LaLiga returns this weekend, but without its two biggest clubs. Barcelona and Real Madrid will begin their campaigns next week after their opening matches were postponed to give players involved in the latter stages of the World Cup more time to rest and prepare for the new season.
The 2026-27 LaLiga season begins on Saturday night, but only six matches will be played during the opening matchday. Four fixtures have been postponed until later in August, including Barcelona and Real Madrid’s games.
The decision was made because players whose national teams reached the World Cup semi-finals would not have enough time for mandatory rest and pre-season preparation before the original start of the LaLiga season.
Spain reached and won the World Cup final against Argentina on July 19, leaving several Barcelona and Real Madrid players with limited time to recover before the new club season.
LaLiga champions Barcelona will begin their title defence away to Elche on Sunday, August 23.
Real Madrid, beginning Jose Mourinho’s second spell as manager, will visit Espanyol on Saturday, August 22.
Their second matches have also been moved towards the end of August. Barcelona will host Athletic Club at Camp Nou on Thursday, August 27, while Real Madrid will face Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, August 26.
Many of the clubs’ World Cup players have only recently returned to training. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Pau Cubarsi had their first training session back on Wednesday.
The situation is similar at Real Madrid. Marc Cucurella was not involved in their 1-0 friendly win over Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday, while Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni were also among the players returning late after their national teams reached the latter stages of the World Cup.
Atletico Madrid had more players than any other club involved in the World Cup final, with four representing Spain and five representing Argentina, although Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada have since moved to other clubs.
LaLiga would have allowed Atletico’s opening match against Malaga to be postponed as well. However, Canadian artist The Weeknd is scheduled to perform at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium on August 28, 29 and 30.
That left Atletico with little scope to move the fixture to late August, meaning Diego Simeone’s side will host Malaga on August 19.
It remains to be seen whether World Cup winners including Marcos Llorente and Alex Baena will feature, given they returned to training only seven days before Atletico’s season begins.
LaLiga wanted the 2026-27 season to start on August 15, despite several other major European leagues starting later. The Premier League begins on August 21, while the Bundesliga starts on August 28.
Spain’s players’ union, AFE, objected to the mid-August start because players whose countries went deep into the World Cup would not have enough time for the mandatory rest and pre-season period included in Spanish football’s collective bargaining agreement.
After months of debate, LaLiga’s club representatives unanimously agreed on June 9 to split the opening matchday. The Spanish football federation approved the season calendar at its annual assembly on June 30.
The agreement allowed clubs whose players reached the World Cup semi-finals to postpone their opening matches by 10 days.
The staggered schedule also means LaLiga fixtures will be played on all but one day between August 15 and 31. Spreading the games across the month helps with scheduling, particularly because high temperatures in many Spanish cities during August mean evening kick-offs are required for health and safety reasons.
The opening game is Deportivo Alaves vs Getafe on Saturday, August 15 at 11:30pm Bangladesh time, followed by Sevilla against Rayo Vallecano.
On Sunday, August 16, Racing Santander will host Villarreal, while Espanyol face Levante.
Deportivo La Coruna will welcome Elche on Monday, August 17, before Atletico Madrid host second-division play-off winners Malaga on Wednesday, August 19.
