Real Madrid and Barcelona face out-of-sequence La Liga starts after World Cup rule

La Liga’s 2026-27 season will begin on Saturday without Real Madrid or Barcelona, after both clubs had their opening-round fixtures postponed because of the impact of the 2026 World Cup.

The two matches remain officially part of the first round, but Real Madrid’s meeting with Real Sociedad and Barcelona’s game against Athletic Club will be played later in August. The exceptional arrangement was introduced by the Spanish football authorities to give clubs whose players were involved in the final stages of the World Cup additional time to recover and prepare for the new domestic campaign.

Under a special rule approved by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, clubs with players who took part in a World Cup semi-final or final were allowed to request that their opening La Liga fixture be moved to 25, 26 or 27 August.

The measure was required because the 2026 World Cup ended only a short time before the scheduled start of the Spanish league season. Real Madrid and Barcelona both met the criteria after having large numbers of players continue with their national teams until the latter stages of the tournament.

Real Madrid’s postponed match against Real Sociedad will now take place on Wednesday, 26 August, at the Santiago Bernabeu.

That fixture, however, will not be the first La Liga appearance of the season for Jose Mourinho’s side. Real Madrid will begin their campaign four days earlier, on 22 August, when they travel to face Espanyol in a second-round match.

As a result, Real Madrid will play a fixture from the second round before completing the match officially assigned to the opening round. The unusual sequence is a direct consequence of the changes made to the league calendar.

Barcelona will follow a similar schedule. Their home match against Athletic Club has been moved from the opening round to Thursday, 27 August, at Spotify Camp Nou.

The Catalan club, who begin the season as defending champions under head coach Hansi Flick, will also start their campaign before playing their rearranged first-round fixture. Barcelona are due to visit Elche on 23 August in a match from the second round.

Four days later, Barcelona will return to Spotify Camp Nou to face Athletic Club. Their season will therefore already be under way before they complete their opening-round engagement.

The opening round of La Liga will consequently stretch across almost two weeks. It begins on Saturday with Deportivo Alaves playing Getafe and will not be completed until 27 August, when Barcelona host Athletic Club.

The arrangement means that the league table and fixture sequence will initially be shaped by the exceptional post-World Cup timetable, with both of Spain’s most prominent clubs entering the competition through second-round matches before returning to fulfil their postponed opening-round games.