Another name of the league, "Primera División", is generally used for the 1st Division, which is the highest level league, but covers all leagues. The two top-level leagues, Primera División (1st Division) and "Segunda División" (2nd Division) consist of professional teams, while the other leagues are amateur.
Youth teams of various clubs can also play in the league. In the league, which was first organized with the 1929 season and Barcelona won the first season, 9 different teams managed to become champions, especially after the 1950s.
The most successful team of La Liga, which became famous for the Spanish-Catalan struggle between Real Madrid and Barcelona, is Real Madrid, which has won the championship 36 times. Real Madrid is followed by Barcelona with 29 championships and Atlético Madrid with 11 championships.
While the teams in the last three places in the league are relegated to the lower league, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao have never been relegated since the league was established.
In the 2025-26 season, which is the last completed season of the league, the team that won the championship was Barcelona.
Competition Format
La Liga is the usual double-round competition format. During a season lasting from August to May, each club plays 38 matches against other clubs, one at home and the other away, with three points awarded for each win, one point for a draw, while no points are awarded for defeats. Clubs are ranked according to the points they have collected throughout the season and the club with the highest rank becomes the champion.
Fall and rise
There is a system of relegation and promotion between the Primera División and Segunda División. The three lowest-placed clubs in La Liga are relegated to the Segunda División. In Segunda División, the clubs that finish the season in the top 2 places are promoted to La Liga, while one more club is entitled to be promoted to La Liga after the play-off matches played between the clubs that finish the season third, fourth, fifth and sixth.
Tie breaking rules
When points are tied between two or more clubs the rules are as follows:
- Where the clubs involved play each other twice:
- If there is a draw in the matches played between two clubs, the draw is broken by looking at the goal difference between these two clubs.
- In case of a draw between more than two clubs, the tie is broken by taking into account the points collected by these clubs in the matches they played against each other and the goal difference.
- If two-legged matches are not played between the clubs involved or if a tie cannot be broken within the framework of the above rules:
- The total goal difference of the clubs or the total number of goals scored is taken into consideration.
- If the tie is still not broken, the points collected according to fair-play rules are taken into account and the team with fewer points becomes the champion. These criteria are given below:
- Yellow card = 1 point
- Double yellow card / dismissal = 2 points
- Direct red card = 3 points
- Suspension or disqualification of a coach, manager or any club staff other than the referee's decision = 5 points
- Negative behavior of fans = 5 points if mild, 6 points if serious, 7 points if very serious
- Stadium closure = 10 penalty points.
- If the Arbitration Board revokes a penalty, the penalty point is also removed.
- If the tie is still not broken despite all this, the champion will be determined in a match to be played in a neutral stadium.
Right to Participate in European Cups
Current criteria
The teams that finish in the top four places in La Liga qualify directly for next season's UEFA Champions League group stages. Since the winners of the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Champions League also qualify directly for next season's UEFA Champions League group stages, if this means that six La Liga teams qualify for the UEFA Champions League, the team that finishes fourth in the league will play in the UEFA Europa League, as each country can participate with a maximum of five teams.
The team that finishes fifth in La Liga and the winner of the Copa Del Rey will directly qualify for next season's UEFA Europa League group stage. However, if the team that wins the Copa Del Rey is also the team that finishes fifth in La Liga, the team that finishes sixth in La Liga also qualifies for the UEFA Europa League group stage.
The team that finishes sixth in La Liga, or seventh because the winner of the Copa Del Rey is sixth, qualifies for the UEFA Conference League play-off round.
The quota given to Spanish teams in UEFA tournaments depends on the country's rank in the UEFA country coefficients, which are calculated according to the performances of the countries' teams in UEFA tournaments in the previous five years.
History
Establishment
In April 1928, José María Acha, a manager of Arenas de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate over the size of the league and who would participate, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol eventually accepted ten teams that would form the first Primera División in 1929.
Arenas, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Real Unión were named as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as finalists for the Copa del Rey, and Racing de Santander qualified through a qualifying competition. Only three of the founding clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Club) have never been relegated from the Primera División.
1930s: Athletic Bilbao Domination
Barcelona won its first La Liga in 1929 and Ricardo Zamora's Real Madrid won its first titles in 1932 and 1933; However, the team that set the pace early on was Athletic Bilbao, who won La Liga in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936 (in addition to four Copa trophies). They also achieved the biggest win in La Liga history by beating Barcelona 12-1.
This team, coached by Fred Pentland, is known as the "First historic squad", known for its attacking partnership with Bata, Guillermo Gorostiza, José Iraragorri, Chirri II and Lafuente. In 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won its only championship to date. During the Spanish Civil War, the Primera División was suspended.
