La Liga

La Liga

Founded	1929
Country	Spain
Confederation	UEFA
Number of clubs	20
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Segunda División
Domestic cup(s)	Copa del Rey Supercopa de España
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Atlético Madrid (10th title) (2013–14)
Most championships	Real Madrid (32 titles)
TV partners	Canal+ 1 Canal+ Liga Gol Televisión Cuatro TVE (Highlights) beIN Sports Star Sports Fox Sports SuperSport
Website	www.lfp.es
Current: 2014–15 season

The Primera División (First Division) of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), commonly known in the English-speaking world as La Liga (/lə ˈliːɡə/, Spanish: [la ˈliɣa], The League), and officially named for sponsorship reasons Liga BBVA (BBVA League) is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top two teams in that division plus the winner of a play-off. A total of 59 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. Real Madrid have won the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 22 times. During the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, however, La Liga has seen other champions, including, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Real Betis, and Sevilla.

La Liga is the strongest league in Europe over the past five years, according to UEFA's league coefficient. La Liga players have won the highest number of Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. La Liga clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League tournaments (14) and Real Madrid are the competitions most successful club, as a 10-time champion. Sevilla are the joint most successful club in the UEFA Europa League with 3 wins. La Liga is the biggest exporter of players in Europe. 211 Spanish players are currently playing in European leagues outside Spain. La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 30,275 for league matches in the 2011–12 season. This is the fifth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind Germany's Bundesliga and England's Premier League. Atlético Madrid are the current champions.

Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from September to June, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 games. 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.

Ranking of clubs on equal points

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 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) head-to-head goals scored
• 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. These are:
  • yellow card, 1 point
  • doubled yellow card/ejection, 2 points
  • direct red card, 3 points
  • Suspension or disqualification to coach, executive or other club's personnel (outside referee 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.

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;

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

Qualification for European competitions

FC Barcelona against Schalke in the UEFA Champions League in 2008

The top teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the first, second, and third placed teams directly entering the group stage and the fourth placed team entering the playoffs for the group stage of UEFA Champions League. Teams placed fifth and sixth play in the UEFA Europa League, along with the cup winners. If both teams in the cup final finish in the top 6, an additional berth in the Europe League is given to the team that finishes in 7th.

History

Foundation

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

The 1930s

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 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.

The 1940s

When the Primera División resumed after the Spanish Civil War, it was Atlético Aviación (nowadays Atlético Madrid), Valencia, and Sevilla that initially 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. By the latter part of the decade, Barcelona began to emerge as a force when they were crowned champions in 1945, 1948 and 1949.

Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez

Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera, the 1950s saw the beginning of the Barcelona/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 and Barcelona, who naturalized Alfredo di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, and Ladislav Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barça won the title in 1952 and 1953. Di Stéfano, Puskás, and Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Madrid won the first division for the first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained its title in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. During this period, Real Madrid also won an unprecedented five consecutive European Cups. Barcelona, with a team coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez, won the title in 1959 and 1960.

The Madrid years

Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated the Primera División, being crowned champion 14 times. This included a five-in-a-row sequence from 1961 to 1965 and two three-in-a-row sequences (1967–1969 and 1978–1980). During this era, only Atlético Madrid offered Real Madrid any serious challenge, adding four more titles to their tally in 1966, 1970, 1973, and 1977. Of the other clubs, only Valencia in 1971 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Barcelona of 1974 managed to break the dominance of Real Madrid.

The 1980s

The Madrid winning sequence was ended 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 another by their fellow Basques 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 won again 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

Match between Deportivo de La Coruña and Osasuna.

Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary Dream Team. Cruyff introduced players like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário, and Hristo Stoichkov. This team won Primera División four times between 1991 and 1994 and won the European Cup in 1992. Laudrup then moved to arch-rivals Real Madrid, and helped them end Barcelona's run 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 again won the title in 1998 and 1999.

