, and its players have accumulated the highest number ofFIFA)
( Ballon d'Or UEFA Europa League
awards (19). Current champions Barcelona (25th title)
Most championships Real Madrid (33 titles)
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 Most appearances Andoni Zubizarreta
sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, (622)
behind the Bundesliga, and the Premier League.[2][3] Top goalscorer Lionel Messi (387
goals)
TV partners List of broadcasters
Contents Website www.laliga.es/en
Competition format 2018–19 La Liga
Promotion and relegation
Ranking of clubs on equal points
Qualifying for European competitions
History
Foundation
The 1930s: Athletic Bilbao
The 1940s: Atlético de Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona
1950s: Barcelona and Real Madrid Dominate La Liga
The 1960s–1980s: The Real Madrid years
The 1990s: Barcelona's dream team
The 2000s
The 2010s
Teams
Stadiums and locations
La Liga clubs in Europe
Champions
Performance by club
Performance comparison
All-time La Liga table
All-time La Liga table (3 pts. since 1995)
Players
Eligibility of non-EU players
Individual awards
Transfers
Player records
Most goals
Most appearances
 Sponsors
See also
Notes
References
External links

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
[hide]
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

[4]
If points are equal between two or more clubs, the rules are:

If all clubs involved have played each other twice:

If the tie is between two clubs, then the tie is broken using thegoal 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 byFair Play scales.[5] These are:

yellow card, 1 point

doubled yellow card/ejection, 2 points
direct red card, 3 points
suspension or disqualification ofcoach, executive or other club personnel (outsidereferees' 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.

Qualifying for European competitions

The top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The first, second, third and fourth placed teams directly enter the group stage of UEFA Champions
League. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, along with the cup winners. If the cup winners finish in the top six, an additional berth in the
Europa League is given to the team that finishes in seventh.
History

Foundation
In April 1927, José María Acha, a director atArenas 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 firstPrimera División in 1929. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic
Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxoand Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of theCopa del Rey.
Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up and Racing de Santander qualified through Barcelona against Schalke 04 in the
a knockout competition. Only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been 2008 UEFA Champions League
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 theSpanish Civil War.

In 1937, the teams in theRepublican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the twoMadrid clubs, competed in theMediterranean Leagueand Barcelona emerged as
champions. Seventy years later, on 28 September 2007, Barcelona requested the 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

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 Barcelona, 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, 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 fromReal Madrid.

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.
Their success in winning five different trophies in one year earned them
the name 'L’equip de les cinc Copes' or The Team of The Five Cups. In
During the 1950s, László Kubala was
the latter parts of the 1950s, coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring
a leading member of Barcelona
scoring 194 goals in 256 Luis Suárez, Barcelona won yet again their third set of back to back La
appearances. Ligas, winning them in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, FC Barcelona also won Naturalised Argentine Alfredo Di
another double of La Liga / Copa Del Rey, conquering three doubles in Stéfano was part of a dominant Real
the 1950s. Madrid side 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

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 theJohan 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.

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 secondEuropean
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 3 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.
Teams
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 theplay-offs, Valladolid.

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity

Match between Deportivo de La Coruñaand FC
Alavés Vitoria-Gasteiz Mendizorrotza 19,840[6]
Barcelona in 2016–17 season.
Athletic Bilbao Bilbao San Mamés 53,289[7]

Atlético Madrid Madrid Wanda Metropolitano 67,703[8]

Barcelona Barcelona Camp Nou 99,354[9]

Eibar
Celta Vigo Vigo Balaídos 29,000[10] Athletic Bilbao Real Sociedad

Alavés
Eibar Eibar Ipurua 7,083[11]
Celta Vigo Huesca
Espanyol Barcelona RCDE Stadium 40,500[12] Girona

Getafe Getafe Coliseum Alfonso Pérez 17,393[13] Valladolid Espanyol Barcelona

Girona Girona Montilivi 13,500[14]

Huesca Huesca El Alcoraz 5,500[15] Community of

Villarreal
Madrid
Leganés Leganés Butarque 11,454[16] Levante Valencia

Levante Valencia Ciutat de València 26,354[17]

