59 Fun Facts About La Liga

What is Villarreal's nickname?

The Yellow Submarine comes from the Beatles song, a hit in Spain in a Spanish-language version when Villarreal were still a small club.

Which academy striker starred in Real Madrid's five straight league titles from 1986 to 1990?

Emilio Butragueño came on at Cádiz on his 1984 debut with Real Madrid 2-0 down, and scored twice in a 3-2 comeback win.

Which Dane won league titles for both Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Michael Laudrup was on the winning side of 5-0 Clásicos in consecutive seasons, first for Barcelona and then for Real Madrid.

Nine of the ten clubs in La Liga's first season earned their places through their record in which competition?

The Copa del Rey decided it: six past winners and three runners-up went in, while Racing Santander won a knockout for the last place.

Which Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper became the world's most expensive keeper when Chelsea paid his release clause in 2018?

Kepa Arrizabalaga cost Chelsea €80m, and in the 2019 League Cup final he refused to be substituted before the penalty shootout, which Chelsea lost.

Which club finished third in 2023-24 to reach the Champions League for the first time?

Girona had been in the second division only two seasons earlier, going up through the play-offs after finishing sixth in 2021-22.

Which Brazilian completed a hat-trick with an 89th-minute bicycle kick for Barcelona against Valencia in June 2001?

Rivaldo's overhead kick won the match 3-2 and lifted Barcelona above Valencia into the next season's Champions League.

Which bowler-hatted Englishman coached Athletic Bilbao to league and cup doubles in 1930 and 1931?

Fred Pentland taught Athletic a short-passing game, and his side thrashed Barcelona 12-1 at San Mamés in 1931.

Which former Real Madrid midfielder coached the club to La Liga titles in 2016-17 and 2019-20?

Zinedine Zidane resigned five days after winning a third straight Champions League in 2018, then returned in March 2019.

Atlético Madrid's fans are nicknamed after which household item their red-and-white stripes resembled?

Mattress covers in post-war Madrid had the same stripes, and some say leftover mattress ticking was the cheapest cloth for the shirts.

Which club won its only La Liga title in 1946?

Sevilla had let the 1939-40 title slip on the final day with a draw against Hércules, six years before they finally won it.

Which Hungarian-born forward starred in Barcelona's 1951-52 'team of the five cups'?

László Kubala had fled communist Hungary in the back of a truck in 1949, and Barcelona signed him in June 1950.

Which Hungarian joined Real Madrid in 1958, aged 31, after Italian clubs judged him too old and too heavy?

Ferenc Puskás repaid Real Madrid by scoring four goals in their 7-3 European Cup final win over Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960.

Which goalkeeper helped Real Sociedad win their first two league titles, in 1981 and 1982?

Luis Arconada won both titles, but in the Euro 84 final a Michel Platini free kick slid under him into the net.

Which English manager led Barcelona to the 1985 title, their first since 1974?

Terry Venables also took Barcelona to the 1986 European Cup final, where Steaua goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam saved all four of their penalties.

Which Mexican striker won five Pichichi trophies, one with Atlético Madrid and four with Real Madrid?

Hugo Sánchez crossed Madrid from Atlético to Real in July 1985, straight after winning his first Pichichi.

Real Madrid lost the 1992 and 1993 league titles on the final day at which club?

Tenerife were coached by former Real Madrid striker Jorge Valdano, whom Real Madrid hired in 1994 and who won them the 1995 title.

Which Dutch manager followed Cruyff's success by winning the 1998 and 1999 titles at Barcelona?

Louis van Gaal won a league and cup double in his first season, then resigned in 2000 after Barcelona lost the title.

Which club became the ninth different champion when it won the title in 2000?

Deportivo, under Javier Irureta, also beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabéu in the 2002 cup final, on Real's 100th anniversary.

Which manager led Valencia to league titles in 2002 and 2004?

Rafael Benítez left for Liverpool in June 2004, and a year later his side came back from 3-0 down at half-time to win the Champions League.

