La Liga facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the top division in men's Spanish football. For top division in women's Spanish football, see Liga F. For other uses, see Liga (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
LaLiga EA Sports

Organising body	Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional
Founded	1929; 96 years ago (1929)
Country	Spain
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	20 (since 1997–98)
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Segunda División
Domestic cup(s)	Copa del Rey Supercopa de España
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Barcelona (28th title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Real Madrid (36 titles)
Most appearances	Andoni Zubizarreta Joaquín (622 each)
Top goalscorer	Lionel Messi (474)
TV partners	List of broadcasters

La Liga is the top professional football league in Spain. It's officially known as LaLiga EA Sports because of its sponsor. Twenty teams compete in La Liga each season, playing 38 matches. It's managed by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional.

Since it started, 62 different teams have played in La Liga. Only nine teams have won the championship. Real Madrid has won the title a record 36 times. Barcelona won the very first La Liga and is also the most recent champion in the 2024–25 season. In the 1940s, Valencia, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona were the strongest teams. Real Madrid and Barcelona then took over in the 1950s. Real Madrid dominated in the 1960s and 1970s, winning 14 titles. In the 1980s, Real Madrid was still strong, but Basque clubs like Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad also won titles. Since the 1990s, Barcelona has been very successful, winning 17 titles. Real Madrid has also won 11 titles in this period. Other teams like Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña have also been champions.

La Liga is ranked third in Europe for how well its clubs perform in European competitions. It was the top league in Europe for seven years in a row (2013-2019). Spanish clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League (20), UEFA Europa League (14), and FIFA Club World Cup (8) titles. Players from La Liga have also won the most Ballon d'Or awards (24).

It's one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. In the 2018–19 season, matches had an average of 26,933 fans. This makes it the third most-attended football league globally. La Liga is also the seventh richest sports league in the world by revenue.

From 2008 to 2016, it was called Liga BBVA. Then, from 2016 to 2023, it was LaLiga Santander. Since 2023, it's been sponsored by Electronic Arts and is known as LaLiga EA Sports.

How the Competition Works

The league season runs from August to May. Each team plays every other team twice. They play once at home and once away. This means each team plays 38 matches in total.

Teams get three points for a win.
They get one point for a draw.
They get no points for a loss.

The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship.

Moving Up and Down Divisions

Teams can move between the Primera División (La Liga) and the Segunda División (the second division).

The three teams with the fewest points in La Liga are moved down to the Segunda División.
The top two teams from the Segunda División are promoted to La Liga.
An extra team is promoted after special play-off matches. These play-offs involve the teams that finished third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in the Segunda División.

Here's how many teams have played in La Liga over the years:

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

Tie-Breaker Rules

If two or more clubs have the same number of points, special rules decide who ranks higher:

If the tied clubs have played each other twice:
- For two clubs, the team with a better head-to-head goal difference wins.
- For more than two clubs, points from games played only between those clubs are used first. If still tied, goal difference from those games is used.
If still tied, the team with a better total goal difference in the whole season wins.
If still tied, the team that scored more total goals in the season wins.
If still tied, a "Fair Play" score is used (teams get points for yellow cards, red cards, etc., and the team with fewer points wins).
If everything else fails, a special tie-break match is played at a neutral stadium.

Playing in European Competitions

The best teams in La Liga get to play in big European tournaments. These spots depend on how well Spanish clubs have done in Europe over the past five years. Spain (and La Liga) is currently ranked second in Europe.

The top four teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
The fifth-place team in La Liga and the winner of the Copa del Rey (Spain's main cup) qualify for the UEFA Europa League. If the cup winner is already in the top five, the sixth-place team in La Liga gets the Europa League spot.
The sixth-place team (or seventh if needed) qualifies for the UEFA Conference League.