Rayo Vallecano Madrid Vallecas 14,708

Real Betis Seville Benito Villamarín 60,720[18]

Real Betis Sevilla
Real Madrid Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 81,044[19]
Community of
Madrid teams:
Real Sociedad San Sebastián Anoeta 25,000[20] Atlético Madrid
Getafe
Sevilla Seville Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 42,500[21] Leganés
Rayo Vallecano
Valencia Valencia Mestalla 55,000[22] Real Madrid

Valladolid Valladolid José Zorrilla 26,512[23]

Location of teams in 2018–19 La Liga
Villarreal Villarreal Estadio de la Cerámica 23,500[24]

Real Madrid
Atlético Madrid
Rayo Vallecano
Getafe
Leganés

Location of Madrid teams in2018–19 La

Liga

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.[25]

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies. 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.[26]
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
Real Madrid against Borussia
Dortmund in the UEFA Champions
League in 2013

Performance by individual clubs inPrimera División

[hide]
Runners-
Teams Winners Winning seasons
up
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,
Real Madrid 33 23
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
1929, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74, 1984–85,
Barcelona 25 25 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
1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1995–96, 2013–
Atlético Madrid 10 10
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
1 5 1999–00
Coruña
Sevilla 1 4 1945–46
Real Betis 1 0 1934–35

Performance comparison
Performance comparison of top teams since 2000.

