Real Madrid and Barcelona to miss opening weekend of LaLiga 2026-27
Real Madrid and Barcelona will not feature on the opening weekend of the Spanish top flight’s 2026-27 LaLiga season, with both clubs scheduled to start later in the month; the campaign kicked off in mid-August with matches played on August 15-16.
Deportivo Alaves v Getafe was the first fixture of the new season, Alaves winning 3-0, and Sevilla beat Rayo Vallecano 2-1 in the next match. Six games were played across the opening matchday, with newly promoted Racing Santander taking on Villarreal and Espanyol facing UD Levante on Sunday, August 16, while two other promoted clubs, Deportivo La Coruña and Málaga, also join the top flight this season.
Four fixtures were postponed to late August after an agreement between LaLiga and the players’ union, the AFE, which included a mandatory break for players whose national teams reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The proposal to split the opening gameweek was unanimously agreed by LaLiga’s club representatives on June 9.
Spain defeated Argentina in the final of the expanded FIFA World Cup 2026, and England secured the bronze by beating France; those latter-stage campaigns produced the group of players granted the post-tournament break. The break is cited as the reason several clubs had matches rescheduled from the opening weekend.
Barcelona have seen Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Pau Cubarsi return to training since the World Cup, while Real Madrid have welcomed back Kylian Mbappe, Marc Cucurella and Jude Bellingham among others after the tournament. Under their new manager, Real Madrid are due to start their LaLiga campaign on August 22 against Espanyol, and the match will be Jose Mourinho’s first in his second spell as Real Madrid manager.
Atletico Madrid had more players than any other club taking part in the World Cup final, with Alex Baena, Alejandro Grimaldo, Marcos Llorente and Marc Pubill named for Spain and Julián Álvarez, Giuliano Simeone, Juan Musso, Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada for Argentina. There had been consideration of postponing Atletico’s game against Malaga as well, but scheduling constraints affected that decision.
The Weeknd is scheduled to perform concerts at Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium on August 28, 29 and 30, and as a result Diego Simeone’s side will host Malaga on Wednesday, August 19. Barcelona will open their league campaign against Elche on Sunday, August 23, and Real Madrid will play Espanyol on Saturday, August 22.
The later start for the two clubs provides additional recovery time for players returning from the post-World Cup break; Real Madrid’s first match is confirmed for August 22 against Espanyol and Barcelona’s for August 23 against Elche.