History of La Liga

How La Liga Started

In April 1928, a football director named José María Acha suggested creating a national league in Spain. After many discussions, the Royal Spanish Football Federation agreed. The first Primera División started in 1929 with ten teams. These included Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Athletic Bilbao. Only three of these founding clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Athletic Bilbao) have never been moved down from the top division.

1930s: Athletic Bilbao's Early Success

Athletic Bilbao team in 1933.

Barcelona won the first league title in 1929. Real Madrid won their first titles in 1932 and 1933. But Athletic Bilbao was the strongest team early on. They won La Liga in 1930, 1931, 1934, and 1936. They even beat Barcelona 12–1 in one game! This team had famous players like Bata and Guillermo Gorostiza. In 1935, Real Betis won their only title so far. The league was stopped during the Spanish Civil War.

1940s: Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia Rise

Results of the five champions during the post-war years
Season	ATM	BAR	ATH	SEV	VAL
1939–40	1	9	3	2	8
1940–41	1	4	2	5	3
1941–42	3	12	7	6	1
1942–43	8	3	1	2	7
1943–44	2	6	10	3	1
1944–45	3	1	6	10	5
1945–46	7	2	3	1	6
1946–47	3	4	2	6	1
1947–48	3	1	6	5	2
1948–49	4	1	6	8	2
1949–50	1	5	6	10	3
TOTAL	3	3	1	1	3
Top three	8	4	5	4	7
La Liga champions Copa del Generalísimo La Liga/Copa del Generalísimo double

After the war, Atlético Madrid (then called Atlético Aviación), Valencia, and Barcelona became the top teams. Atlético won their first two titles in 1940 and 1941. Valencia, with its strong young team, won three titles in 1942, 1944, and 1947.

Athletic Bilbao also found new talent, including the famous scorer Telmo Zarra. They won a La Liga and Copa del Generalísimo (Cup) double in 1943. Sevilla had a good period too, winning their only title in 1946. Barcelona, led by Josep Samitier and players like César Rodríguez, won back-to-back titles in 1948 and 1949.

1950s: Barcelona and Real Madrid Take Over

Naturalised Argentine Alfredo Di Stéfano was part of a dominant Real Madrid side in the 1950s

During the 1950s, László Kubala was a leading member of Barcelona, scoring 194 goals in 256 appearances.

Atlético Madrid won titles in 1950 and 1951. But the 1950s mostly belonged to Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barcelona had a "golden era" under coach Ferdinand Daučík. They won back-to-back league and cup doubles in 1952 and 1953. In 1952, they won five different trophies in one year! This team, with stars like László Kubala, was called 'The Team of the Five Cups'. Later in the 1950s, Barcelona won two more La Liga titles in 1959 and 1960.

The 1950s also marked the start of Real Madrid's dominance. With amazing players like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás, Real Madrid won their first league title since 1933 in 1954. They won again in 1955, 1957, and 1958. In total, Barcelona and Real Madrid each won four La Liga titles in the 1950s.

1960s–1970s: Real Madrid's Strong Era

Real Madrid was incredibly dominant between 1960 and 1980, winning the league 14 times. They even won five La Liga titles in a row from 1961 to 1965. Only Atlético Madrid could challenge them seriously. Atlético Madrid won the league four times in this period (1966, 1970, 1973, and 1977). Valencia won their fourth title in 1971, and Barcelona, with the legendary Johan Cruyff, won their ninth title in 1974.

1980s: Basque Clubs Break the Monopoly

Real Madrid was still strong in the 1980s, winning five titles from 1986 to 1990. However, clubs from the Basque region also had great success. Real Sociedad won their first La Liga titles in 1981 and 1982. Then, Athletic Bilbao won two titles in a row in 1983 and 1984. They also won a league and cup double in 1984. Barcelona won their tenth La Liga title in 1985, their first since 1974.

1990s: Barcelona's Dream Team

La Masia graduates Guillermo Amor, Albert Ferrer and Pep Guardiola.

