Sports Illustrated La Liga Team of the Season 2024–25

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·30 de mayo de 2025

Sports Illustrated La Liga Team of the Season 2024–25

The 2024–25 La Liga season featured one of the closest title races in recent memory that ended with Barcelona taking the Spanish crown from Real Madrid.

The sport’s next generation of superstars took center stage in La Liga this season. Hansi Flick’s young, unstoppable Barcelona side topped the league with 88 points after losing just one match in 2025. Real Madrid’s star-studded squad settled for second place despite Kylian Mbappé’s historic debut season.

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Beyond the two Spanish giants and their overwhelming talent, other players across the league put together career-best campaigns. From the emergence of a great attack-minded fullback to the resurgence of a veteran midfielder, unsung players in the Spanish top-flight deserve recognition alongside the likes of Mbappé and Lamine Yamal.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s La Liga team of the season for 2024–25.

GK: Jan Oblak – Atlético Madrid

Jan Oblak put together another spectacular season between the posts for Atlético Madrid. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Choosing between Espanyol’s Joan García and Jan Oblak was a difficult decision, but the Atlético Madrid man has the slight edge over the Spaniard. Oblak kept 15 clean sheets this season, the most in La Liga, and recorded the second-highest save percentage (74.1%) behind only Athletic Bilbao’s Unai Simón.

Atlético Madrid also conceded the second-fewest number of goals this season; Oblak failed to stop just 30 goals in 36 appearances, and five of them were penalties. Combined with his elite service out the back, the 32-year-old more than earned his place in our La Liga team of the season.

RB: Jules Koundé – Barcelona

Jules Koundé was the best fullback in the Spanish top-flight. / IMAGO/Pressinphoto

As soon as Dani Carvajal suffered a season-ending ACL injury, it became clear Jules Koundé was the best right back in La Liga. The Frenchman came up against some of the best wingers in Europe, including Vinícius Júnior and Nico Williams, and kept them silent for 90 minutes.

He also routinely linked up with Lamine Yamal and helped kickstart Barcelona’s attack down the right-hand side of the pitch. In fact, Koundé was involved in more open-play sequences that resulted in a goal (24) or a shot (135) than any other defender in La Liga this season, per Opta.

Not even a late hamstring injury dampened Koundé’s fantastic season.

CB: Daniel Vivian – Athletic Bilbao

Daniel Vivian excelled for Athletic Bilbao this season. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

There is a reason Athletic Bilbao conceded the least amount of goals (29) in La Liga this season: Daniel Vivian. The 25-year-old was the best center back in the Spanish top-flight and played a major role in Athletic Bilbao’s fourth-place finish.

Vivian is physical, smart and quick, enabling Ernesto Valverde’s squad to find success with its high press. The defender also found the back of the net four times this season, bagging the winners against Celta Vigo and Leganés along the way.

Vivian might have only made two appearances in Spain’s Euro 2024-winning campaign, but his subsequent performances for Athletic Bilbao earned him a spot in Luis de la Fuente’s XI.

CB: Iñigo Martínez – Barcelona

Iñigo Martínez was a rock at the back for Barcelona. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

The second Barcelona defender to make the cut is Iñigo Martínez. The center back was an unsung hero in Barcelona’s La Liga-winning campaign.

Martínez brought some much-needed experience to an otherwise young Barcelona team and helped cover for his 18-year-old center back partner, Pau Cubarsí. The Spaniard was an integral piece in the Catalans’ effective high line as well; Real Madrid alone were caught offside 17 times in their two La Liga Clásicos.

The 34-year-old also made 126 recoveries, the most by any defender on his team, and even managed four assists.

LB: Óscar Mingueza – Celta Vigo

Óscar Mingueza led all defenders in goalscoring. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Óscar Mingueza put together a career-best campaign at Celta Vigo. The left back recorded four goals and six assists in 34 appearances, doubling his goal contributions from last season.

Not only did Mingueza end the season with the most goals among all fullbacks in La Liga, but he also led all defenders in goalscoring. He was the only fullback to reach double-digit goal contributions as well.

The former Barcelona man is quickly becoming one of the best attack-minded fullbacks in the league and is a huge reason why Celta Vigo qualified for the Europa League for the first time in nearly a decade.

