Top 26 Unbelievable La Liga Statistics and Facts You Didn’t Know
Think you know everything about La Liga? Think again! This list of 26 jaw-dropping stats and facts will take you on a wild ride through the most exciting moments and numbers in Spanish football. From young talents making history to seasoned legends smashing records, these are the kind of details that make La Liga truly special. Whether you're here for the drama, the talent, or just some fun football trivia — you’re in for a treat.
La Liga Players Statistics
As of January 2024, Sergio Busquets made the most Clásico appearances with 48 matches (Statista)
Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi had the second most appearances with 45, followed closely by Karim Benzema with 44. Manolo Sanchis, Francisco Gento, and Xavi tied for the fifth spot with 42 Clasico appearances.
Mario Martín has received the most red cards in La Liga during the 2024/25 season (La Liga)
As of 15th April 2025, he has been shown 3 reds. Vedat Muriqi, Pape Gueye and Dario Cassia Luís Essugo received two red cards in the same period.
Toni Kroos was the highest-paid player at Real Madrid in the 2023/24 season (Statista)
He pocketed over €24 million annually, then David Alaba earned €22.5 million. Luka Modric was the third most paid player, with €21.88m/year, and Vinicius Junior was fourth, getting 20.83 million annually.
David Otorbi is the youngest used player in La Liga in the 2024/25 season (Transfer Market)
He was 16 years, 10 months, and a day old when he made his first debut on Aug 17, 2024, for Valencia against Barcelona. Lamine Yamal is the second youngest at 17 years, 01 month, and 04 days, when he debuted on Aug 17, 2024, for Barcelona against Valencia.
Raul is the youngest La Liga player to make 500 appearances in the league (Transfer Market)
He made his 500th appearance when he was 31 Years, 06 Months, and 15 Days old. Followed by Andoni Zubizarreta at 33 Years, 05 Months, and 30 Days old.
Vinicius Junior is the most valuable player in La Liga in the 2024/25 season (Transfer Market)
He has a market value of €200m, followed by Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham at €180m. Kylian Mbappé is the third most valued player at €170m, followed by Bukayo Saka (€150m) at the fourth spot.
Lionel Messi is the all-time La Liga top goalscorer with 474 goals (Transfer Market)
He made 520 appearances to hit 474 goals. Christiano Ronaldo is the second-highest scorer ever, scoring 311 goals in 292 appearances. Telmo Zarra is third with 254 goals, and Karim Benzema is fourth, scoring 238.
Lamine Yamal is the youngest La Liga goalscorer in the 2024/25 season (Transfer Market)
He scored his first goal at 17 years, 1 month, and 11 days on Aug 24, 2024, against Athletic Bilbao. Endrick was the second youngest to score at 18 years, 1 month and 4 days on Aug 25, 2024, against Real Valladolid.
Paco Gento is the most successful player in the La Liga history (Transfer Market)
He has lifted 12 La Liga titles. Messi and Pirri are the second most successful players in La Liga, each with 10 titles.
Luka Modric is the oldest player to score in the La Liga in the 2024/25 season (Transfer Market)
As of 15th April 2025, Modric was the oldest player to score at 39 years, 05 months, and 14 days old. Jesús Navas was the second oldest at 38 years, 9 months, and 24 days old, followed by Cristhian Stuani at 38 years, 05 months, and 03 days.
Óscar de Marcos is the longest-serving player in the La Liga (Transfer Market)
He has been in Athletic Bilbao for 15 years, 09 months and 15 days. Koke is the second longest-serving player, having spent 14 years, 03 months, and 14 days in Atletico Madrid. The table below shows the top 5 longest-serving players in La Liga:
|
Player |
Duration |
|
Óscar de Marcos |
15 years, 09 months, and 15 days |
|
Koke |
14 years, 03 months, and 14 days |
|
Luka Modric |
12 years, 07 months, and 19 days |
|
José María Giménez |
11 years, 11 months, and 21 days |
|
Daniel Carvajal |
11 years, 09 months, and 15 days |
David Soria is the only La Liga player this season (2024/25) to play every minute (Transfer Market)
He has played all the 2,790 minutes this season. Paulo Gazzaniga is the second, having missed only 45 minutes totalling 2,745. Jan Oblak, Álex Remiro, Joan García, and Sergio Herrera have played 2,700 minutes each.
