La Liga 2025/26 Preview: Teams, Transfers, and Title Contenders

La Liga 25/26 Preview: Teams, Transfers, and Title Contenders

After a long summer slog, European football is back! Even though we had the Club World Cup on during much of June and July, it feels like it has been forever since we turned on our screens for some proper domestic and European clashes.

With play underway on Friday with Girona vs Rayo Vallecano, Football Park will be providing you with an in-depth look into the sides competing in Spain’s La Liga for the 2025/26 season. We be having a brief glance at each side as well checking out any new names on their respective books, before diving into the juice of the title contenders, the battle for Europe, and any club destined for a relegation scrap.

Meet the Clubs Competing in La Liga This Season

Athletic Club – League Titles: 8

Athletic Bilbao finished last season in fourth place, earning qualification to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2014/15 season.

The Basque side host Sevilla on the opening day of this La Liga campaign, on Sunday at 18:00 BST.

Transfers

INs: Robert Navarro (Free), Jesus Areso (£10m)

OUTs: Benat Gerenabarrena (Loan), Julen Agirrezabala (Loan), Javier Marton (Free), Iker Varela (Loan), Hugo Rincon (Loan), Oier Gastesi (Loan), Alvaro Djalo (£2.5m), Aingeru Olabarrieta (Loan)

Atletico Madrid – League Titles: 11

Diego Simeone’s side will be disappointing with their previous campaign. Atleti finished third in La Liga and were knocked out on penalties by arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, before getting knocked out in the Group Stage at the Club World Cup.

They also failed to push either of Real Madrid or Barcelona despite having the second-best defensive record in the division.

Transfers

INs: Clément Lenglet (Free), Juan Musso (£2.5m), Matteo Ruggeri (£14m), Álex Baena (£37m), Johnny Cardoso (£25m), Thiago Almada (£21m), Marc Pubill (£13m), David Hancko (£25m), Santiago Mourino (£3.3m), Giacomo Raspadori (£18m)

OUTs: Reinildo (Released), César Azpilicueta (Released), Axel Witsel (Released), Rodrigo Riquelme (£6.6m), Ángel Correa (£6.6m), Adrián Nino (£332k), Diego Bri (Loan), Alejandro Iturbe (Free), Horatiu Moldovan (Loan), Saul Niguez (Free), Rodrigo De Paul (Loan), Samuel Dias Lino (£18m), Thomas Lemar (Loan), Santiago Mourino (£8.3m), Victor Mollejo (£290k)

Barcelona – League Titles: 28

Title number 28 was won by Barca and Hansi Flick just a few months ago as they stormed their way to a domestic treble.

They completely had Madrid’s number in El Clásico too, winning all four clashes and missed out on a Champions League final due to a late winner in extra-time.

Barcelona lift the La Liga trophy in front of their fans 🏆

(via @FCBarcelona)pic.twitter.com/KkYfeA4Cy3

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 18, 2025

Transfers

INs: Joan Garcia (£21m), Roony Bardghji (£2.1m), Marcus Rashford (Loan)

OUTs: Álex Valle (£5.1m), Clément Lenglet (Free), Aleix Garrido (Free), Andre Astralaga (Loan), Noah Darvich (£1.7m), Ansu Fati (Loan), Pablo Torre (£4.2m), Sergi Dominguez (£996k), Pau Victor (£10m), Inigo Martinez (Released)

Celta Vigo – Best Finish: 4th Place

Celta had an excellent domestic campaign last season, as they finished seventh, qualifying for the Europa League.

They face Getafe on Sunday in their opening game of the season.

