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La Liga has a lot of players who are always in the public eye but there are several who go under the radar as well. The terms underrated and overrated are used quite often in football-related discussions but their meaning is often misinterpreted.
These words are not substitutes for good or bad. They are just representative of a players' abilities and performances compared to how they are rated in the eyes of the public.
Some of La Liga's most underrated players
#5 Martin Zubimendi
City's Rodri might be the one earmarked to be Busquets' successor in the Spain team but Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi could stake a claim to that as well. A product of Real Sociedad's fantastic Zubieta academy, Zubimendi was an important part of Spain's U21 Euros squad as well as the Olympics squad.
Although his passing and ball progression numbers are quite good, it's his clearances and aerial duels that stand out at 2.78 and 2.42 per 90 respectively. It won't be surprising if some big club comes for him soon.
#4 Javi Galan
After an excellent season at Huesca, where he was one of the best in his position in the league, Galan wasn't going to be in the Segunda division when they got relegated. Numerous La Liga clubs were interested but Celta eventually sealed his signature.
Even though he gives immense defensive numbers like 16 pressures and 3.38 tackles per 90, it's his dribbling numbers that are the most noteworthy. Galan completes 3.32 dribbles a game from left back, which puts him among the best dribblers in the world.
#3 Bono
Yassine Bounou - or Bono as he's fondly called - is one of La Liga's best goalkeepers. He was arguably Sevilla's most important player in their 2019-20 Europa League win. Even apart from that, Bono pulls off impossible-looking saves once every game or two.
He has an insane save percentage of 78.2%, amongst the best in the world. He is also excellent at saving penalties, saving 36.4% of the spotkicks he faces. He saved the only penalty he has faced in the league this season, denying Real Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal in La Li.
#2 Jose Luis Morales
Levante have regularly been a very uncomfortable game for all of the 'Big 3' in Spain and Jose Luis Morales has been a massive reason for it. Last season he scored 13 goals which were crucial in keeping Levante clear of the relegation battle at all times.
Also, one of the great things about Morales is his availability. He has missed one out of Levante's last 119 league games since the beginning of the 2018/19 season. Having already bagged a couple this season, El Commandante's goalscoring exploits will once again be of immense importance for Levante.
#1 Sergio Canales
Sergio Canales was once a very highly rated wonderkid at Real Madrid but injuries and fate often hampered him. Spells at Real and Valencia as well as Real Sociedad were disappointing but it was after his move to Betis that Canales became great.
Right now, his metrics in La Liga are absolutely outstanding, be it goalscoring, creating, passing or ball progression.
A real talisman for Betis, Canales even got his Spain debut at a slightly older age of 29. While many wonderkids who fail to have initial success get bogged down by failure and descend into obscurity, Canales' is a story of perseverance and eventual success.
