The middle of August, as per usual, sees the return of top-flight football in Spain. With three different teams winning the title in last four seasons, it’s setting up to be another exciting battle with all of the front runners adding star power to their squad in order to be the one celebrating in May.
So, without further ado, let’s dive straight into the matter and see what the Spanish top sides are cooking ahead of the new season.
Real Madrid: Big signings to further establish the dominance
Given their 2023-24 campaign, it only makes sense we put Real Madrid on top. Los Merengues enjoyed an incredible season in LaLiga, amassing the third-highest point total in club’s history and only losing one game for the first time since 1989. They were the team that scored the most and conceded the least. Their Sofascore rating (7.20) was higher than any other team’s, and the league’s highest-rated player was their Jude Bellingham (8.05). With one of the biggest transfer sagas of the 21st century ending just like they wanted it to, Real Madrid will certainly fancy their chances of repeating last year’s success.
The core of the team stayed pretty much intact, with only few changes, but few quite big changes. The legendary midfield maestro Toni Kroos decided to hang up his boots after the European Championship, leaving a big gap not only in the hearts of all Madridistas, but in the heart of Madrid’s midfield as well. With another veteran, Luka Modrić, extending his contract for another, probably his last, year, it’s time for the young guns in the midfield to step up. However, filling the shoes of what is one of football’s greatest-ever midfield duos is no easy task, even if you’re as talented as Tchouaméni, Camavinga and Fede Valverde are.
They might not be up to the task this season already, but Real Madrid brought a player that is capable of winning any game in any given moment. After years and years of tempting and ruthless negotiations with Paris SG, Kylian Mbappé joined Real Madrid. Alongside him, yet another young star from Brazil is set to follow the footsteps of his countrymen Vinícius Junior and Rodrygo – Endrick, a 16 year-old sensation from Palmeiras who took the world of football by storm at the end of 2023 and start of 2024. Adding two such players to what already seemed a perfect machine is a real statement of intent from Real Madrid.
FC Barcelona: A summer overhaul to get the throne back
However, no team becomes great without a great rival. A 100-year-old story of Spain’s two biggest clubs pushing each other reaches another chapter. Lately, it’s Madrid who have had more success and made Barca push harder year after year to break that spell.
After a trophyless season, Barcelona’s management felt like they couldn’t just sit back and watch Madrid take trophy after trophy. Their joker for the upcoming season? Hansi Flick. Barça’s 2023/24 campaign had a lot of ups and downs, and they eventually finished it 10 points behind Real Madrid. Losing to your arch rivals by such a margin is never a good thing, and Madrid’s triumph in the Champions League was just another bitter pill the Blaugrana fans had to swallow.
Generally, the confidence in their squad exists, and it could be just a question of thinkering and organizing it in a better way, something they believe Hansi Flick could do. The only big move in the transfer market so far is the joining of La Masia graduate Dani Olmo, who returns to the club after 10 years for a fee of around €60M. They still haven’t given up on signing another EURO 2024 star, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams. Barça’s operatives are willing to bet that the pair of wingers that ran the European defences ragged during the Euros could do the same in club football as well. We can only wait and see.
Atlético Madrid: Another attempt to snatch it?
Diego Simeone’s 12 year-long reign in Atlético Madrid is almost a one of a kind in modern football. He took over in a mid-table team and had instant success that kept getting bigger and better year after year.
In the last decade, Atlético have battled side-by-side with the two forementioned giants, and even managed to win two league titles in 2013-14 and 2020-21. In the process, they’ve also reached two Champions League finals (losing both to Real Madrid), won a domestic cup and Super Cup, plus the Europa League and the European Supercup twice.
Throughout that journey Atlético has seen a change at all levels. From a more local and traditional presence, they spread globally and became a modern powerhouse with a huge new stadium, one of Europe’s most impressive. Their playing style followed that pattern, as they transitioned from a hard-working, fighting, defensive team to a more positive, proactive approach aligned with the trends of modern football.
And their signings this summer suggest that they’ll keep going in that direction. Two excellent acquisitions from LaLiga, Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth, followed by the arrival of Argentine superstar Julián Álvarez suggest that Atleti mean business. With a squad and a manager like theirs, one thing is certain – they have their eyes set on the ultimate prey.
Newcomers and relegated teams
The 2023/24 season was fatal for teams from Andalusia – all three of the relegated teams, Cádiz, Almería and Granada are situated in Spain’s southernmost region. Almería and Granada didn’t really stand a chance, while Cádiz struggled all season long but eventually returned to 2nd Division after a solid, 4 season-long stint in the top-flight.
In Segunda, Valladolid and Espanyol made an instant return to the elite, but both finished behind Leganés who topped the league to return to Primera after four years in the second tier.
The ones to watch
Even though the big three always takes the spotlight, the Spanish LaLiga offers a lot of other interesting teams and players. This season, Girona could be particularly interesting. Their historic run in 2023/24 sees them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in club’s history. With most of the protagonists of that success now gone, it will be interesting to see how they cope this season.
Sevilla could be an interesting watch under their new manager Garcia Pimienta who had his Las Palmas side play some impressive, possession-based football last season. At the end of the season, only Barcelona averaged more ball possession than the Canary side, and they were third in the league when it came to accurate passes per game, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. With all due respect, but in Sevilla Garcia Pimienta will find players of a higher level so it will definitely be interesting to see how they implement his ideas trying to leave behind the disappointing 14th place finish in 2023/24.
All in all, another season full of excitement is ahead of us! Three teams looking quite evenly matched ahead of the season on a quest to assert themselves as Spain’s number 1 promise a lot of fun. All we can do is enjoy the spectacle!