Transfers

INs: Ilaix Moriba (£5.1m), Ferrán Jutglà (£4.2m), Ionut Radu (Free), Bryan Zaragoza (£830k), Borja Iglesias (Free)

OUTs: Fer Lopez (£19m), Miguel Rodriguez (£1.2m), Vicente Guaita (Released), Jailson (Released), Alcon González (Free), Jørgen Strand Larsen (£22m), Carlos Dotor (Loan), Carles Pérez (Loan), Manuel Sánchez (Loan), Unai Nunez (Loan), César Fernández (Free), Martin Conde (£249k)

Deportivo Alaves – Best Finish: 6th Place

Alaves survived a tough relegation scrap last season, finishing in 15th on 42 points.

They lost just once in their last seven matches as they went on to survive by just two points.

Transfers

INs: Pablo Ibánez (Free), Jonny Otto (Free), Raul Fernández (Free), Youssef Enriquez (£249k), Calebe (Loan), Carles Alena (Free), Mariano Diaz (Free)

OUTs: Unai Ropero (Loan), Abdelkabir Abqar (Released), Kike Garcia (Free), Aleksandar Sedlar (Released), Adrian Pica (Loan), Tomás Mendes (Loan), Tomas Conechny (£2.5m), Jesus Owono (Loan), Joaquin Panichelli (£14m), Santiago Mourino (£3.3m), Daouda Doumbia (Free), Selu Diallo (Loan), Asier Villalibre (Loan), Adrián Rodriguez (Loan)

Elche – Best Finish: 5th Place

A late season blunder from Elche may have cost them the La Liga 2 title, but they will be very pleased to return to the top tier after two years out.

They have been recruiting in quality over quantity as they look to survive their first campaign back.

Transfers

INs: Germán Valera (Free), Léo Pétrot (Free), Alejandro Iturbe (Free), Álvaro Rodriguez (£1.7m), Martim Neto (Free), Victor Chust (Loan), Federico Redondo (Free)

OUTs: José Salinas (Free), Nicolas Castro (£4.2m), Álex Martin (Free), Nicolás Fernández (Free), Miguel San Román (Free), Oscar Plano (Released), Gerard Hernandez (£830k)

Espanyol – Best Finish: 3rd Place

Barcelona’s Catalunya rivals secured a safe 14th place last campaign.

After an unbeaten pre-season, however, they will be seeking a top half finish this year.

Transfers

INs: Hugo Pérez (Free), Marcos Fernandez (Free), José Salinas (Free), Carlos Romero (Loan), Roberto Fernández (£5.1m), Ramon Terrats (Loan), Marko Dmitrovic (Free), Miguel Rubio (Free), Kike Garcia (Free), Tyrhys Dolan (Free)

OUTs: Joan Garcia (£21m), Fernando Pacheco (Released), Sergi Gomez (Released), Álvaro Aguado (Released), Brian Oliván (Released), Kenneth Soler (Released), Omar Sadiq (Loan), Álvaro Tejero (Free), Justin Smith (Loan), José Gragera (Loan), Marc Jurado (Free), Roger Martinez (Free), Hugo Pérez (Loan), Gaston Valles (Released), Sergi Gomez (Free)

Getafe – Best Finish 5th Place

After losing seven of their last eight league games last season, they were brought into a late relegation battle. If they hadn’t done so well in the period before, Getafe may have faced a shock relegation.

They face a tough start to the season, with three games back-to-back on the road.

Getafe CF have confirmed that left-back Juan Bernat (32) and right-back Allan Nyom (37) will both leave the club on July 1 upon the expiry of their contracts.#Getafe #LaLiga #Transfers pic.twitter.com/7CjgrY8UoM

— Transfers247 - La Liga (@t247laliga) June 10, 2025

Transfers

INs: Juanmi (£996k), Yvan Neyou Noupa (Free), Kiki (Free), Adrián Liao (Loan), Alex Sancris (Free), Javier Munoz (Free), Mario Martin (Loan), Abdelkabir Abqar (Free)

OUTs: Juan Bernat (Released), Allan Nyom (Released), Jonathan Silva (Free), Yellu Santiago (Free), Carles Alena (Free), Juan Berrocal (Loan), Jeremy Jorge (Free), Abdoulaye Keita (Free), Luca Lohr (Free), Omar Alderete (£9.5m)

Girona – Best Finish: 3rd Place

After coming in a historic third place just two seasons ago, Girona almost had a nightmare following that after the loss of many key players.

