Whats LA LIGA

The Primera División (First Division) of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP), commonly known in the English-speaking world as La Liga, and officially named for sponsorship reasons Liga BBVA (BBVA League) is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top two teams in that division plus the winner of a play-off. A total of 59 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. Real Madrid have won the title a record 32 times and Barcelona 22 times. During the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, however, La Liga has seen other champions, including, Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Real Betis, and Sevilla.

La Liga is the strongest league in Europe over the past five years, according to UEFA's league coefficient. La Liga has been the strongest and leading league in Europe for longer than any other European league (17 years in total). Real Madrid and Barcelona top the table of clubs listed by number of times they were top-ranked in Europe over a 5 year period. Real Madrid (15) Barcelona (8) followed by Juventus of Italy (7). La Liga clubs have the highest total with 24 followed by Italy's Serie A with 9. La Liga players have won the highest number of Ballon d'Or awards, joint with Italy's Serie A and the outright highest number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Italy's Serie A has the second highest. In addition, La Liga players also have the highest number of runners-up (second best in the world) in both awards. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, La Liga players were voted in as first, second and third best in the world each year at the FIFA Ballon d'Or and in 2009 for the Ballon d'or. The same goes for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in 2011 and 2012. La Liga clubs have won the most UEFA Champions League tournaments (14) and Real Madrid are the competitions most successful club, as a 10-time champion. Sevilla are the joint most successful club in the UEFA Europa League with 3 wins. La Liga players represent the highest all time number of the FIFPro World XI with 51 ahead of Italy's Serie A with 9. In addition, La liga players represent the highest all time number of the UEFA Team of the Year with 64 players ahead of England's Premier League with 33. La Liga is the biggest exporter of players in Europe. 211 Spanish players are currently playing in European leagues outside Spain. La Liga has the highest percentage of homegrown players for a major European league and the second most of any league in Europe with 62.4%. La Liga continues to be the league of choice for players considered to be the best in the world. In each of the last two seasons the player to win England's Premier League Player of the Season has immediately moved to play in Spain. Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez and previously Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry did so the following year. Games between Real Madrid and Barcelona are dubbed El Clásico. Other than the UEFA Champions League Final, El Classico is the most followed club football match in the world, watched by hundreds of millions of people. La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 30,275 for league matches in the 2011–12 season. This is the fifth-highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third-highest of any professional association football league in the world, behind Germany's Bundesliga and England's Premier League. Atlético Madrid are the current champions.