The 2000s

As Primera División entered a new century, the Big Two of Real Madrid and Barcelona found themselves facing new challengers. Between 1993 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, they became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Real Madrid won two more Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and also the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2002, and won their third league title in 2007 after a three-year drought. They were challenged by a re-emerging Valencia in both competitions. 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 and winning the double with a league title and the UEFA Cup in 2004. The 2004–05 season saw a resurgent Barcelona, inspired by the brilliant Ronaldinho, win their first title of the new century, in addition to the Liga-Champions League double in 2005–06. With world class players like Raúl, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Gonzalo Higuain, Real Madrid won back to back La Liga titles in 2006–07 and 2007–08 season. Under Josep Guardiola's Dream Team, powered by La Masia talents such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andrés Iniesta, Barcelona added three straight Liga titles (2008–09, 2009–10, and 2010–11). In the 2011–2012 season, Real Madrid won its 32nd title under the management of José Mourinho with a record-breaking points tally of 100, a record 121 number of goals scored, most overall (32) and away (16) wins in a single season in La Liga History. Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova matched the 100 point record a year later (2012-2013) season while battling terminal cancer. Atlético Madrid Won the 2013-14 title, their first in 18 years, and the first title in 10 years that Real Madrid or Barcelona had not won.

Teams

A total of 20 teams contest the league, including 17 sides from the 2012–13 season and three promoted from the 2012–13 Segunda División. This included the two top teams from the Segunda División, and the victorious team of the play-offs.

RCD Mallorca, Deportivo de La Coruña and Real Zaragoza were relegated to 2013–14 Segunda División the previous season: Mallorca were relegated after sixteen years in La Liga, the longest period in its history and ending their golden era, Zaragoza returned to Segunda División after a four-year tenure in La Liga, while Deportivo de La Coruña made an immediate return to the Segunda División after being promoted the previous year. All three teams were relegated in the last matchday.

The three relegated teams were replaced by three 2012–13 Segunda División sides: Elche CF returned to the top level as Segunda División champion after 24 years of absence and with the last 14 seasons consecutively in the Segunda División. The second placed team Villarreal was also promoted to La Liga making an immediate return to La Liga after a win over Almería in the decisive match of the last set of games where the winner would be directly promoted to La Liga. Almería returned to the Spanish top flight after spending two years in the Segunda by beating Girona in the promotion play-offs.

This was the first ever season since the 1988–89 season without any teams from the archipelagos of Spain (teams located on the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands) since RCD Mallorca was relegated and UD Las Palmas failed to be promoted after playing in the promotion play-offs later season.

Transfers

The most expensive transfer in the world was Gareth Bale who was bought by Real Madrid C.F. in 2013 for £85.3 million (€103.4 million / $140 million) from Tottenham Hotspur F.C..

Stadiums and locations

Almería

Athletic Bilbao

Atlético Madrid
Real Madrid
Getafe
Rayo Vallecano

FC Barcelona
Espanyol

Real Betis
Sevilla

Celta de Vigo

Elche

Granada

Levante
Valencia

Málaga

Osasuna

Real Sociedad

Real Valladolid

Villarreal

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Location of teams in 2013–14 La Liga

Team	Home city	Stadium	Capacity
Athletic Club	Bilbao	San Mamés	53,332
Atlético Madrid	Madrid	Vicente Calderón	55,967
FC Barcelona	Barcelona	Nou Camp	99,786
Real Betis	Seville	Benito Villamarín	49,745
Celta de Vigo	Vigo	Balaídos	34,800
UD Almería	Almeria	Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos	22,000
RCD Espanyol	Barcelona	Cornellà-El Prat	40,500
Getafe CF	Getafe	Coliseum Alfonso Pérez	17,700
Granada CF	Granada	Nuevo Los Cármenes	22,524
Levante UD	Valencia	Ciutat de València	25,534
Málaga CF	Málaga	La Rosaleda	30,044
Elche CF	Elche	Martínez Valero	38,750
CA Osasuna	Pamplona	El Sadar	19,553
Rayo Vallecano	Madrid	Campo de Vallecas	14,708
Real Madrid	Madrid	Santiago Bernabéu	88,744
Real Sociedad	San Sebastián	Anoeta	32,076
Sevilla FC	Seville	Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán	45,500
Valencia CF	Valencia	Mestalla	55,000
Real Valladolid	Valladolid	Nuevo José Zorrilla	26,512
Villarreal CF	Villarreal	El Madrigal	22,000

La Liga clubs in Europe

Main article: La Liga clubs in Europe

Real Madrid C.F. against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League in 2013

In addition to their success in Primera División, Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid are four of the most successful teams in European competition history. All four clubs are the only Spanish clubs to have won five or more international trophies. Whilst, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are also in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies. In 2005–06, Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup. The Primera División became the first league to do the European "double" since 1997.

