Real Madrid clinched the 2019-’20 La Liga title with a 2-1 win over Villareal at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano to win their 34th Spanish league title, moving eight clear of nearest rivals Barcelona.
Los Blancos once again beat the Catalans to the title, pulling clear of Quique Setien’s men after the season that was brought to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic resumed in June.
Trailing Barcelona by two points heading into the final eleven games of the season, Zinedine Zidane’s embarked on a 10-match winning streak to leave Barcelona in their wake.
Struggling for form Lionel Messi and Co couldn’t keep up with Real Madrid and surrendered the title to them in a meek fashion as they lost 2-1 to ten-man Osasuna at home.
Read: We’ve been very inconsistent, very weak: Messi slams Barcelona as Real Madrid win La Liga
Barcelona who won ten La Liga titles in the last fifteen years had closed the gap on Madrid who were sitting pretty with 31 titles to their name back in 2004. However, since Zidane took over at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid have been able to keep pace with Barcelona’s winning spree in Spain.
After Real Madrid’s triumph here’s how the league title leaderboard looks.
Clubs with Spanish league titles
| Club | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 34 | 23 |
| Barcelona | 26 | 26 |
| Atlético Madrid | 10 | 10 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 8 | 7 |
| Valencia | 6 | 6 |
| Real Sociedad | 2 | 3 |
| Deportivo La Coruña | 1 | 5 |
| Sevilla | 1 | 4 |
| Real Betis | 1 | 0 |
As can be seen in the table above, only nine teams have ever been Spanish champions. Real Madrid and Barcelona have always dominated proceedings with Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao providing competition on occasions in the competition’s 91-year history.
Such has been the dominance of the two clubs that Real Madrid (37%) and Barcelona (30%) have won 67% of La Liga titles since the competition began in 1929.
La Liga standings since 2010
| Teams | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 13–14 | 14–15 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19-20* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAR | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| RMA | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| VAL | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | TBD |
| ATM | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | TBD |
| DEP | 10 | 18 | - | 19 | - | 16 | 15 | 16 | 18 | - | - |
| SEV | 4 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6 | TBD |
| ATH | 8 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 8 | TBD |
| RSO | - | 15 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 9 | TBD |
| ESP | 11 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 7 | TBD |
| BET | - | - | 13 | 7 | 20 | - | 10 | 15 | 6 | 10 | TBD |
| VIL | 7 | 4 | 18 | - | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | TBD |
Only six teams in Spain have won the top-flight title more than once with the top five teams – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia winning 95% of the Spanish championships.
With Real Madrid going strong under Zidane and Barcelona likely to undergo a summer overhaul after their bitter disappointment this season, the pecking order in Spanish football is likely to remain unchanged.