In 1937, teams from the Republican region of Spain, with the exception of two of the Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League, with Barcelona emerging as champions. Seventy years later, on 28 September 2007, Barcelona requested the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to recognize the title as a Liga championship.
This action was taken after the RFEF was asked to recognize Levante's Copa de la España Libre victory as the equivalent of the Copa del Rey trophy. However, Spanish football's governing body has yet to make a final decision.
1940s: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia emerge
When the Primera División resumed after the Spanish Civil War, Atlético Aviación (now Atlético Madrid), Valencia and Barcelona emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético were only given a place in the 1939–40 season because Real Oviedo's ground had been damaged during the war. The club then won its first Liga title and retained it in 1941.
While other clubs lost players due to exile, execution and casualties of war, the Atlético team was strengthened by a merger. Valencia's young, pre-war squad also remained intact and matured into champions in the post-war years, winning three Liga titles in 1942, 1944 and 1947. They also came second in 1948 and 1949.
Athletic Bilbao was one of the clubs most affected by the war, as most of its players (those sympathizing with the Republican faction) went into exile in Latin America and very few returned. However, thanks to the search for young talents, they managed to form the well-known "Second historic squad", consisting of Rafael Iriondo, Venancio Pérez, José Luis Panizo, Agustín Gaínza and legendary striker Telmo Zarra (the top-scoring Spaniard in the history of La Liga, among other records).
They won a La Liga and Copa del Generalísimo double in 1943 and won the cup again in 1944, 1945 and 1950, as well as a Copa Eva Duarte (the official forerunner of the Super Cup). Sevilla also enjoyed a brief golden age, finishing second in 1940 and 1942 and winning their only title to date in 1946.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Spain, Barcelona began to strengthen under the legendary Josep Samitier. A Spanish football player who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, Samitier cemented his legacy with Barcelona. He scored 133 goals in his playing career at Barcelona, winning his first La Liga title and five Copa Del Reys.
In 1944, Samitier returned to Barcelona as coach and guided them to win their second La Liga title in 1945. Under Samitier and legendary players César Rodríguez, Josep Escolà, Estanislau Basora and Mariano Gonzalvo, Barcelona dominated La Liga in the late 1940s, winning consecutive La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949. The 1940s were a successful season for Barcelona, in which they won three La Liga titles and a Copa Del Rey, but the 1950s stood out as a period of dominance not only from Barcelona, but also from Real Madrid.
1950s: Real Madrid emerges as the biggest club
The 1950s also saw the beginning of Real Madrid's dominance. From the 1930s to the 1950s, strict restrictions were placed on foreign players. In most cases, clubs could only have three foreign players in their squad, meaning that at least eight domestic players had to play in each match. However, in the 1950s, Real Madrid circumvented these rules by naturalizing Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás.
Di Stéfano, Puskás, Raymond Kopa and Francisco Gento formed the core of the Real Madrid team that marked the second half of the 1950s. Real Madrid won their third La Liga title in 1954 - their first since 1933 - and retained the title in 1955. In 1956 Athletic Club won their sixth La Liga title, but Real Madrid won La Liga again in 1957 and 1958.
The 1950s were also the years when Real Madrid dominated the newly created European Cup, sweeping the first five editions.
Atlético Madrid, formerly Atlético Aviación, won the championship in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio master Helenio Herrera. Under coach Ferdinand Daučík, Barcelona completed a back-to-back double by winning La Liga and Copa Del Rey in 1952 and 1953. Winning five trophies in one year earned them the name 'L'equip de les cinc Copes' or the Team of Five Cups.
In the late 1950s, under the coaching of Helenio Herrera and the leadership of Luis Suárez, Barcelona once again achieved its third consecutive La Liga title, winning in 1959 and 1960. In 1959, Barcelona also won the La Liga/Copa Del Rey double, making it three doubles in the 1950s.
As a result, during the 50s Barcelona and Real Madrid won four La Liga titles each, Atlético Madrid won two and Athletic Club one.
1960s and 1970s: Real Madrid dominance
Real Madrid dominated La Liga between 1960 and 1980, winning the title 14 times. Real Madrid won five consecutive La Liga titles from 1961 to 1965 and completed the double three times between 1960 and 1980. During the 1960s and 1970s, only Atlético Madrid presented a serious challenge to Real Madrid. Atlético Madrid became La Liga champions four times, in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977.
Atlético Madrid also finished second in 1961, 1963 and 1965. In 1971, Valencia won their fourth La Liga title under Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Barcelona, inspired by Johan Cruyff, won their ninth La Liga title in 1974.