Which midfielder moved from Real Madrid to Barcelona on a free transfer in 1996?

Luis Enrique had scored in Real Madrid's 5-0 rout of Barcelona in January 1995, then crossed to Barcelona when his contract ran out.

Which manager led Real Madrid to La Liga's first 100-point season?

José Mourinho's side also scored a record 121 goals, but he left Real Madrid by mutual agreement a year later, in 2013.

Who coached Barcelona to the 100-point 2012-13 title?

Tito Vilanova stepped down in July 2013 because his cancer treatment clashed with the job, and he died in April 2014.

Whose header at the Camp Nou clinched Atlético's 2013-14 title?

Diego Godín's header cancelled out Barcelona's first-half opener, and the 1-1 draw was enough for the title.

Barcelona's treble-winning 2014-15 forward line was known by what nickname?

MSN stood for Messi, Suárez and Neymar, though Suárez could not play until late October 2014 because of his ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini.

Who managed Atlético Madrid to the 2020-21 title, their second in eight seasons?

Diego Simeone's side clinched it on the final day at Valladolid with a winner from Luis Suárez, whom Barcelona had let go before the season.

Which company became La Liga's title sponsor in 2023, replacing Banco Santander?

Electronic Arts put its name on the league the same year it relaunched its FIFA games as EA Sports FC, after its FIFA licence ended.

Which newspaper awards La Liga's Pichichi Trophy to the top scorer?

Marca named it after Rafael 'Pichichi' Moreno, and teams playing at San Mamés for the first time lay flowers at his bust.

Which striker, nicknamed 'El Niño', was made Atlético Madrid captain at just 19?

Fernando Torres left for Liverpool and Chelsea, then came home on loan in 2015 and was unveiled before a packed Vicente Calderón.

The trophy for La Liga's top-scoring Spanish player was first awarded in 2006 to whom?

David Villa, then of Valencia, later scored Barcelona's third goal in their 3-1 Champions League final win over Manchester United in 2011.

Which Athletic Bilbao striker's 251 league goals stood as the record until Messi?

Telmo Zarra's goal beat England at the 1950 World Cup and sent Spain into the final round.

Which Barcelona star won a standing ovation at the Bernabéu in November 2005?

Ronaldinho scored twice in Barcelona's 3-0 win, and Real Madrid's fans rose to applaud him after his second goal sealed it.

Which French forward left Atlético for Barcelona in 2019, then returned in 2021?

Antoine Griezmann cost Barcelona €120m, and Atlético disputed the fee, claiming he had agreed the move before his clause fell from €200m.

Which goalkeeper shares the record for most La Liga appearances, 622, with Joaquín?

Andoni Zubizarreta was released by Barcelona straight after their 4-0 defeat in the 1994 European Cup final, and moved to Valencia.

Who scored 46 league goals in 2011-12 yet finished second in the scoring race behind Lionel Messi's 50?

Cristiano Ronaldo's goals still carried Real Madrid to the title, nine points clear of Messi's Barcelona.

Which Real Madrid great won a record 12 La Liga titles as a player?

Paco Gento had such a difficult first season that a team-mate had to persuade president Santiago Bernabéu to keep him.

Who holds the La Liga record for red cards?

Sergio Ramos also headed Real Madrid's 93rd-minute equaliser against Atlético Madrid in the 2014 Champions League final.

Who became the youngest goalscorer in La Liga history at 16 years and 87 days in October 2023?

Lamine Yamal had been bathed as a baby by a 20-year-old Lionel Messi, during a 2007 UNICEF charity photo shoot with Barcelona.

Which Atlético Madrid goalkeeper won the Zamora Trophy four seasons running, from 2015-16 to 2018-19?

Jan Oblak began as Moyá's understudy, then came on for the injured keeper against Leverkusen in 2015 and saved a penalty in the shootout win.

Which club had lost the most La Liga matches by the end of the 2025-26 season?