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 in second and Germany's Bundesliga in third.

Champions

Main article: List of Spanish football champions

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning seasons
Real Madrid	32	22	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
Barcelona	22	24	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
Atlético Madrid	10	8	1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1995–96, 2013–14
Athletic Bilbao	8	7	1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1942–43, 1955–56, 1982–83, 1983–84
Valencia	6	6	1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1970–71, 2001–02, 2003–04
Real Sociedad	2	3	1980–81, 1981–82
Deportivo La Coruña	1	5	1999–2000
Sevilla	1	4	1945–46
Betis	1	0	1934–35

All-time La Liga table

The All-time La Liga table 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 2013–14 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2014–15 La Liga.

Pos	Team	Seasons	Points	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	1º	2º	3º	4º	5º	6º	T	Debut	Since/Last App	Best
1	Real Madrid	83	4110	2648	1560	538	550	5603	3027	32	22	8	8	3	4	77	1929	1929	1
2	Barcelona	83	3986	2648	1494	546	608	5562	3027	22	24	12	12	4	6	80	1929	1929	1
3	Valencia	79	3219	2550	1141	587	822	4226	3324	6	6	10	10	10	7	49	1931–32	1987–88	1
4	Atlético Madrid	77	3198	2500	1167	576	757	4334	3235	10	8	13	9	7	6	53	1929	2002–03	1
5	Athletic Bilbao	83	3188	2648	1157	609	882	4478	3571	8	7	10	5	7	10	47	1929	1929	1
6	Espanyol	79	2644	2512	908	580	1024	3473	3709	–	–	4	5	2	5	16	1929	1994–95	3
7	Sevilla	70	2619	2294	932	505	857	3489	3229	1	4	4	4	11	6	30	1934–35	2001–02	1
8	Real Sociedad	67	2415	2188	821	548	819	3080	3078	2	3	2	5	4	2	18	1929	2010–11	1
9	Zaragoza	58	2109	1986	698	522	766	2683	2847	–	1	4	5	4	4	18	1939–40	2012–13	2
10	Betis	49	1801	1652	585	419	648	2085	2377	1	–	2	3	4	4	14	1932–33	2013–14	1
11	Deportivo La Coruña	42	1701	1416	540	348	528	1929	2011	1	5	4	1	–	1	12	1941–42	2014–15	1
12	Celta de Vigo	48	1633	1584	543	362	679	2127	2453	–	–	–	2	4	4	10	1939–40	2012–13	4
13	Valladolid	42	1471	1466	463	384	619	1767	2180	–	–	–	1	1	1	3	1948–49	2013–14	4
14	Racing de Santander	44	1416	1428	453	336	639	1843	2368	–	1	1	2	–	1	5	1929	2011–12	2
15	Osasuna	36	1329	1280	422	317	541	1460	1740	–	–	–	2	2	2	6	1935–36	2013–14	4
16	Sporting de Gijón	40	1319	1382	454	339	589	1671	2018	–	1	1	2	2	1	7	1944–45	2011–12	2
17	Real Oviedo	38	1174	1192	408	292	492	1642	1951	–	–	3	2	2	4	11	1933–34	2000–01	3
18	Mallorca	27	1148	988	333	256	399	1182	1371	–	–	2	–	2	1	5	1960–61	2012–13	3
19	Las Palmas	31	937	1020	345	225	450	1249	1619	–	1	1	1	1	1	5	1951–52	2001–02	2
20	Villarreal	14	779	532	213	140	179	744	684	–	1	1	1	2	1	6	1998–99	2013–14	2
21	Málaga	13	627	494	166	129	199	626	699	–	–	–	1	–	1	2	1999–00	2008–09	4
22	Rayo Vallecano	15	575	566	165	133	268	662	947	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1977–78	2011–12	8
23	Granada	20	573	628	197	144	287	714	943	–	–	–	–	–	2	2	1941–42	2011–12	6
24	Elche	20	565	640	192	172	276	715	960	–	–	–	–	1	1	2	1959–60	2013–14	5
25	CD Málaga	20	543	647	186	171	290	666	926	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1949–50	1989–90	7
26	Hércules	20	538	628	184	149	295	716	1050	–	–	–	–	1	4	5	1935–36	2010–11	5
27	Tenerife	13	510	494	155	128	211	619	744	–	–	–	–	2	–	2	1961–62	2009–10	5
28	Getafe	10	480	380	128	96	156	450	502	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	2004–05	2004–05	6
29	Murcia	18	445	586	145	143	298	607	992	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1940–41	2007–08	11
30	UD Salamanca	12	375	423	123	102	198	422	581	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1974–75	1998–99	7
31	Alavés	11	366	342	111	68	163	417	585	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1930–31	2005–06	6
32	Sabadell	14	353	426	129	95	202	492	720	–	–	–	1	1	–	2	1943–44	1987–88	4