They have learned from this and have recruited well this summer.

Transfers

INs: Hugo Rincon (Loan), Thomas Lemar (Loan), Joel Roca (Free), Victor Reis (Loan), Axel Witsel (Free)

OUTs: Juanpe (Released), Ilyas Chaira (£1.2m), Ibrahima Kébé (Released), Min-Su Kim (Loan), Hugo Anglada (Loan), Gabriel Misehouy (Loan), Toni Fuidias (Loan), Oriol Comas (Free), Lucas Garcia (Free), Valery Fernández (Released), Jastin Garcia (Loan), Marc Aznar (Free)

Levante – Best Finish: 6th Place

Promotion to La Liga via being crowned Champions of the second division, Levante barely put a foot wrong during the run-in.

Returning after three years, Los Azulgranas will seek a good start to avoid a later relegation battle.

Transfers

INs: Kervin Arriaga (£415k), Victor Garcia (Free), Jeremy Toljan (Free), Alan Matturo (Loan), Matias Moreno (Loan), Jon Olasagasti (Free), Manuel Sánchez (Loan), Goduine Koyalipou (Loan)

OUTs: Giorgi Kochorashvili (£4.6m), Andrés Fernández (Released), Marcos Navarro (Released), Ángel Algobia (Released), Ignasi Miquel (Released), Manuel Sanchez (Free), Xavi Grande (Loan), Dani Martin (Loan), Edgar Alcaniz (Loan), Hugo Redon (Loan)

Mallorca – Best Finish: 3rd Place

Mallorca were a well-drilled unit last year, as they finished in a comfortable 10th place and eight points clear of the drop zone.

After being on the outskirts of European football towards the back-end, they did eventually drop back slightly as they earned just five points in their last seven games.

Transfers

INs: Pablo Torre (£4.2m), Lucas Bergström (Free), Mateo Joseph (Loan)

OUTs: Robert Navarro (Free), Siebe van der Heyden (£1.7m), José Copete (£3m)

Osasuna – Best Finish: 4th Place

Osasuna were very good last season at not losing games. They drew a league-high 16, losing just four more than Barcelona.

After seemingly being able to keep hold of their star forward Ante Budimir, who scored 21 last season, they might be able to repeat last year’s successes.

Transfers

INs: Valentin Rosier (Free), Victor Munoz (£4.2m)

OUTs: Unai Garcia (Free), Pablo Ibánez (Free), Rubén Pena (Free), Xabi Huarte (Free), Jesus Areso (£10m), Diego Moreno (Free), Sixtus Ogbuehi (Free)

Rayo Vallecano – Best Finish: 5th Place

After pipping Osasuna to the post, Vallecano have made their long-awaited 24-year return to European football.

Entering the Conference League play-off, Rayo Vallecano will have a tight schedule to start the season, and play Barcelona in just their third match of La Liga.

🇪🇸➡️🇫🇴 KÍ Klaksvík won 2-0 last night against Neman Grodno in the Conference League third qualifying round.

So, it looks likely that Rayo Vallecano’s first European game in 24 years will be a 2432km journey to the Faroe Islands!

Not a bad way to return to Europe! pic.twitter.com/I22CCihH2F

— The European Football Express (@TheEuroFE) August 6, 2025

Transfers

INs: Augusto Batalla (£1.3m), Luiz Felipe (Free), Gerard Gumbau (Loan), Jozhua Vertrouwd (£1.2m)

OUTs: Sergi Guardiola (Free), Miguel Morro (Loan), Raul de Tomas (Loan), Jonathan Montiel (Free)

Real Betis – League Titles: 1

Last year’s Conference League finalists narrowly missed out on Champions League football last season, as they finished outside the top five.

