La Liga kicks off with Mourinho's second act and a season of comebacks

Spain's top flight kicks off the 2026-27 season this weekend, though last term's big two will have to sit it out a little longer. Both defending champions Barcelona and Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid have several players still involved in the World Cup, pushing their opening fixtures back to next weekend.

Mourinho walks back into the storm

Few would have predicted Mourinho's return to the Bernabeu twelve months ago, given how far his influence at the game's summit appeared to have faded during spells at Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce and Benfica. Yet Real Madrid, arguably the biggest job in world football, has turned to him regardless.

His arrival follows a chaotic year at the club. Xabi Alonso had been hired to bring modern, expansive football after four broadly successful seasons under Carlo Ancelotti, but left in January by what Madrid described as mutual agreement, amid persistent reports of friction with both players and the boardroom.

Alvaro Arbeloa took the reins for the remainder of the campaign but never seriously threatened Barcelona, who wrapped up the title with three games to spare after a 2-0 win in the Clasico. It is against that backdrop that Mourinho's steadying hand was deemed the right medicine.

Speaking to the club's media last month, Mourinho framed his return in almost pastoral terms. "It's not about worrying about myself or whether I'll win a lot or a little. I'm here to help everyone become better: players, staff, creating a culture of work, responsibility, ambition." He described the role as working for Real Madrid, not merely at it.

He inherits considerable reinforcements. Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries and Ibrahima Konate add ballast and experience, while young forward Carlos Espi and the highly rated Yan Diomande offer a glimpse of the future. Whether Mourinho's disciplinarian instincts still translate at this level remains the open question.

Barcelona's business is not yet done

Barcelona head into the defence of successive titles aware they have work still to complete. Hansi Flick's side were comfortably the best team in Spain last season, but the summer has brought as many departures as arrivals, and not all of them convenient.

Robert Lewandowski has left for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer, while Marcus Rashford has returned to Manchester United after Barcelona chose not to trigger his purchase option. Replacements Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon have arrived, but neither carries a track record as a prolific scorer.

Adeyemi's best return in a single Bundesliga season with Borussia Dortmund was seven goals, while Gordon's solitary standout campaign yielded eleven for Newcastle, well above his usual output of around six. With Ferran Torres also expected to depart for Paris Saint-Germain, the goalscoring gap is real.

Much therefore hinges on two remaining targets. Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez remains Barcelona's preferred solution up front, though Atletico insist they have no intention of selling. In midfield, Manchester City's Rodri, the closest thing to a Sergio Busquets successor since he graduated from La Masia, is understood to be a priority arrival that could take an already formidable Barcelona engine room to another level.

Alvarez's future clouds Atletico's opener

Atletico Madrid begin their campaign with the Alvarez saga still unresolved. The forward wants to leave but has returned to train with his teammates regardless, and a delayed post-World Cup holiday, after Argentina reached the final, makes him unlikely to start the opening match.

Diego Simeone's side finished fourth and without silverware last season, and will hope for a stronger campaign whether or not they keep hold of their forward. Should Alvarez feature in any capacity against Malaga, he may face a frosty reception from supporters at the Metropolitano.

New faces on the touchline

Villarreal, who finished an impressive third last season under Marcelino Garcia Toral, have turned to Inigo Perez as his successor. The 38-year-old earned his reputation at Rayo Vallecano, leading them to consecutive eighth-place finishes and a run to the Conference League final.

With Ayoze Perez, Nicolas Pepe and Alberto Moleiro providing attacking quality, Villarreal look well suited to Perez's high-intensity approach, and an early test awaits away at Atletico Madrid before the month is out.

Athletic Bilbao, meanwhile, have opted for a more unexpected appointment in Edin Terzic, out of work since leading Borussia Dortmund to the 2023-24 Champions League final. He becomes only the second German to coach the Basque club, after Jupp Heynckes's two spells in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Terzic replaces Ernesto Valverde, whose third and longest stint delivered a first Copa del Rey in 40 years but also a difficult final season that saw Athletic finish just three points clear of relegation. The new coach has already stated he does not view the job as a rebuilding project.

Familiar names make an emotional return

There is genuine romance in the season's promoted trio. Malaga, Racing Santander and Deportivo A Coruna, whose name now reflects the Galician spelling of the city, are all back in the top flight after lengthy and often painful absences.

Racing's exile was the longest, having dropped out of La Liga back in 2012 after spending 18 of the previous 19 seasons there as one of the division's founding members. Their years away included an unprecedented four-season spell in the Spanish third tier.

Deportivo's fall was similarly steep, sliding out of the top flight in 2018 and nearly suffering relegation to the fourth tier in 2020-21. Since then, a rebuild focused on academy talent and shrewd low-cost signings has taken them from fifteenth in the second division to promotion within two seasons.

Malaga, Champions League quarter-finalists as recently as 2013, endured chronic ownership troubles that dropped them into the third tier in 2023, before homegrown talent and a mid-season managerial change under Juan Francisco Funes powered them back up through the play-offs.

Storm clouds elsewhere

Not every club shares the same optimism. Sevilla face a third consecutive relegation battle after finishing just a point above the bottom three in each of the last two seasons, hampered by financial restrictions so severe they operated with the second-lowest wage bill in the division last term.

A proposed takeover led by former player Sergio Ramos collapsed over the summer, deepening concern among supporters, though new sporting director Jose Ignacio Navarro has won some credit for trimming the wage bill and bringing in Scottish forward Robbie Ure for a modest fee.

Elche face a similar rebuild after losing three players who combined for more than half their league goals last season, while Rayo Vallecano must replace the departed Inigo Perez and have also seen their Vallecas stadium temporarily lose its safety certification, forcing contingency plans around their opening home fixture.

Real Sociedad offer a rare feel-good story following a mid-season managerial change. American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, appointed in December, lifted the club away from relegation trouble and delivered Copa del Rey glory, with his focus this season shifting towards tactical development and defensive solidity.

Opening weekend fixtures (all times in Bangladesh time)

Saturday: Alaves v Getafe (11:30pm), Sevilla v Rayo Vallecano (1:30am)
Sunday: Racing Santander v Villarreal (9:00pm), Espanyol v Levante (11:00pm)
Tuesday: Deportivo A Coruna v Elche (1:00am)
Thursday: Atletico Madrid v Malaga (1:00am)