Johan Cruyff came back to Barcelona as manager in 1988. He built a famous team called the Dream Team. This team had international stars like Romario, Michael Laudrup, and Hristo Stoichkov. It also included talented players who grew up in Barcelona's youth academy, like Pep Guardiola.

Cruyff's team played a new style of football. They won their first European Cup in 1992 and four La Liga titles in a row from 1991 to 1994. Cruyff won 11 trophies in eight years, making him Barcelona's most successful manager for a long time.

Real Madrid won La Liga in 1995. Atlético Madrid won their ninth title in 1996. Then, Louis van Gaal became Barcelona's manager. With players like Luís Figo and Rivaldo, Barcelona won the La Liga title in 1998 and 1999. Overall, Barcelona won six La Liga titles in the 1990s.

2000s: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia Shine

Results of Barça and Real Madrid in the 21st century
Season	BAR	RMA
2000–01	4	1
2001–02	4	3
2002–03	6	1
2003–04	2	4
2004–05	1	2
2005–06	1	2
2006–07	2	1
2007–08	3	1
2008–09	1	2
2009–10	1	2
2010–11	1	2
2011–12	2	1
2012–13	1	2
2013–14	2	3
2014–15	1	2
2015–16	1	2
2016–17	2	1
2017–18	1	3
2018–19	1	3
2019–20	2	1
2020–21	3	2
2021–22	2	1
2022–23	1	2
2023–24	2	1
2024–25	1	2
Total	12	9
Top three	22	24
League champions Copa del Rey La Liga/Copa del Rey double

Barcelona continued their success in the 21st century. They won ten La Liga titles, including two "trebles" (winning league, cup, and Champions League) and four "doubles" (winning league and cup). However, other teams also became champions. Deportivo La Coruña won their first title in 2000. Valencia also had a strong period, winning La Liga in 2002 and 2004.

Real Madrid won titles in 2001 and 2003. With players like Raúl and Ruud van Nistelrooy, they won back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. Barcelona, with stars like Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o, won titles in 2005 and 2006.

2010s: Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético's Rivalry

In 2009–10, Barcelona won the league with 99 points, a very high score. They won again in 2010–11. Real Madrid, managed by José Mourinho and with Cristiano Ronaldo, ended Barcelona's streak in 2011–12. They won their 32nd title with a record 100 points. The next year, Barcelona also reached 100 points and won the league.

Atlético Madrid, led by manager Diego Simeone, won their tenth La Liga title in 2013–14. This was their first title since 1996. They broke the winning streak of Barcelona and Real Madrid. In 2014–15, Barcelona, with their famous trio of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez, won their second "treble". They also won back-to-back league and cup doubles in 2015–16. Real Madrid won the title in 2016–17. Barcelona then won again in 2017–18 and 2018–19. Real Madrid won the 2019–20 season, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020s: Recent Seasons

The 2020–21 season was won by Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid won the 2021–22 season, and Barcelona won the 2022–23 season.

In 2023, La Liga changed its logo and sponsor. EA Sports became the new main sponsor. The top division is now called LaLiga EA Sports. In December 2024, La Liga got a court order to block websites that were illegally showing matches. This caused some temporary problems for other websites in Spain.

Teams in La Liga

Twenty teams are currently playing in La Liga for the 2024–25 season. This includes 17 teams from last season and three new teams promoted from the Segunda División. Leganés and Real Valladolid were promoted directly. Espanyol won the promotion play-off.

