La Liga

Lore & Background

A total of 63 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine clubs have been crowned Spanish champions. Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the competition, with 36 and 29 titles respectively. Other successful clubs include Valencia, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Sociedad, while Deportivo La Coruña have also won the title. 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 matches. 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 crowned champion at the end of the season. 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.

In Their Own Story

On 15 May 2025, Barcelona secured their 28th La Liga title with a 2–0 victory over city rivals Espanyol. The win came with two matches remaining in the season, capping a campaign that began on 15 August 2024. Real Madrid, the defending champions after winning their 36th title the previous season, could not retain the crown. The first goal of the season was scored by Oihan Sancet for Athletic Bilbao against Getafe on 15 August 2024, while the last goal was scored by Dani Olmo for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao on 25 May 2025.

Reader's Guide

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 head-to-head goal difference for those clubs (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. 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 of coach, executive or other club personnel (outside referees' decisions), 5 points; misconduct of the supporters: mild 5 points, serious 6 points, very serious 7 points; stadium closure, 10 points; if the Competition Committee removes a penalty, the points are also removed. If the tie is still not broken, it will be resolved with a tie-break match in a neutral stadium. The top four teams in La Liga qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League league stage, with a possible fifth dependent on Spain's UEFA Coefficient for the previous season. The winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League also qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Champions League league stage. The fifth place team in La Liga and the winner of the Copa del Rey also qualify for the subsequent season's UEFA Europa League group stage. However, if the winner also finished in the top five places in La Liga, then this place reverts to the team that finished sixth in La Liga. Furthermore, the sixth place (or seventh if sixth already qualifies due to the Copa del Rey) team qualifies for the subsequent season's UEFA Conference League play-off round. The number of places allocated to Spanish clubs in UEFA competitions is dependent upon the position a country holds in the UEFA country coefficients, which are calculated based upon the performance of teams in UEFA competitions over a five-year period. As of the end of the 2025–26 season, the ranking of Spain (and de facto La Liga) is second.

Did You Know?

• As of the 2024–25 season, La Liga is ranked third in the UEFA coefficient rankings based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons, behind England's Premier League and Italy's Serie A.
• La Liga has led the coefficient rankings for more years than any other league and has produced the continent's top-rated club more often than any other league.
• Its clubs have won more UEFA Champions League (20), UEFA Europa League (14), UEFA Super Cup (17) and FIFA Club World Cup (8) titles than those of any other league.
• La Liga players have accumulated the most Ballon d'Or awards (24), The Best FIFA Men's Player awards (19) and UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards (12).
• La Liga is one of the world's most popular professional sports leagues, with an average attendance of 26,933 for league matches in the 2018–19 season.