1980s: Real Madrid dominance but Basque Clubs broke the monopoly
Real Madrid's monopoly in La Liga was significantly disrupted in the 1980s. Under the genius of Emilio Butragueño and Hugo Sánchez, Real Madrid won another five consecutive La Liga titles from 1986 to 1990, although Basque clubs Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao also became dominant in the 1980s. Real Sociedad won their first La Liga titles in 1981 and 1982; Luis Arconada, Roberto López Ufarte and Txiki Begiristain stood out in this team.
Athletic Bilbao subsequently won two consecutive La Liga titles in 1983 and 1984, and achieved a fifth La Liga and Copa del Rey double in 1984; The stellar performances of Andoni Zubizarreta, Santi Urkiaga, Andoni Goikoetxea, Dani, Manuel Sarabia and Estanislao Argote were instrumental in this success. Barcelona won its tenth La Liga title under Terry Venables in 1985; it was their first La Liga victory since 1974.
1990s: Barcelona's dream team
Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988 and formed the legendary Dream Team. When Cruyff took charge of Barcelona, they had won just two La Liga titles in the last 20 years. Cruyff decided to assemble a team of international stars and La Masia graduates to return Barcelona to its former glory. This team consisted of international stars Romario, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Ronald Koeman.
Cruyff's Dream Team also included La Masia graduates Pep Guardiola, Albert Ferrer and Guillermo Amor, as well as Basque international Andoni Zubizarreta.
Johan Cruyff changed the way modern football is played and incorporated the principles of Total Football into this team. The success of possession-oriented 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 eleven trophies in eight years, making him the most successful manager in Barcelona's history; This record was broken twenty years later by his student Pep Guardiola.
Barcelona's run ended in 1995 when Real Madrid won La Liga. Atlético Madrid won their ninth La Liga title and only Liga/Copa Del Rey double in 1996, then Real Madrid added another league title in 1997. After Cruyff's success, another Dutchman - Ajax manager Louis van Gaal - arrived at Camp Nou and, with the talents of Luís Figo, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo, Barcelona won the La Liga title in 1998 and 1999 and achieved a fourth Liga and Copa Del Rey double in 1998. As a result, Barcelona won six La Liga titles in the 1990s.
2000s: Re-emergence of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia
The 21st century saw Barcelona dominate La Liga, continuing the success of the 1990s under Johan Cruyff. Although Real Madrid rose to prominence, Barcelona created a hegemony not seen since Real Madrid in the 1960s and 70s. Since the turn of the new century, Barcelona has won ten La Liga titles, including two trebles and four doubles.
However, this new century was also a period in which new rivals were crowned champions. Between 1999-2000 and 2004, Deportivo La Coruña finished in the top three five times, which was better than the performance of Real Madrid or Barcelona. In 2000, under the management of Javier Irureta, Deportivo became the ninth team to win the championship.
Valencia was one of the strongest teams in Europe in the early and mid-2000s; They were La Liga champions in 2002 and 2004 under Rafael Benítez, finished second in the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2001 under Hector Cuper, and won the UEFA Cup in 2004 and the Copa del Rey in 1999.
Real Madrid won the first La Liga titles of the century in 2001 and 2003. With world-class players like Raúl, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuaín, Real Madrid won back-to-back La Liga titles in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Barcelona won its first championship of the century in the 2004-05 season with the outstanding performance of Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o; This comes after Real Madrid and Valencia have shared the last four titles. Barcelona achieved back-to-back victories, defending the championship in the 2005-06 season.
2010s: Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid
In the 2009-10 season, Real Madrid achieved a record 96 points but still finished second in a season where Barcelona reached 99 points. Barcelona won their third consecutive La Liga title in the 2010-11 season with 96 points to Real's 92 points, but Real Madrid, under the management of José Mourinho and with players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ángel Di María, Mesut Özil and Karim Benzema, ended this winning streak in the 2011-12 season.
Madrid won its 32nd La Liga title with a record 100 points, a record 121 goals scored and a record +89 goal difference. The following year, in the 2012–13 season, Barcelona once again won the La Liga title under Tito Vilanova, matching the record of 100 points achieved by Real Madrid the previous year. Under the management of Diego Simeone, Atlético Madrid won its tenth La Liga title in the 2013–14 season, becoming champions for the first time since 1996.
They became the first team to win La Liga since 2004 and the first team to end Barcelona and Real Madrid's dominance of the league. In the 2014-15 season, with the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez nicknamed 'MSN', Barcelona made history by becoming the first team to achieve a second Triplet, winning their sixth Liga/Copa Del Rey double.
