La Liga

La Liga
Country Spain
Confederation UEFA
Founded 10 February 1929
Number of teams 20 (from 1997–98)
Level on pyramid 1
Relegation to Liga Adelante
Domestic cup(s) Copa del Rey
Supercopa de España
International cup(s) UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
Current champions Barcelona (23rd title)
Most championships Real Madrid (32 titles)
TV partners Movistar+ (live matches)
TVE (highlights)
List of broadcasters
Website www.laliga.es
2015–16 season

The Primera División[lower-alpha 1] (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), commonly known in English as La Liga (/læ ˈliːɡə/, Spanish: [la ˈliɣa], The League), is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. It is officially named Liga BBVA (BBVA League) for sponsorship reasons. 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 60 teams have competed in La Liga since its inception. Nine teams have been crowned champions, with Real Madrid winning the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 23 times. Real Madrid dominated the championship from the 1950s through the 1980s. Since the 1990s, however, Real Madrid and Barcelona have both dominated, although La Liga has seen other champions, including Atlético Madrid, Valencia, and Deportivo de La Coruña.

La Liga has been the top league in Europe over the last 5 years according to UEFA's league coefficient and La Liga clubs have been the top-rated club in Europe more times than any other league (18) double that of second placed Serie A with (9). La Liga based clubs have also won the highest number of IFFS World's Club Team of the Year awards (9). La Liga clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League tournaments (15) and Real Madrid are the competition's most successful club, with ten titles. La Liga clubs have also won the highest number of UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League titles and Sevilla are the most successful club in the competition's history with 4 titles. La Liga is the first and only league to be represented by both finalists in a UEFA Champions League final on two occasions. La Liga-based players have won the highest number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards (11), Ballon d'Or awards (19) and UEFA Best Player in Europe awards (4). La Liga players also represent the highest number of FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year places. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the La Liga clubs to have won the UEFA Champions League.

La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 28,265 for league matches in the 2011–12 season. This is the sixth-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.[1]

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 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:[2]

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. In the 2014–15 season, Betis, Sporting de Gijón and Las Palmas were promoted to the Primera Division. 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

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 Europa 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

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

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

Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, and assembled the legendary Dream Team. Cruyff introduced players like Pep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Begiristain, Ion Andoni 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 thirtieth 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 Higuaín, 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).

The 2010s

In the 2011–12 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 (2012–13) 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 in its current season, including 17 sides from the 2014–15 season and three promoted from the 2014–15 Segunda División. These are two clubs promoted directly from that division (Betis and Sporting), and the winner of the play-offs, Las Palmas.

Stadiums and locations

Location of teams in 2015–16 La Liga (Canary Islands)
Team Home city Stadium Capacity
Athletic Bilbao Bilbao San Mamés 53,289
Atlético Madrid Madrid Vicente Calderón 54,907
Barcelona Barcelona Camp Nou 99,786
Betis Sevilla Benito Villamarín 52,500
Celta Vigo Vigo Balaídos 29,000
Deportivo La Coruña A Coruña Riazor 34,639
Eibar Eibar Ipurúa 6,300
Espanyol Barcelona Power8 Stadium 40,500
Getafe Getafe Coliseum Alfonso Pérez 17,393
Granada Granada Nuevo Los Cármenes 22,524
Las Palmas Las Palmas Estadio Gran Canaria 32,150
Levante Valencia Ciutat de València 25,534
Málaga Málaga La Rosaleda 30,044
Rayo Vallecano Madrid Campo de Vallecas 14,708
Real Madrid Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 85,454
Real Sociedad San Sebastián Anoeta 32,076
Sevilla Sevilla Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 45,500
Sporting de Gijón Gijón El Molinón 29,029
Valencia Valencia Mestalla 55,000
Villarreal Villarreal El Madrigal 24,890

La Liga clubs in Europe

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

Tuesday August 25 (2015), Spain and La Liga made history in Europe, Spain is the first country and so far the only one to be able to classify to 5 teams for the UEFA Champions League group stage (Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid , Sevilla FC and Valencia CF).

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. Deportivo la Coruña are the fifth more participating Spanish team in the Champions league after Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid with 5 appearances in a row in the Champions league, with 2 quarter finals and a semi final in its 2003-2004 season.[4] 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.[5]


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
23
24
 1929–30, 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.
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
Real Betis
1
0
 1934–35

All-time La Liga table

The All-time La Liga table[6] 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 2014-15 season.[7] Teams in bold are part of the 2015-16 La Liga.