Los Verdiblancos could be in for a tough campaign this year, after losing a number of key players.

Transfers

INs: Natan (£7.5m), Álvaro Vallés (Free), Rodrigo Riquelme (£6.6m), Junior Firpo (Free), Gonzalo Petit (£5m), Pau Lopez (Free), Valentin Gomez (£4.6m), Nelson Deossa (£11m)

OUTs: Youssouf Sabaly (£1.7m), Álex Collado (£2.1m), Marcos Fernandez (Free), Rui Silva (£3.9m), Juanmi (£996k), Ricardo Visus (£374k), Jesus Rodriguez, (£19m), Lucas Alcázar (Free), Sergio Arribas (Loan), Guilherme Fernandes (Free), Xavi Pleguezuelo (Free), Johnny Cardoso (£25m), William Carvalho (Released), Mateo Flores (Loan), Ismael Barea (Loan), Gonzalo Petit (Loan), Romain Perraud (£2.5m), Borja Iglesias (Free), Fransisco Vieites (Released)

Real Madrid – League Titles: 36

Los Blancos had an abysmal season for their standards. Zero Clásico victories, and poor domestic and continental campaigns meant that Carlo Ancelotti parted ways with the club.

New coach Xabi Alonso has come through the doors with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen as they seek to inspire the squad to more success.

Transfers

INs: Dean Huijsen (£49m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.3m), Franco Mastantuono (£37m), Alvaro Carreras (£42m)

OUTs: Jesus Vallejo (Released), Luka Modric (Released), Lucas Vázquez (Released), Victor Munoz (£4.2m), Youssef Enriquez (£249k), Álvaro Rodriguez (£1.7m), Chema Andres (£2.6m), Mario Martin (Loan), Lorenzo Aguado (Free), Jacobo Ramon (£2.1m), Reinier (Free)

Real Oviedo – Best Finish: 3rd Place

Oviedo return to La Liga for the first time since 2001 after winning the La Liga 2 play-off final in extra-time to take down Mirandes.

40-year-old Santi Cazorla inspired his team with 10 goal contributions and he will bring heaps of experience into this inexperienced Oviedo squad if they are to stay up this season.

Santi Cazorla could have retired comfortably but instead chose to return to his boyhood club Real Oviedo at 38 on a minimum wage contract. Now 40, he's just helped guide them back to La Liga for the first time in 24 years, scoring in both the playoff semi-final and final 💙 pic.twitter.com/g0VVMMsgSG

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) June 22, 2025

Transfers

INs: Brandon Domingues (Free), Ilyas Chaira (£1.2m), Salomon Rondon (Loan), Alberto Reina (Free), Horatiu Moldovan (Loan), Luka Ilic (£1.7m), Alex Forés (Loan), Ovie Ejaria (Free)

OUTs: Quentin Braat (Free), Sebas Moyano (Free), César de la Hoz (Released), Carlos Pomares (Released), Pau de la Fuente (Released), Santi Miguelez (Free), Chukwuma Eze (Loan), Alberto del Moral (Loan), Daniel Paraschiv (Loan)

Real Sociedad – League Titles: 2

Sociedad’s 11th place finish last season was their worst campaign since the 2017/18 season.

Only two clubs scored less than Sociedad’s 35 too, but Gonçalo Guedes from Wolves is an excellent purchase as a forward option.

Transfers

INs: Duje Caleta-Car (£415k), Gonçalo Guedes (£3.3m)

OUTs: Jon Magunazelaia (Free), Martin Zubimendi (£50m), Jon Olasagasti (Free)

Sevilla – League Titles: 1

After surviving relegation by a single point last season, Sevilla face uncertainty over if they will struggle again, amidst their ongoing financial issues.

Odisseas Vlachodimos has arrived on loan from Nottingham Forest to bolster the defence which shipped 55 goals last campaign.