33	Levante	9	347	326	96	77	153	359	495	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1963–64	2010–11	6
34	Cádiz	12	343	448	104	127	217	393	662	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1977–78	2005–06	12
35	CD Logroñés	9	293	346	96	92	158	291	489	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1987–88	1996–97	7
36	Castellón	11	285	334	103	79	152	419	588	–	–	–	1	2	–	3	1941–42	1990–91	4
37	Albacete	7	277	270	76	76	118	320	410	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1991–92	2004–05	7
38	Almería	5	210	190	54	48	88	209	302	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2007–08	2013–14	8
39	Córdoba	8	210	244	79	52	113	263	362	–	–	–	–	1	–	1	1962–63	1971–72	5
40	Compostela	4	190	160	52	45	63	199	241	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1994–95	1997–98	10
41	Recreativo de Huelva	5	188	186	50	46	90	202	296	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1978–79	2008–09	8
42	Burgos CF	6	168	204	59	50	95	216	310	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1971–72	1979–80	12
43	Pontevedra	6	150	180	53	44	83	165	221	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1963–64	1969–70	7
44	Numancia	4	148	152	37	37	78	155	253	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1999–00	2008–09	17
45	Arenas de Getxo	7	107	130	43	21	66	227	308	–	–	1	–	3	–	4	1929	1934–35	3
46	Real Burgos	3	96	114	26	44	44	101	139	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1990–91	1992–93	9
47	Gimnàstic de Tarragona	4	91	116	34	16	66	181	295	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1947–48	2006–07	7
48	CF Extremadura	2	83	80	20	23	37	62	117	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1996–97	1998–99	17
49	CP Mérida	2	81	80	19	24	37	70	115	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1995–96	1997–98	19
50	Alcoyano	4	76	108	30	16	62	145	252	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1945–46	1950–51	10
51	Jaén	3	71	90	29	13	48	121	183	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1953–54	1957–58	14
52	Real Unión	4	56	72	21	14	37	153	184	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1929	1931–32	6
53	AD Almería	2	52	68	17	18	33	71	116	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1979–80	1980–81	10
54	Europa	3	42	54	18	6	30	97	131	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1929	1930–31	8
55	UE Lleida	2	40	68	13	14	41	70	182	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1950–51	1993–94	16
56	Xerez	1	34	38	8	10	20	38	66	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2009–10	2009–10	20
57	CD Condal	1	22	30	7	8	15	37	57	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1956–57	1956–57	16
58	Atlético Tetuán	1	19	30	7	5	18	51	85	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1951–52	1951–52	16
59	Cultural Leonesa	1	14	30	5	4	21	34	65	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1955–56	1955–56	15
60	Eibar	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2014–15	2014–15	–

League or status at 2014–15:

	2014–15 La Liga
	2014–15 Segunda División
	2014–15 Segunda División B
	2014–15 Tercera División
	2014–15 Divisiones Regionales
	To be determined
	No longer affiliated with RFEF
	Clubs that no longer exist

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 is Argentine-born, of Italian heritage, and can claim a Spanish passport, having played in La Liga for over five years.

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

Individual awards

Until season 2008–09, no official awards for La Liga existed. Following the 2008–09 season, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, the governing body, instated the LFP Awards. Apart from these awards, many individual awards are given out relating to La Liga, although not sanctioned by the LFP nor the Royal Spanish Football Federation 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 is awarded to the Spanish domestic player with the highest goal total in La Liga.

