The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, also known as La Liga, came into existence in 1929 with only 10 participating teams.
It is one of the most popular football leagues in the world and some of the best players in history like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have plied their trades in the Spanish top-flight over the years.
Before La Liga's inception, the ‘Copa Del Rey’ was Spain's national championship.
The basic structure of La Liga imbibes the double round-robin system with 20 participating teams. Each team has 38 matches every season where they play two games each against the rest of the teams.
At the end of each season, the three teams positioned last in the league are relegated to the Segunda Division and the top three teams from that division are promoted to La Liga.
A total of 62 teams have participated in the La Liga over the years, with Real Madrid holding the most number of titles (34), followed by their rivals Barcelona who have won 26 titles. In the 2020-21 season, Atletico Madrid won their second La Liga title under Diego Simeone, as Los Rojiblancos got their hands on the domestic crown for the first time since their historic 2013-14 campaign.
In the latest edition of La Liga, which is the 2021-22 season, Real Madrid has been crowned as the Champions. Los Blancos has been crowned champions with still 2 games left to play. This is Real Madrid's 35th Spanish League title.
| Season | Winners | Runners-up |
| 1928-29 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1929–30 | Athletic Bilbao | Barcelona |
| 1930–31 | Athletic Bilbao | Racing Santander |
| 1931–32 | Real Madrid | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1932–33 | Real Madrid | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1933–34 | Athletic Bilbao | Real Madrid |
| 1934–35 | Real Betis | Real Madrid |
| 1935–36 | Athletic Bilbao | Real Madrid |
| 1936–37 | Canceled due to Civil War | |
| 1937–38 | Canceled due to Civil War | |
| 1938–39 | Canceled due to Civil War | |
| 1939–40 | Atlético Aviación | Sevilla |
| 1940–41 | Atlético Aviación | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1941–42 | Valencia | Real Madrid |
| 1942–43 | Athletic Bilbao | Sevilla |
| 1943–44 | Valencia | Atlético Aviación |
| 1944–45 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1945–46 | Sevilla | Barcelona |
| 1946–47 | Valencia | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1947–48 | Barcelona | Valencia |
| 1948–49 | Barcelona | Valencia |
| 1949–50 | Atlético Madrid | Deportivo La Coruña |
| 1950–51 | Atlético Madrid | Sevilla |
| 1951–52 | Barcelona | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1952–53 | Barcelona | Valencia |
| 1953–54 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1954–55 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1955–56 | Athletic Bilbao | Barcelona |
| 1956–57 | Real Madrid | Sevilla |
| 1957–58 | Real Madrid | Atlético Madrid |
| 1958–59 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1959–60 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1960–61 | Real Madrid | Atlético Madrid |
| 1961–62 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1962–63 | Real Madrid | Atlético Madrid |
| 1963–64 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1964–65 | Real Madrid | Atlético Madrid |
| 1965–66 | Atlético Madrid | Real Madrid |
| 1966–67 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1967–68 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1968–69 | Real Madrid | Las Palmas |
| 1969–70 | Atlético Madrid | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1970–71 | Valencia | Barcelona |
| 1971–72 | Real Madrid | Valencia |
| 1972–73 | Atlético Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1973–74 | Barcelona | Atlético Madrid |
| 1974–75 | Real Madrid | Zaragoza |
| 1975–76 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1976–77 | Atlético Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1977–78 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1978–79 | Real Madrid | Sporting de Gijón |
| 1979–80 | Real Madrid | Real Sociedad |
| 1980–81 | Real Sociedad | Real Madrid |
| 1981–82 | Real Sociedad | Barcelona |
| 1982–83 | Athletic Bilbao | Real Madrid |
| 1983–84 | Athletic Bilbao | Real Madrid |
| 1984–85 | Barcelona | Atlético Madrid |
| 1985–86 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1986–87 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1987–88 | Real Madrid | Real Sociedad |
| 1988–89 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1989–90 | Real Madrid | Valencia |
| 1990–91 | Barcelona | Atlético Madrid |
| 1991–92 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1992–93 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1993–94 | Barcelona | Deportivo La Coruña |
| 1994–95 | Real Madrid | Deportivo La Coruña |
| 1995–96 | Atlético Madrid | Valencia |
| 1996–97 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 1997–98 | Barcelona | Athletic Bilbao |
| 1998–99 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 1999–2000 | Deportivo La Coruna | Barcelona |
| 2000–01 | Real Madrid | Deportivo La Coruña |
| 2001–02 | Valencia | Deportivo La Coruña |
| 2002–03 | Real Madrid | Real Sociedad |
| 2003–04 | Valencia | Barcelona |
| 2004–05 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2005–06 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2006–07 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 2007–08 | Real Madrid | Villarreal |
| 2008–09 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2009–10 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2010–11 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2011–12 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 2012–13 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2013–14 | Atlético Madrid | Barcelona |
| 2014–15 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2015–16 | Barcelona | Real Madrid |
| 2016–17 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 2017–18 | Barcelona | Atlético Madrid |
| 2018-19 | Barcelona | Atlético Madrid |
| 2019-20 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
| 2020-21 | Atletico Madrid | Real Madrid |
| 2021-22 | Real Madrid | Barcelona |
La Liga Winners List: Champions List (Top 5)
| Clubs | number of La Ligas |
| Real Madrid | 35 |
| Barcelona | 26 |
| Atletico Madrid | 11 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 8 |
| Valencia | 6 |
La Liga Winning Managers (Top 5)
| Name of manager | Club | Number of La Liga titles |
| Miguel Munoz | Real Madrid | 9 |
| Johan Cryuff | FC Barcelona | 4 |
| Pep Guardiola | FC Barcelona | 3 |
| Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 2 |
| Luis Enrique | FC Barcelona | 2 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won La Liga for the past ten years?
In the past 10 years, Barcelona have won 5 La Liga titles, Real Madrid have won 3 times while Atletico Madrid have been champions twice.
Who is the best striker in La Liga history?
Lionel Messi holds the record for most goals in La Liga history with 474, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo who was 311.
Who is the best defender in La Liga?
La Liga has had a great history of defenders which includes the likes of Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Roberto Carlos etc.
