Spain's Top-tier League During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Spain's domestic league La Liga used to be the most popular league to watch in Europe. The two most expensive and successful players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were playing in the league together. The historical rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona makes the league very interesting. The two clubs have won 18 champions league titles together. The Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo played for Real Madrid whereas the Argentine forward Lionel Messi still plays for FC Barcelona.
La Liga's value depreciated after Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus a year ago. Ever since then the league is not exciting anymore. On top of that, the high cases of COVID-19 in Spain also made the league suffer financially. After Italy, Spain had the most cases and most deaths from coronavirus. The Spanish government was effectless in its fight against the virus. Teams were struggling to pay their bills. It also seemed that fans in Spain became less interested in soccer.
In mid-March, the Spanish soccer federation postponed La Liga games. Up until that the title race was between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Both teams were competing head to head. Although Real Madrid has won the most league titles in history with 33 championships, FC Barcelona had already won the league in the past two seasons. Real Madrid was determined to claim this year's title. During the 2-month break, players isolated themselves in mansions and fancy houses while the poor Spanish population could not deal with the strict lockdown procedures implemented by the Spanish government.
The league resumed in June corresponding with other leagues in Europe (except French Ligue 1). FC Barcelona and Real Madrid had only one goal in their mind and that was to claim the championship. Real Madrid became the victor with 87 points. FC Barcelona finished the league in second place with 82 points. A competitive league ended with Los Blancos lifting the trophy. The Argentine number 10 Lionel Messi had an amazing season. He was the top scorer of the 2019-2020 season and also was the top assist provider.
Leganes, Mallorca, and Espanyol were amongst the team that underperformed. They were relegated to Spain's lower-division La Liga 2.
The 2020-2021 season of the Spanish La Liga is currently undergoing. It started in mid-September and depending on the coronavirus it is expected that it will end in May. As of now, the table indicates that the current season is beyond what was expected. Atletico Madrid is the leader with 26 points. They have played 11 games and won 8 of them. Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona, on the other hand, are not in their best performance this year.