Espanyol were relegated in 2019-20, a season they had begun playing in the Europa League.

Which Englishman joined Real Madrid in 2003 as the latest of Florentino Pérez's 'Galácticos'?

David Beckham was frozen out by Fabio Capello after agreeing to join LA Galaxy, then won back his place and the 2006-07 title.

Athletic Bilbao's cantera policy restricts the club to signing players from which region?

The greater Basque Country rule grew out of a 1911 row over Athletic fielding ineligible English players, after which only Spaniards could play in the cup.

The 'Real' in Real Madrid was granted by which king in 1920?

Alfonso XIII's royal title was dropped when the Second Republic arrived in 1931, and the club played as Madrid FC until after the Civil War.

Barcelona's founder in 1899, Joan Gamper, was originally from which country?

Switzerland-born Hans Gamper founded the club by placing a newspaper advert in Los Deportes on 22 October 1899, calling for players.

Which Barcelona star moved to Real Madrid in 2000 for a world-record fee, inflaming El Clásico?

Luís Figo was pelted with missiles on his returns to the Camp Nou, and a pig's head was thrown during the 2002 Clásico there.

Which stadium belongs to the derby club from the Nervión district, rather than the one from Heliópolis?

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán hosted the 1982 World Cup semi-final in which West Germany's goalkeeper Harald Schumacher knocked out France's Patrick Battiston, and no foul was given.

Athletic Bilbao's old San Mamés stadium was nicknamed what?

The Cathedral was named San Mamés after a nearby chapel to Saint Mammes, a martyr thrown to lions, so Athletic's players became the Lions.

Where was the 2014 Champions League final, the first between two clubs from the same city, played?

Lisbon's Estádio da Luz saw Atlético lead until the 93rd minute before Real Madrid won 4-1 after extra time.

What stopped Barcelona re-signing Messi in 2021?

League rules on player registration blocked the deal even though Messi had agreed to halve his wages, so he left that August.

Which Argentine forward's disputed 1953 signing, claimed by both Barcelona and Real Madrid, ended with him in white?

Alfredo Di Stéfano was first meant to alternate seasons between Madrid and Barcelona, until Barcelona gave up its claim.

Barcelona sold 1960 Ballon d'Or winner Luis Suárez in 1961 for a world-record fee to which club?

Inter Milan had hired Helenio Herrera from Barcelona in 1960, and the move reunited Luis Suárez with his old coach.

Which French winger did Barcelona sign from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 to replace Neymar?

Ousmane Dembélé cost €105m plus add-ons but was often injured at Barcelona, then won the 2025 Ballon d'Or with PSG.

Which club first reached La Liga in 2014?

Eibar finished 18th in their first season but stayed up when Elche were demoted for financial mismanagement.

If two clubs finish level on points, what is the first tiebreaker in La Liga?

Head-to-head goal difference settled 2006-07: Real Madrid and Barcelona finished level on 76 points, and Madrid took the title.

Which bank's name was attached to La Liga as title sponsor from 2008 to 2016?

BBVA had first sponsored the second division, as Liga BBVA from 2006, and when it moved up to the top flight in 2008 the second tier became Liga Adelante.

Which Barcelona midfielder left for Qatar's Al Sadd in 2015, then returned as the club's coach in 2021?

Xavi Hernández said in January 2024 that he would leave at the end of the season, agreed in April to stay, then was sacked in May.

Which club set a world transfer record in 1998 by signing Denílson from São Paulo?

Real Betis made Denílson the world's most expensive player, and two years later, in 2000, the club were relegated.

In 2021, La Liga clubs approved selling a stake in the league's business to which private-equity firm?

CVC Capital Partners' deal went ahead over the opposition of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, who stayed out and challenged it in court.

Barcelona has sought official recognition as a La Liga title for which wartime competition it won in 1937?

The Mediterranean League was contested by Catalan and Valencian clubs while the Civil War stopped the national league, and by 2023 the federation had not counted it.