La Liga Betting 2023

La Liga Top Teams

History of La Liga

La Liga was founded in 1929, with just 10 clubs taking part in the inaugural season. It gradually grew over the decades until the powers that be authorised a 20-team division in 1987. Between 1995 and 1997 there were 22 teams in Spain's top tier, but over the last 25 years the division has featured 20 clubs.

Most Successful Sides

Real Madrid are the most successful team in La Liga history, having won the title 34 times. Los Blancos have finished as runners-up on a further 24 occasions.

Barcelona are second in the all-time rankings with 26 title triumphs, and 27 second-place finishes. They are the most successful side in the history of the Copa del Rey, Spain's equivalent to the FA Cup, with 31 victories.

Atletico Madrid are the only other club to have made it into double figures: they have lifted the trophy 11 times in their history.

Athletic Bilbao are eight-time champions and were the winners of the first ever La Liga campaign. The top five is rounded off by Valencia, who have finished top of the table on six occasions.

The Big Three

Anyone who is familiar with La Liga will know which clubs make up the 'big three'. 

In truth, for much of Spanish football history it would be more accurate to refer to the 'big two' of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Any game between those two sides is known as El Clasico. Barcelona vs Real Madrid is the biggest club game in the world and it is broadcast in every time zone.

A sustained spell of success under Diego Simeone has at times seen Atletico Madrid disrupt the duopoly. Today it is common to hear talk of Spain's big three.

La Liga Best Players

Best Current Players

Many of La Liga's biggest stars ply their trade for Real Madrid. Karim Benzema is playing the best football of his career even though he is now in his mid-30s. Luka Modric is still world-class despite his own advancing years, while Vinicius Junior offers Madrid hope for the future. Toni Kroos and David Alaba have also proven themselves over a number of years.

The current Barcelona squad is not as star-studded as it once was, but there is considerable excitement over the young trio Pedri, Ansu Fati and Gavi. Frenkie de Jong is slightly older but still has his peak years ahead of him, while Sergio Busquets will retire as a Barcelona legend.

Spain's two biggest clubs do not have a monopoly on the best players in the league. Antoine Griezmann, Joao Felix, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Thomas Lemar all turn out with distinction for Atletico Madrid. 

Nabil Fekir has been an impressive performer since he joined Real Betis from Ligue 1, while Iago Aspas has consistently delivered for Celta Vigo. 

Villarreal's leading light is Gerard Moreno, and Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde has been tipped to achieve great things in the game.

Best Historical Players

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest players of all time. Messi scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona, the club he first joined at the age of 13. Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 outings for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018.

Two of Messi's most important team-mates at the Camp Nou were Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. The two diminutive midfielders defined an era and showed that size is not everything in football. Going further back, Johan Cruyff, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman were all iconic figures at Barcelona.

Real Madrid won five European Cups in a row between 1956 and 1960. The star of that team was the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano, another player who deserves to be in the conversation about the best in football history. Sergio Ramos, Paco Gento, Iker Casillas and Zinedine Zidane all spent the best years of their careers at Madrid.

Betting on La Liga Players

Match Betting

Most betting markets are centred on team activities - which side will win, how many goals they will score, what the final result will be. However, there is an increasing number of player-focused markets available to bettors.

Match betting refers to events taking place within a 90-minute game. The goalscorer market is the most popular. Punters can choose which player they think will score the first goal and the last goal. You can also back a particular player to find the back of the net anytime.

The bigger the match, the more player-related betting opportunities there will be. Look out for player hat-tricks, player shots, player cards and player assists. 

You can also combine two or more selections to make a combination bet - such as Erik Lamela to score first and Sevilla to beat Espanyol.

Player Outrights

We have already covered team outrights earlier in this guide - title winner, relegation, Champions League qualification etc. It is also possible to predict season outcomes related to individual footballers.

The most popular choice is the top goalscorer market. This was once a two-way fight between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the race has in theory become more open since both players left Spanish football. We say 'in theory' because Karim Benzema is streets ahead of his competitors in the battle for the Pichichi trophy in 2021/22.

Some sportsbooks also offer odds on which player will finish the campaign with the most assists. At the time of writing, Benzema and Ousmane Dembele are tied in first place.