Spanish La Liga Opens Season Without Two Giants

The 2026/27 season in the Spanish La Liga starts tomorrow, Saturday evening, but the country's two biggest teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona, will be absent from the opening round. Instead, both teams will play their first match of the season next Saturday, although their games against Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, which will be played later in the season, officially remain part of the first round.

The reason for this is not a suspension or a sporting sanction, but a schedule adjustment following the 2026 World Cup. The end date of the tournament, which the Spanish national team reached, was less than a month before the scheduled opening of the league, causing a delay for the major clubs.

The Spanish Football Federation determined that teams with a significant number of players involved in the semi-final or final stages of the World Cup would be able to postpone their opening league match to August 25, 26, or 27. The move is intended to provide additional recovery time following a demanding summer.

Barcelona had 10 players who participated in the semi-final stages of the World Cup, while Real Madrid had five, making both teams eligible for the postponement. In contrast, Atletico Madrid, which had 9 representatives in the final stages, will start the league in the round scheduled for Wednesday.

Real will begin their campaign in Barcelona against Espanyol. Atletico, which chose to play in the middle of the week, will start against newcomer Malaga, the team that has returned to the first division after 8 years. The defending champion, Barcelona, will start the season against Elche.