Transfers

INs: Alfon Gonzalez (Free), Gabriel Souzo (Free), Odisseas Vlachodimos (Loan)

OUTs: Suso (Free), Mateo Mejia (£166k)

Valencia – League Titles: 6

It has been a big clear out for Valencia this summer, after having 12 players depart already.

Their 12th place finish last year is sure to not happen again after recruiting with an eye on top half finish and they may even challenge for Europe.

Transfers

INs: Daniel Raba (Free), Julen Agirrezabala (Loan), José Copete (£3m), Baptiste Santamaria (£1.7m), Filip Ugrinic (£3.3m), Arnaut Danjuma (£415k)

OUTs: Jaume Domenech (Released), Pedro Aleman (Free), Germán Valera (Free), Iker Cordoba (Loan), Hugo González (Free), Yarek Gasiorowski (£7.5m), Christhian Mosquera (£12m), Martin Tejon (Free), Marco Camus (Free), Cenk Özkacar (Loan), Hamza Bellari (Loan)

Villarreal – Best Finish: 2nd Place

Villarreal surged towards the end of last season, winning their last six matches to achieve Champions League football after missing out on European football completely the season before.

They have certainly lost more quality than they have brought in, so there is still much to do before the window closes.

Transfers

INs: Alberto Moleiro (£13m), Rafa Marin (Loan), Tajon Buchanan (£7.5m), Santiago Mourino (£8.3m), Thomas Partey (Free)

OUTs: Andrés Ferrari (£2.1m), Carlos Romero (Loan), Eric Bailly (Released), Ramon Terrats (Loan), Raul Albiol (Released), Kiko (Free), Álex Baena (£37m), Thiago Ojeda (Loan), Thierno Barry (£25m), Dani Requena (Loan), Arnaut Danjuma (£415k), Carlo Garcia (Free)

Title Contenders

This year’s title race is almost certain to be more hotly-contested than last season. Real Madrid look completely new, and although they have lost Luka Modric, we have seen new talent shine.

Gonzalo Garcia had a superb Club World Cup and he looks like he can be an excellent super sub for whenever things aren’t quite working out up front. The additions of Alonso as the new head coach will provide a fresh perspective on how Los Blancos can look to improve, with the signings of Huijsen and Trent providing Madrid with defensive solidity.

🚨 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 GOLDEN BOOT WINNER - GONZALO GARCIA.

MADE IN MADRID. ⭐️🤍 pic.twitter.com/DtFPufg4bp

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) July 13, 2025

As for Barcelona, they look in superb shape to win successive La Liga titles since the 17/18 and 18/19 seasons. They have only made three transfers, and they are certainly looking into the future with two of them.

Firstly, Marcus Rashford joined from Manchester United on loan, with him offering valid quality on the left-side, and as a forward option off the bench. With two of Barca’s attackers injured for the start of the season, it is vital for Rashford to have an immediate impact.

They have also invested money in the signings of Bardghji from Copenhagen, who joins on a four-year deal, and shot-stopper Joan Garcia. For the latter, he could certainly play a huge role in between the sticks as a back-up to Wojciech Szczesny. This comes after a legal dispute between Marc-Andre ter Stegen and the club. Bardghji joins an ongoing list of young talent coming out of the Scandinavian region in recent years. With a bulk of these stars coming out of Norway, Denmark is also producing them at a quick rate.

Lastly, Atletico Madrid are quietly sitting on the outside of the title talk. They may have ended far off the pace last season, and had a bad time of it continentally, Diego Simeone’s side should not be counted out.

They were their usual selves defensively, conceding just 30 goals all season, only bettered by Athletic Club. However, in attack, they scored just 68 goals, which isn’t bad at first glance, but you are not going to oust Barcelona or Madrid off their perch scoring that few. This comes despite Alexander Sørloth and Julián Álvarez both enjoying successful debut seasons in the capital. They scored 20 and 17 La Liga goals respectively, with the ex-Manchester City forward grabbing 43 goal contributions overall, yet unfortunately missed out on a Ballon d'Or nomination.