Stadiums and Locations

Team	Location	2023–24 season	First season in Primera División	No. of Primera División seasons	Stadium	Stadium Capacity	Primera División titles	Manager
Alavés	Vitoria-Gasteiz	10th	1930–31	18	Mendizorrotza	19,840	0	Luis García Plaza
Athletic Bilbao	Bilbao	5th	1929	94	San Mamés	53,289	8	Ernesto Valverde
Atlético Madrid	Madrid	4th	1929	88	Metropolitano Stadium	70,460	11	Diego Simeone
Barcelona	Barcelona	2nd	1929	94	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys	54,367	28	Hansi Flick
Celta Vigo	Vigo	13th	1939–40	59	Balaídos	24,791	0	Claudio Giráldez
Espanyol	Cornellà de Llobregat	4th (SD)	1929	88	Stage Front Stadium	40,000	0	Manolo González
Getafe	Getafe	12th	2004–05	20	Estadio Coliseum	16,500	0	José Bordalás
Girona	Girona	3rd	2017–18	5	Estadi Montilivi	14,624	0	Míchel
Las Palmas	Las Palmas	16th	1951–52	36	Estadio Gran Canaria	32,400	0	Luis Carrión
Leganés	Leganés	1st (SD)	2016–17	5	Estadio Municipal de Butarque	12,450	0	Borja Jiménez
Mallorca	Palma	15th	1960–61	32	Estadi Mallorca Son Moix	23,142	0	Jagoba Arrasate
Osasuna	Pamplona	11th	1935–36	42	El Sadar	23,516	0	Vicente Moreno
Rayo Vallecano	Madrid	17th	1977–78	22	Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas	14,708	0	Iñigo Pérez
Real Betis	Seville	7th	1932–33	59	Estadio Benito Villamarín	60,720	1	Manuel Pellegrini
Real Madrid	Madrid	1st	1929	94	Santiago Bernabéu	84,000	36	Carlo Ancelotti
Real Sociedad	San Sebastián	6th	1929	78	Reale Arena	39,500	2	Imanol Alguacil
Sevilla	Seville	14th	1934–35	80	Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán	42,714	1	García Pimienta
Valencia	Valencia	9th	1931–32	90	Mestalla	49,430	6	Rubén Baraja
Valladolid	Valladolid	2nd (SD)	1948–49	47	Estadio José Zorrilla	27,618	0	Paulo Pezzolano
Villarreal	Villarreal	8th	1998–99	25	Estadio de la Cerámica	23,000	0	Marcelino

Seasons Played in La Liga

There have been 63 teams that have played in La Liga since it started in 1929. Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, and Real Madrid are the only teams that have played in every single La Liga season.

94 seasons: Athletic Bilbao (2025), Barcelona (2025), Real Madrid (2025)
90 seasons: Valencia (2025)
88 seasons: Atlético Madrid (2025), Espanyol (2025)
81 seasons: Sevilla (2025)
78 seasons: Real Sociedad (2025)
59 seasons: Celta Vigo (2025), Real Betis (2025)
58 seasons: Zaragoza (2013)
47 seasons: Valladolid (2025)
46 seasons: Deportivo La Coruña (2018)
44 seasons: Racing Santander (2012)
43 seasons: Osasuna (2025)
42 seasons: Sporting Gijón (2017)
38 seasons: Oviedo (2001)
36 seasons: Las Palmas (2025)
32 seasons: Mallorca (2025)
27 seasons: Granada (2024)
25 seasons: Villarreal (2025)
24 seasons: Elche (2023)
22 seasons: Rayo Vallecano (2025)
20 seasons: CD Málaga (1990), Hércules (2011), Getafe (2025)
19 seasons: Alavés (2025)
18 seasons: Murcia (2008)
17 seasons: Málaga (2018)
16 seasons: Levante (2022), Cádiz (2024)
14 seasons: Sabadell (1988)
13 seasons: Tenerife (2010)
12 seasons: Salamanca (1999)
11 seasons: Castellón (1991)
9 seasons: CD Logroñés (1997), Córdoba (2015)
8 seasons: Almería (2024)
7 seasons: Arenas (1935), Albacete (2005), Eibar (2021)
6 seasons: Pontevedra (1970), Burgos (1980)
5 seasons: Recreativo Huelva (2009), Girona (2025), Leganés (2025)
4 seasons: Real Unión (1932), Alcoyano (1951), Compostela (1998), Gimnàstic (2007), Numancia (2009)
3 seasons: Europa (1931), Jaén (1958), Real Burgos (1993)
2 seasons: AD Almería (1981), Lleida (1994), CP Mérida (1998), Extremadura (1999), Huesca (2021)
1 season: Atlético Tetuán (1952), Cultural Leonesa (1956), Condal (1957), Xerez (2010)