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

All-time La Liga table

The All-time La Liga table[27] 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 the2017–18 season.[28] Teams in bold are part of the 2018–19 La Liga.
 All-time La Liga table
[hide]
Since/
Pos Team S Pts GP W D L GF GA 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th T Debut Last Best
App
1 Real Madrid 86 4461 2800 1669 562 569 6041 3184 33 23 9 8 3 4 80 1929 1929 1
2 Barcelona 86 4399 2800 1609 582 609 6002 3143 25 25 12 12 4 6 84 1929 1929 1
Atlético 2002–
3 81 3521 2652 1264 608 780 4592 3331 10 10 16 9 7 6 57 1929 1
Madrid 03
1931– 1987–
4 Valencia 83 3459 2702 1209 623 870 4463 3507 6 6 10 12 10 7 51 1
32 88
Athletic
5 86 3411 2800 1219 646 935 4672 3749 8 7 10 5 8 10 49 1929 1929 1
Bilbao
1934– 2001–
6 Sevilla 74 2877 2446 1007 538 901 3729 3431 1 4 4 5 12 6 32 1
35 02
1994–
7 Espanyol 83 2841 2664 960 621 1083 3645 3926 – – 4 5 2 5 16 1929 3
95
Real 2010–
8 71 2622 2340 878 584 878 3294 3289 2 3 2 5 4 3 19 1929 1
Sociedad 11
1939– 2012–
9 Zaragoza 58 2109 1986 698 522 766 2683 2847 – 1 4 5 4 4 18 2
40 13
1932– 2015–
10 Real Betis 52 1945 1766 624 446 696 2222 2552 1 – 2 3 4 5 15 1
33 16
Deportivo La 1941– 2017–
11 46 1843 1568 569 403 596 2090 2269 1 5 4 1 – 1 12 1
Coruña 42 18
1939– 2012–
12 Celta Vigo 52 1838 1736 599 399 738 2337 2685 – – – 2 4 5 11 4
40 13
1948– 2018–
13 Valladolid 42 1471 1466 463 384 619 1767 2180 – – – 1 1 1 3 4
49 19
Racing 2011–
14 44 1416 1428 453 336 639 1843 2368 – 1 1 2 – 1 5 1929 2
Santander 12
Sporting 1944– 2016–
15 43 1389 1458 471 358 629 1753 2152 – 1 1 2 2 1 7 2
Gijón 45 17
1935– 2016–
16 Osasuna 37 1351 1318 426 327 565 1497 1833 – – – 2 2 2 6 4
36 17
1949– 2017–
17 Málaga 37 1334 1293 395 335 563 1445 1824 – – – 1 – 1 2 4
50 18
1933– 2000–
18 Oviedo 38 1174 1192 408 292 492 1642 1951 – – 3 2 2 4 11 3
34 01
1960– 2012–
19 Mallorca 27 1148 988 333 256 399 1182 1371 – – 2 – 2 1 5 3
61 13
1951– 2017–
20 Las Palmas 34 1042 1134 372 249 513 1371 1820 – 1 1 1 1 1 5 2
52 18
1998– 2013–
21 Villarreal 18 1031 684 284 179 221 949 839 – 1 1 2 4 2 10 2
99 14
1941– 2016–
22 Granada 23 667 742 218 175 349 819 1158 – – – – – 2 2 6
42 17
Rayo 1977– 2018–
23 17 662 652 189 148 305 760 1088 – – – – – – – 8
Vallecano 78 19
2004– 2017–
24 Getafe 13 608 494 162 122 210 562 662 – – – – – 1 1 6
05 18
1959– 2014–
25 Elche 21 606 678 203 180 295 750 1022 – – – – 1 1 2 5
60 15
1935– 2010–
26 Hércules 20 538 628 184 149 295 716 1050 – – – – 1 4 5 5
36 11
1961– 2009–
27 Tenerife 13 510 494 155 128 211 619 744 – – – – 2 – 2 5
62 10
1930– 2016–
28 Alavés 13 468 418 140 83 195 498 673 – – – – – 1 1 6
31 17
1963– 2017–
29 Levante 12 462 440 124 108 208 474 690 – – – – – 1 1 6
64 18
1940– 2007–
30 Murcia 18 445 586 145 143 298 607 992 – – – – – – – 11
41 08
31 Salamanca 12 375 423 123 102 198 422 581 – – – – – – – 1974– 1998– 7
 75 99
1943– 1987–
32 Sabadell 14 353 426 129 95 202 492 720 – – – 1 1 – 2 4
44 88
1977– 2005–
33 Cádiz 12 343 448 104 127 217 393 662 – – – – – – – 12
78 06
1987– 1996–
34 Logroñés 9 293 346 96 92 158 291 489 – – – – – – – 7
88 97
1941– 1990–
35 Castellón 11 285 334 103 79 152 419 588 – – – 1 2 – 3 4
42 91
1991– 2004–
36 Albacete 7 277 270 76 76 118 320 410 – – – – – – – 7
92 05
2007– 2014–
37 Almería 6 242 228 62 56 110 244 366 – – – – – – – 8
08 15
1962– 2014–
38 Córdoba 9 230 282 82 63 137 285 430 – – – – 1 – 1 5
63 15
1994– 1997–
39 Compostela 4 190 160 52 45 63 199 241 – – – – – – – 10
95 98
1978– 2008–
40 Recreativo 5 188 186 50 46 90 202 296 – – – – – – – 8
79 09
2014– 2014–
41 Eibar 4 183 152 49 36 67 183 217 – – – – – – – 9[29]
15 15
1971– 1979–
42 Burgos CF 6 168 204 59 50 95 216 310 – – – – – – – 12
72 80
1963– 1969–
43 Pontevedra 6 150 180 53 44 83 165 221 – – – – – – – 7
64 70
1999– 2008–
44 Numancia 4 148 152 37 37 78 155 253 – – – – – – – 17
00 09
1934–
45 Arenas 7 107 130 43 21 66 227 308 – – 1 – 3 – 4 1929 3
35
1990– 1992–
46 Real Burgos 3 96 114 26 44 44 101 139 – – – – – – – 9
91 93
1947– 2006–
47 Gimnàstic 4 91 116 34 16 66 181 295 – – – – – – – 7
48 07
1996– 1998–
48 Extremadura 2 83 80 20 23 37 62 117 – – – – – – – 17
97 99
1995– 1997–
49 Mérida 2 81 80 19 24 37 70 115 – – – – – – – 19
96 98
2016– 2016–
50 Leganés 2 78 76 20 18 38 70 106 – – – – – – – 17
17 17
1945– 1950–
51 Alcoyano 4 76 108 30 16 62 145 252 – – – – – – – 10
46 51
1953– 1957–
52 Jaén 3 71 90 29 13 48 121 183 – – – – – – – 14
54 58
1931–
53 Real Unión 4 56 72 21 14 37 153 184 – – – – – 1 1 1929 6
32
1979– 1980–
54 AD Almería 2 52 68 17 18 33 71 116 – – – – – – – 10
80 81
2017– 2017–
55 Girona 1 51 38 14 9 15 50 59 – – – – – – – 9
18 18
1930–
56 Europa 3 42 54 18 6 30 97 131 – – – – – – – 1929 8
31
1950– 1993–
57 Lleida 2 40 68 13 14 41 70 182 – – – – – – – 16
51 94
2009– 2009–
58 Xerez 1 34 38 8 10 20 38 66 – – – – – – – 20
10 10
1956– 1956–
59 Condal 1 22 30 7 8 15 37 57 – – – – – – – 16
57 57
Atlético 1951– 1951–
60 1 19 30 7 5 18 51 85 – – – – – – – 16
Tetuán 52 52
Cultural 1955– 1955–
61 1 14 30 5 4 21 34 65 – – – – – – – 15
Leonesa 56 56
2018– 2018–
62 Huesca – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
19 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