They will certainly need other players to step up often if Simeone’s side are going to truly challenge the two titans once again.

Battle for Europe

With eight sides in European competition, should a majority of them perform to their abilities, we could see Spain start to achieve the fifth Champions League spot more often, with their club’s performances ideally earning them a European Performance Spot, where you can click the link to understand how countries can earn them for their teams.

This would mean seeing eight or more Spanish sides in European competition more often, granting more opportunities to sides such as Girona or Rayo Vallecano, who can over perform and can a valuable opportunity to compete with Europe’s best.

Last season, there were just six points between eighth and 12th, showing there are plenty of chances for to see different clubs enter Europe if they can just string together two or three more wins. Real Betis may struggle to uphold their sixth place finish from last season, after losing a number of key players such as Carvalho, Cardoso, and Iglesias. This leaves massive gaps in the squad with Los Verdiblancos are yet to fill and they could easily drop down the table, especially with sides as round them improving.

One of these clubs being Valencia. Los Che have added some serious quality and squad depth, adding Bilbao’s back-up keeper, Copete from Mallorca to bolster their defences, and Danjuma formerly of Villarreal, who still has what it takes to produce a 20-goal involvement season. Bare in mind Valencia were just four points away from playing in Europe last season, this improves their chances catastrophically on a European return.

Our latest signings 🦇#ValenciaTorino#TrofeuTaronja pic.twitter.com/u1malO7jO1

— Valencia CF (@valenciacf_en) August 9, 2025

Lastly, Girona could make a return to challenge for European positions. Of course, it is not yet concrete what competition this could be, but after avoiding relegation by a single point, they have taken this as a reality check. Some incredible business on a tight budget has included signing Lemar on loan from Atletico to add another attacking threat. They have also brought in Reis, Rincon, and Witsel on free and on loans to add a mix of experience and freshness to the defence as Girona do not want to be conceding 60 goals again this season.

Candidates for a Relegation Scrap

Next year could be a sad one for Sevilla fans. The club are suffering from a severe crisis which has seen them forced to sell certain players over recent seasons as they continue to register large financial losses. They barely have a budget at all, with only Vlachodimos coming in who will really add quality to the squad, and he will need to have the season of his life to help Sevilla survive comfortably.

Their sad fall in recent years is reflected by their continued drop down the table by position, and if they fall even one spot this season, they will face relegation.

Many people may think that Real Oviedo’s return to the top-flight will be short-lived, but there is a chance that if certain players fly, they might be able to do just enough to earn another year in La Liga. Three players in particular – a 40-year-old Santi Cazorla, Salomon Rondon, and Horatiu Moldovan.

Cazorla returned to his boyhood club at the start of the 2023/24 season, where they lost out on promotion to Espanyol. Last season, Cazorla played more of an integral role in helping them return to the top-flight after a 24-year absence. His experience will be key in helping the team remain calm when they need to.

Their two new signings Rondon and Moldovan could be crucial to their survival too. The latter comes on loan from Atletico, and he played with Sassuolo in the Serie B last season, playing almost every game as they were promoted as Champions, and Moldovan was a reliable and consistent performer, which is exactly Oviedo will require from him this season. Rondon is an invaluable pick up too from Pachuca. He also comes as a loan, but the Venezuelan could very well be the reason Oviedo are above the drop zone in May. The forward scored 26 times in 49 games last season and even at the age of 35, could play a key role.

Lastly, Levante could also stand a chance of surviving, but could equally find themselves in a difficult position. They have talent to be capable of staying up, however, confidence can change very quickly if they don’t get off to a good start, and they play both Barcelona and Real Madrid by the end of September, so the matches surrounding that are going to be crucial.