La Liga Clubs in Europe

La Liga is ranked third among European leagues for how well its clubs do in European competitions. It's behind England's Premier League and Italy's Serie A.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid are among the most successful clubs in European football. These three, plus Sevilla and Valencia, have won five or more international trophies. In the 2005–06 season, La Liga became the first league to have its clubs win both the Champions League (Barcelona) and the UEFA Cup (Sevilla). This happened again four more times!

In 2015, La Liga was the first league to have five teams in the UEFA Champions League group stage. This was because Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Valencia qualified through their league positions, and Sevilla qualified by winning the Europa League.

La Liga Champions

Who Has Won the League?

Performance by individual clubs in *Primera División*
Rank	Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning years
1	Real Madrid	36	26	1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2023–24
2	Barcelona	28	28	1929, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2024–25
3	Atlético Madrid	11	10	1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1995–96, 2013–14, 2020–21
4	Athletic Bilbao	8	7	1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1942–43, 1955–56, 1982–83, 1983–84
5	Valencia	6	6	1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1970–71, 2001–02, 2003–04
6	Real Sociedad	2	3	1980–81, 1981–82
7	Deportivo La Coruña	1	5	1999–00
	Sevilla	1	4	1945–46
	Real Betis	1	0	1934–35

Players in La Liga

Player Awards

La Liga has official awards for players and coaches each season. Some of the most famous awards, given by the sports newspaper Marca, are:

The Pichichi Trophy: For the top goal scorer of the season.
The Ricardo Zamora Trophy: For the goalkeeper who lets in the fewest goals.
The Alfredo Di Stéfano Trophy: For the best overall player in the league.
The Zarra Trophy: For the top Spanish goal scorer.

Since 2013–14, La Liga also gives out monthly awards for the best manager and best player.

Player Transfers

La Liga has seen some of the most expensive player transfers in football history.

In 1961, Luis Suárez was the first La Liga player to be part of a world-record transfer fee.
Johan Cruyff joined Barcelona in 1973 for a record fee.
In 1982, Barcelona again set a record by signing Diego Maradona.
Real Betis set a world record in 1998 by signing Denílson.

Real Madrid has set four of the last six world transfer records. They signed famous players like Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Gareth Bale.

In 2017, Brazilian forward Neymar moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for a new world record fee of €222 million. Barcelona then used a lot of that money to sign Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho.

Player Records

Most Appearances

These players have played the most games in La Liga.

As of 15 May 2025 (2025 -05-15)^[update]

Boldface means the player is still active in La Liga. Italics means the player is still active outside La Liga.

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Years active	Apps	Goals
1	Andoni Zubizarreta	Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona, Valencia	1981–1998	622	0
1	Joaquín	Real Betis, Valencia, Málaga	2001–2013 2015–2023	622	76
3	Raúl García	Osasuna, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao	2004–2024	609	112
4	Raúl	Real Madrid	1994–2010	550	228
5	Eusebio Sacristán	Valladolid, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Celta Vigo	1983–2002	543	36
6	Paco Buyo	Sevilla, Real Madrid	1980–1997	542	0
7	Sergio Ramos	Sevilla, Real Madrid	2003–2021 2023–2024	536	77
8	Antoine Griezmann	Real Sociedad, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona	2010–	528	198
9	Dani Parejo	Real Madrid, Getafe, Valencia, Villarreal	2008–	524	77
10	Manolo Sanchís	Real Madrid	1983–2001	523	33

Most Goals Scored

These players have scored the most goals in La Liga.