[hide]

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)
[hide]
Pos Team GP W D L GD Pts
1 FC Barcelona 882 599 175 139 1.201 1.972
2 Real Madrid CF 882 561 166 155 1.041 1.849
3 Valencia CF 882 418 207 257 364 1.461
4 Atlético de Madrid 806 385 192 229 381 1.347
5 Athletic Club 882 327 242 313 -29 1.223
6 Sevilla FC 768 325 177 266 130 1.152
7 RCD Espanyol 882 300 237 345 -112 1.137
8 Deportivo de La Coruña 806 302 227 277 12 1.133
9 Real Sociedad 768 282 202 284 -1 1.048
10 Villarreal CF 684 284 179 221 110 1.031
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 R. 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 theKolpak ruling.

Individual awards
Until the season 2008–09, no official awards for individuals in La Liga existed. Following the 2008–09 season, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) governing body
sanctioned LFP Awards to player individuals. Additional awards relating to La Liga are distributed, some are sanctioned by the LFP or the Royal Spanish Football
Federation (RFEF) and therefore not regarded as official.

The most notable of these are four awarded by Spain's biggest sports paper, Marca, namely the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer of the season; the Ricardo
Zamora Trophy for the goalkeeper with the least "goals-to-games" ratio; the Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano, for the player judged to be the best overall player in the division;
and the Zarra Trophy, awarded to the Spanish domestic player with the highest goal total in La Liga.

Since the 2013–14 season, La Liga also awards the monthlymanager 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.
Twelve years later, Johan Cruyff was the first player to join a La Liga club for a record fee, £922,000 from Ajax to Barcelona. In 1982, Barcelona again set the record by
signing Diego Maradona from Boca Juniors for £5 million.[30] Real Betis set the world record in 1998 when they signedDenílson from São Paulo for £21.5 million.[31]

Four of the last six world transfer records (in euro) have been set by Real Madrid, signing Luís Figo,[32] Zinedine Zidane,[33] Cristiano Ronaldo[34] (plus a deal for Kaká
days before Ronaldo[35] which fell just below a world record due to the way the fee was calculated)[36] and finally Gareth Bale, who was bought for £85.3 million
(€103.4 million / $140 million) fromTottenham Hotspur in 2013.[37]

The Brazilian forward Neymar was the subject of an expensive and complicated transfer arrangement when he joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013,[38][39] and his
outgoing transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 set a new world record fee at €222m (via his 'buyout clause').[40] Barcelona soon invested a large chunk of this money
in a replacement, Ousmane Dembélé, whose deal – €105m – was the second most expensive ever beforePhilippe Coutinho's transfer to Barcelona for €142m.[41] [42]

Player records

Most goals

As of matches played 29 April 2018

Rank Nat Name Club Years Goals Apps Ratio

1 Lionel Messi Barcelona 2004– 387 421 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 Nat Name 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 José Mari Bakero 1980–1997 483 139

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
a. Spanish: [pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon]; "First Division"
b. /læ ˈliːɡə/, Spanish: [la ˈliɣa]; "The League"

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