Pos Team S Pts GP W D L GF GA 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th T Debut Since/Last App Best
1 Real Madrid 84 4202 2686 1590 540 556 5731 3065 32 22 8 8 3 4 77 1929 1929 1
2 Barcelona 84 4081 2686 1524 550 612 5672 3048 23 24 12 12 4 6 81 1929 1929 1
3 Valencia CF 80 3296 2588 1163 598 827 4296 3356 6 6 10 11 10 7 50 1931–32 1987–88 1
4 Atlético Madrid 78 3276 2538 1190 585 763 4401 3264 10 8 14 9 7 6 54 1929 2002–03 1
5 Athletic Bilbao 84 3243 2686 1172 619 895 4520 3612 8 7 10 5 7 10 48 1929 1929 1
6 Sevilla 71 2695 2332 955 512 865 3560 3274 1 4 4 4 12 6 31 1934–35 2001–02 1
7 Espanyol 80 2693 2550 921 590 1039 3520 3760 – – 4 5 2 5 16 1929 1994–95 3
8 Real Sociedad 68 2461 2226 832 561 833 3124 3129 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 2015-16 1
11 Deportivo Coruña 43 1736 1454 547 362 545 1964 2071 1 5 4 1 – 1 12 1941–42 2014–15 1
12 Celta de Vigo 49 1684 1622 556 374 692 2174 2497 – – – 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 2015-16 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 2015-16 2
20 Villarreal 15 839 570 229 152 189 792 721 – 1 1 1 2 2 7 1998–99 2013–14 2
21 Málaga 14 677 532 180 137 215 668 747 – – – 1 – 1 2 1999–00 2008–09 4
22 Rayo Vallecano 16 624 604 180 137 287 708 1015 – – – – – – – 1977–78 2011–12 8
23 Granada 21 608 666 204 158 304 743 1007 – – – – – 2 2 1941–42 2011–12 6
24 Elche 21 606 678 203 180 295 750 1022 – – – – 1 1 2 1959–60 2014–15 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 Getafe 11 517 418 138 103 177 483 566 – – – – – 1 1 2004–05 2004–05 6
28 Tenerife 13 510 494 155 128 211 619 744 – – – – 2 – 2 1961–62 2009–10 5
29 Murcia 18 445 586 145 143 298 607 992 – – – – – – – 1940–41 2007–08 11
30 Levante 10 384 364 105 87 172 393 562 – – – – – 1 1 1963–64 2010–11 6
31 UD Salamanca 12 375 423 123 102 198 422 581 – – – – – – – 1974–75 1998–99 7
32 Alavés 11 366 342 111 68 163 417 585 – – – – – 1 1 1930–31 2005–06 6
33 Sabadell 14 353 426 129 95 202 492 720 – – – 1 1 – 2 1943–44 1987–88 4
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 6 242 228 62 56 110 244 366 – – – – – – – 2007–08 2014–15 8
39 Córdoba 9 230 282 82 63 137 285 430 – – – – 1 – 1 1962–63 2014–15 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 Eibar 1 35 38 9 8 21 34 55 – – – – – – – 2014–15 2014–15 18
57 Xerez 1 34 38 8 10 20 38 66 – – – – – – – 2009–10 2009–10 20
58 CD Condal 1 22 30 7 8 15 37 57 – – – – – – – 1956–57 1956–57 16
59 Atlético Tetuán 1 19 30 7 5 18 51 85 – – – – – – – 1951–52 1951–52 16
60 Cultural Leonesa 1 14 30 5 4 21 34 65 – – – – – – – 1955–56 1955–56 15

League or status at 2015–16:

2015–16 La Liga
2015–16 Segunda División
2015–16 Segunda División B
2015–16 Tercera División
2015–16 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 the season 2008–09, no official awards for individuals in La Liga existed. Following the 2008–09 season, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional 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 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.

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 Inter Milan 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 £3 million.[8] Real Betis set the world record in 1998 when they signed Denílson from São Paulo for £21.5 million.[9]

All of the last five world transfer records have been set by Real Madrid, signing Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo and finally in 2013 Gareth Bale, who was bought for £85.3 million (€103.4 million / $140 million) from Tottenham Hotspur.

All-time top scorers

As of matches played 14 February 2016[10]
Rank Nationality Name Club Years Goals Apps Ratio
1 Argentina Lionel Messi Barcelona 2004–Present2993330.90
2 Spain Telmo Zarra Athletic Club 1940–19552512780.90
3 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 2009–Present2462241.09
4 Mexico Hugo Sánchez Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid & Rayo Vallecano 1981–19942343470.67
5 Spain Raúl Real Madrid 1994–20102285500.41
6 Argentina Spain Alfredo di Stéfano Real Madrid & Espanyol 1953–19662273290.69
7 Spain César Rodríguez Granada, Barcelona, Cultural Leonesa & Elche 1939–19552233530.63
8 Spain Quini Sporting Gijón & Barcelona 1970–19872194480.49
9 Spain Pahiño Celta, Real Madrid & Deportivo 1943–19562102780.76
10 Spain Edmundo Suárez Valencia & Alcoyano 1939–19501952310.84

(Bold denotes players still playing in La Liga.)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Spanish pronunciation: [pɾiˈmeɾa ðiβiˈsjon].

References

External links

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