Since the 2013–14 season, La Liga also awards the monthly Manager of the Month and Player of the Month awards.

All-time top scorers, top 20

Rank	Nat	Name	Club	Years	Goals	Apps	Ratio
1		Telmo Zarra	Athletic Bilbao	1940–1955	251	277	0.91
2		Lionel Messi	Barcelona	2004–	243	277	0.88
3		Hugo Sánchez	Atlético (65/134); Real Madrid (207/283)	1981–1994	234	347	0.67
4		Raúl	Real Madrid	1994–2010	228	550	0.41
5		Alfredo di Stéfano	Real Madrid (216/282); Espanyol (11/47)	1953–1966	227	329	0.69
6		César Rodríguez	Granada (23/24); Barcelona (192/287); Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa (3/15); Elche (5/27)	1939–1955	223	353	0.63
7		Quini	club	1970–1987	219	448	0.49
8		Pahiño	club	1943–1956	210	278	0.76
9		Edmundo Suárez	Valencia (186/210); CD Alcoyano (9/21)	1939–1950	195	231	0.84
10		Carlos Santillana	club	1970–1988	186	461	0.40
11		David Villa	Zaragoza (32/73); Valencia (107/166); Barcelona (33/77); Atlético (13/30)	2003–2014	185	352	0.53
12		Juan Arza	Sevilla	1943–1959	182	349	0.52
13		Guillermo Gorostiza	Athletic Club (106/140); Valencia (72/116)	1929–1945	178	256	0.70
14		Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	2009–	177	165	1.07
15		Samuel Eto'o	barcelona	1998–2009	162	280	0.58
16		Luis Aragonés	club	1960–1974	160	360	0.44
17		Ferenc Puskás	club	1958–1966	156	180	0.87
18		Julio Salinas	club	1982–2000	152	417	0.36
19		Adrián Escudero	Atlético	1945–1958	150	287	0.52
20		Dani	Athletic Club	1974-1986	147	302	0.49
		Isidro Lángara Galarraga	Real Oviedo	1933–1936	81	61	1.33
		Pichichi	Athletic Club	1911–1921	200	170	1.18

(Bold denotes players still playing in La Liga.)
("Isidro Lángara Galarraga" is on this table because he has best ratio. At the beginning of the league was less league games in a season than now.)
("Pichichi Rafael Moreno Aranzadi" is on this table because he is legendary player, he had played before the league was formed, in Northern Regional Championship.)

Ballon d'Or

• Alfredo Di Stéfano – 1957, 1959 (Real Madrid)
• Raymond Kopa – 1958 (Real Madrid)
• Luis Suárez – 1960 (Barcelona)
• Johan Cruijff – 1973, 1974 (Barcelona)
• Hristo Stoichkov – 1994 (Barcelona)
• Rivaldo – 1999 (Barcelona)
• Luís Figo – 2000 (Real Madrid)
• Ronaldo – 2002 (Real Madrid)
• Ronaldinho – 2005 (Barcelona)
• Fabio Cannavaro – 2006 (Real Madrid)
• Lionel Messi – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 (Barcelona)
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 2008, 2013 (Real Madrid)

Official match ball

• 1990–1994: Adidas Etrusco Unico
• 1994–1996: Adidas Questra
• 1996–1997: Nike NK 350 Geo
• 1997–1998: Nike NK 850 Geo
• 1998–2000: Nike NK 800 Geo
• 2000–2002: Nike Geo Merlin
• 2002–2004: Nike Geo Merlin II
• 2004–2006: Nike T90 Aerow
• 2006–2008: Nike T90 Aerow II
• 2008–2009: Nike T90 Omni
• 2009–2010: Nike T90 Ascente
• 2010–2011: Nike T90 Tracer
• 2011–2012: Nike Seitiro
• 2012–2013: Nike Maxim
• 2013–2014: Nike Incyte
• 2014–2015: Nike Ordem

See also

• Football records in Spain
• Sports broadcasting contracts in Spain
• List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues
• List of football clubs in Spain
• List of foreign La Liga players
• Supercopa de España

External links

• Template:En icon LFP
• Template:Es icon RFEF