DM: Pedri – Barcelona

Pedri was the best midfielder in La Liga this season. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha might get all the headlines, but Pedri delivered a masterful 2024–25 campaign. Not only did the 22-year-old dictate the tempo of every game, but he hardly ever put a foot wrong with the ball at his feet.

His precision and clinical passing helped Barcelona play their patented possession-based style of play. Any time Pedri was not on the pitch, there was a glaring hole in the midfield that no other player in La Liga, let alone on Barcelona, could fill.

The Spaniard also always seemed to be in the right place at the right time when Hansi Flick’s men needed a goal. Pedri found the back of the net four times and created five goals in Barcelona’s plight for the Spanish crown.

DM: Fede Valverde – Real Madrid

Fede Valverde was Real Madrid's best midfielder this season. / IMAGO/Pressinphoto

Where would Real Madrid be without Fede Valverde? The midfielder missed just two La Liga matches all season and scored the fourth-most goals (6) on the team, including arguably the goal of the season against Athletic Bilbao.

Not only does the Uruguayan control the game for Los Blancos, but his work-rate is second to none. Valverde is all over the pitch; one moment he’s playing a brilliant ball over the top and then the next, he’s rushing back on defense to help out his backline.

The 26-year-old even had to play at right back for a large portion of last season due to Real Madrid’s defensive injury crisis, and he looked like a natural. Valverde’s versatility puts him in a class of his own.

RW: Lamine Yamal – Barcelona

Lamine Yamal is one of the favorites for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. / IMAGO/Pressinphoto

Lamine Yamal was the most must-watch player in La Liga this season. The 17-year-old produced moments of magic for Barcelona that could only be described as Lionel Messi-esque.

Whether it was a perfectly executed trivela pass, a curling left-footed strike or a dazzling dribble down the right-hand side of the pitch, Yamal continuously proved he is one of the best wingers in the world, let alone Spain. The Spaniard broke record after record this season all on his way to helping the Catalans win a domestic treble.

Yamal recorded the most assists (13) in the league and ended the season with 21 goal contributions. The Spaniard’s performances make him one of the favorites to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

AM: Isco – Real Betis

Isco was Real Betis's top scorer in the 2024–25 season. / IMAGO/NurPhoto

Just when it looked like Isco’s career peaked during his days at Real Madrid, the Spaniard delivered a monumental season for Real Betis. The 33-year-old led the team in both goals and assists to help his club to a sixth-place finish.

Isco found the back of the net nine times and recorded eight assists in his second season with the club. In fact, he managed three goals and four assists in his last seven league appearances alone.

What makes Isco’s statistics even more impressive is that the midfielder did not play his first match of the season until December due to injury. Since his return, no one created more chances from open play (44) and tallied more assists (8) than the Real Betis man, per Opta.

LW: Raphinha – Barcelona

Raphinha put together a career-best season at Barcelona. / IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Raphinha looked like a different player under Flick. The Brazilian put together a Ballon d’Or-worthy campaign for the Catalans, registering 18 goals and nine assists in his 36 La Liga appearances.

The only player to score more goals for Barcelona was Robert Lewandowski, and the only player to create more goals for Barcelona was Yamal. Raphinha’s 27 goal contributions were the third-most in the league, behind only Kylian Mbappé (34) and Lewandowski (29).

Still, the statistics do not even demonstrate how clutch Raphinha was for Barcelona. In the last five weeks of the season alone, the 28-year-old sparked three comeback victories against Celta Vigo, Real Valladolid and Real Madrid that all-but decided the La Liga title race.

ST: Kylian Mbappé – Real Madrid

Kylian Mbappé won the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Boot in his Real Madrid debut season. / IMAGO/Guillermo Martinez

It might have taken a few months for Kylian Mbappé to adapt to La Liga, but once he rediscovered his goalscoring form, the Frenchman put together a historic campaign. The blockbuster signing scored 31 league goals, the most ever by a Real Madrid player in their debut season.

Mbappé took home the Pichichi Trophy for his efforts in front of goal, beating out Lewandowski by four goals. He became just the fourth player in Real Madrid history to top the La Liga goalscoring charts in their debut campaign, joining the stellar company of Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The France captain also won the European Golden Boot for the first time in his career; no one across Europe’s top five leagues scored more goals than Mbappé. The forward unsurprisingly ended the season as Real Madrid’s top goalscorer and received the club’s Player of the Season award.