Barcelona achieved a success not achieved since the 1950s by winning its second consecutive Liga/Copa Del Rey double in the 2015-16 season. Real Madrid returned the La Liga title in the 2016–17 season under Zinedine Zidane's management, but Barcelona won the title once again in the 2017–18 season, winning their eighth double, making it seven La Liga titles in a decade.
Barcelona defended the title once again and won its 26th La Liga title in the 2018–19 season, making it eight La Liga titles in eleven years. Real Madrid regained the title in the 2019-20 season, which was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020s: Present
The 2020-21 season started on September 12 and Atletico Madrid was the champion, while Real Madrid was in second place. In August 2021, La Liga clubs approved a €2.7 billion deal to sell 10% of their stake in the league to CVC Capital Partners. The 2021-22 season was a season in which Real Madrid became the champion with four matches left, and the 2022-23 season was a season in which Barcelona became the champion with four matches left.
In 2023, La Liga rebranded itself with a new logo and a new sponsor. The title sponsorship, which had supported the league for seven years by Spanish financial giant Santander, was replaced by EA (Electronic Arts). LaLiga EA Sports and LaLiga Hypermotion are used as the names of the Primera and Segunda Divisions from the 2023-24 season and for the next four seasons.
Teams taking part in the 2024-25 season
Atlético Madrid
Getafe
Rayo Vallecano
real Madrid
- Alavés — Vitoria-Gasteiz — Mendizorrotza — &0000000000019840.00000019.840
- Almería — Almería — Juegos Mediterráneos — &0000000000015000.00000015.000
- Athletic Bilbao — Bilbao — San Mamés — &0000000000053289.00000053.289
- Atlético Madrid — Madrid — Metropol Stadium — &0000000000068456.00000068.456
- Barcelona — Barcelona — Camp Nou — &0000000000099354.00000099.354
- Cádiz — Cádiz — Nuevo Mirandilla — 20,724
- Celta Vigo — Vigo — Abanca-Balaídos — &0000000000029000.00000029.000
- Girona — Girona — Montilivi — &0000000000013500.00000013.500
- Granada — Granada — Nuevo Los Cármenes — &0000000000019336.00000019.336
- Getafe — Madrid — Alfonso Pérez Coliseum — &0000000000017393.00000017.393
- Las Palmas — Las Palmas de Gran Canaria — Gran Canaria — &0000000000031250.00000031.250
- Mallorca — Palma — Son Moix Stadium — &0000000000024262.00000024.262
- Osasuna — Pamplona — El Sadar — &0000000000018570.00000018.570
- Rayo Vallecano — Madrid — Vallecas — &0000000000014708.00000014.708
- Real Betis — Sevilla — Benito Villamarín — &0000000000060721.00000060.721
- Real Madrid — Madrid — Bernabéu Stadium — &0000000000081044.00000081.044
- Real Sociedad — San Sebastián — Reale Seguros Stadium — &0000000000039500.00000039.500
- Seville — Seville — Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán — &0000000000043883.00000043.883
- Valencia — Valencia — Mestalla — &0000000000055000.00000055.000
- Villarreal — Villarreal — Estadio de la Cerámica — &0000000000024890.00000024.890
La Liga Clubs in Europe
The Primera División is currently third in the UEFA rankings, behind the English Premier League and Italian Serie A, based on the performances of Spanish Clubs in European competitions over the last five years.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are among the ten most successful clubs in European football due to the total number of trophies they have won in European tournaments. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia are the Spanish clubs that have won five or more European trophies. Deportivo La Coruña is the fifth Spanish club that has participated in the UEFA Champions League the most with five times, together with Sevilla, after Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia.
In the 2005-2006 season, La Liga became the first league since 1997 in which its clubs won both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Sevilla won the UEFA Cup and Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League. This feat has been achieved by La Liga 4 times in 5 consecutive seasons. In the 2013-2014 season, Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League for the tenth time, while Sevilla won the UEFA Europa League for the third time; In the 2014-2015 season, Barcelona won its fifth Champions League title and Sevilla won its fourth Europa League title; In the 2015-2016 season, Real Madrid won its eleventh Champions League title, while Sevilla won its fifth Europa League title, becoming the first team to win the Europa League three times in a row.
In the 2017-2018 season, Real Madrid won its thirteenth Champions League title, while Atletico Madrid took home the Europa League trophy for the third time.
In 2015, La Liga became the first league to enter the Champions League group stages with five teams, thanks to a rule change. While Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona earned the right to participate in La Liga with their rankings, Sevilla succeeded in participating in the Champions League group stages due to being the Europa League champion.
Cast
Eligibility of Non-EU Players
In La Liga, in 2020, each club was allowed to have a maximum of three non-EU players in the matchday squad, although it had the right to have a maximum of five non-EU players.