La Liga Clubs Statistics
As of Aug 2024, Real Madrid had La Liga’s most valuable squad at over €1.3 billion (Statista)
Barcelona had the second most valuable squad with €888.5 million. Atletico Madrid came third with a squad value of €479.15. The photo below shows the breakdown of the top 10 most valued squads during the period.
Real Madrid had the highest squad spending limit (€727.5 million) in the 2023/24 season (Statista)
Atlético Madrid had the second-largest salary cap at €296.4 million, followed by Barcelona with €270 million. Sevilla (€168.7 million) and Villareal (€143.9 million) came fourth and fifth, respectively.
In 2023/24, Real Madrid led all clubs with over €1 billion in total revenue (Statista)
This shows a 26% increase compared to the 2022/2023 season, which recorded €831 million. Commercial activities contributed the highest revenue (€482m) followed by broadcasting (€316m) and matchday (€248m).
La Liga Managers Statistics
Luis Aragonés is the longest-serving manager in La Liga History (Transfer Market)
He managed 756 matches in 25 seasons for 8 clubs. Miguel Muñoz is the second-serving manager, in charge of 612 La Liga matches in 22 seasons for 9 clubs. Javier Clemente was third with 517 matches in 21 seasons for only 9 clubs.
Diego Simeone is the most successful foreign manager in La Liga History (Transfer Market)
He has won 1,045 points in 509 matches in charge, followed by Manuel Pellegrini with 867 points in 515 games. Ferdinand Daucik came third with 794 points in 487 encounters.
La Liga Referee Statistics
Undiano Mallenco has shown the most yellow cards (1,734) of all time (Transfer Market)
He gave out 1,734 yellow cards in 348 appearances. Eduardo Iturralde González lifted the second most yellow cards with 1,562 in 291 appearances. Mateu Lahoz took the third spot with 220 in 287 appearances.
Eduardo Iturralde González gave out the most red cards (62) in La Liga history (Transfer Market)
He did all that in 291 appearances. Carlos Megía Dávila lifted the second most direct red cards (55) in 1,281 appearances. César Muñiz Fernández took the third spot with 51 in 252 appearances.
Jesús Gil Manzano has given out the most penalties in LaLiga history (Transfer Market)
He gave out 101 penalties in 249 appearances. Undiano Mallenco gave out the second-most penalties (96) in 348 appearances.
La Liga Transfer Statistics
Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé hold the record for the highest transfer fees into La Liga (Transfer Market)
They both joined Barcelona for €135 million. João Félix to Atletico Madrid has the second most fees at €127.20m, and Eden Hazard to Real Madrid is third with a €120.8m transfer fee.
Neymar holds the highest transfer out fee in La Liga, with a record of €222m (Transfer Market)
The player was transferred to PSG from Barcelona on Aug 3, 2017. Ángel Di María was the second most transferred player from Real Madrid to Manchester United on Aug 26, 2014, for €75m.
Other La Liga Statistics
Sergio Ramos has the worst disciplinary record in La Liga (Transfer Market)
He has received 167 yellow cards, 14 second yellow cards, and seven direct red cards. Raúl García is the second-worst player with a disciplinary record with 152 yellow cards, 3 second yellow cards and three direct red cards. Pablo Alfaro has the highest direct red cards (14).
Rodrigo De Paul received the fastest red card on his debut in La Liga history (Transfer Market)
He was sent off against Sevilla 2 minutes into the game on Aug 23, 2014. Esteban Granero received the second-fastest red card 6 minutes into the game on his debut on Sep 16, 2007.
In 2024/25, the Bernabéu was La Liga’s biggest stadium, with over 81,000 capacity (Statista)
Atlético Madrid’s Civitas Metropolitano was the second-largest stadium in La Liga with a capacity of over 70,460, followed by Benito Villamarín, home of Real Betis, which held 60,721 fans.
As of 2024, Real Madrid had won the most La Liga trophies (Statista)
The club had 36 La Liga titles, followed by Barcelona with 27. Atletico Madrid came third with 11 and Athletic Bilbao (8). Sevilla, Real Betis and Deportivo La Coruna had only one title.
Conclusion
La Liga has always been more than just the 90 minutes on the pitch — it's a story of fierce rivalries, extraordinary talent, record-breaking moments, and unforgettable legends. These 26 fascinating facts give us just a glimpse into the rich legacy of the league.
You may also want to know more about the English Premier League and Sports betting statistics.
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