| Competition: | La Liga |
| Season: | 2015–16 |
| Dates: | 21 August 2015 – 15 May 2016 |
| Winners: | Barcelona 24th title |
| Relegated: | Rayo Vallecano Getafe Levante |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Barcelona Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Villarreal Sevilla (as Europa League winners) |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Athletic Bilbao Celta Vigo |
| League Topscorer: | Luis Suárez (40 goals) |
| Best Goalkeeper: | Jan Oblak (0.47 goals per match) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Real Madrid 10–2 Rayo Vallecano (20 December 2015) |
| Biggest Away Win: | (20 April 2016) |
| Highest Scoring: | Real Madrid 10–2 Rayo Vallecano (20 December 2015) |
| Matches: | 380 |
| Total Goals: | 1043 |
| Longest Wins: | 12 matches[1] Barcelona Real Madrid |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 23 matches Barcelona |
| Longest Winless: | 13 matches Deportivo La Coruña Getafe |
| Longest Losses: | 7 matches Getafe |
| Highest Attendance: | 98,902 Barcelona 1–2 Real Madrid (2 April 2016) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 4,215 Eibar 5–1 Granada (18 January 2016) |
| Attendance: | 10,554,764 |
| Average Attendance: | 27,775 |
| Prevseason: | 2014–15 |
| Nextseason: | 2016–17 |
The 2015–16 La Liga season (known as the Liga BBVA for sponsorship reasons) was the 85th since its establishment. Barcelona were the defending champions. The season began on 21 August 2015, and concluded on 15 May 2016.
Barcelona successfully retained the title (their 24th Liga overall) following a 3–0 win against Granada on the final matchday.[2] Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid were engaged in an intense title race, with the three teams finishing with 91, 90 and 88 points respectively.
Barcelona's Luis Suárez finished as the league's top scorer, becoming the first player apart from Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to do so since the 2008–09 season.
A total of twenty teams contested the league, including seventeen sides from the 2014–15 season and three promoted from the 2014–15 Segunda División. This included the two top teams from the Segunda División, Real Betis and Sporting Gijón, and the winners of the play-offs, Las Palmas.[3]
Almería and Córdoba were relegated to 2015–16 Segunda División in the previous season, after spending two and one years in La Liga, respectively. Elche was administratively relegated despite finishing in 13th.[4] Following the competition rules, Eibar, who finished 18th, remained in the league.[5]
Real Betis was the first team from the Segunda División to achieve promotion, after a one-year absence from La Liga, on 24 May 2015 after winning 3–0 over Alcorcón.[6]
On 7 June 2015, Sporting Gijón secured promotion on the final matchday, after their 3–0 win against Betis allowed the club to leapfrog Girona, who drew their final match and could not retain second place and automatic promotion. Sporting returned to the top level after three years.
Las Palmas achieved promotion on 21 June 2015, after defeating Zaragoza in the promotion play-off final on away goals. Las Palmas won the second 2–0 leg at home after losing the first leg away 3–1, and returned to the first division after thirteen years away. They also became the first island team to play in La Liga since Mallorca's relegation from the top flight in the 2012–13 season. During those thirteen seasons, the club spent two of them in the third-tier Segunda División B.
1. On the back of shirt.
2. On the sleeves.
3. On the shorts.
4. Barcelona made a donation to UNICEF in order to display the charity's logo on the back of the club's kit.
5. Deportivo had a phrase in Chinese characters on the back of its shorts meaning "La Liga is Diverse".
6. Sevilla featured these sponsors only for the 2016 Copa del Rey Final.
7. Additionally, referee kits were now made by Adidas, sponsored by Würth, and Nike had a new match ball, the Ordem LFP.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid |  Carlo Ancelotti | Sacked | 25 May 2015[7] | Pre-season | 3 June 2015[8] | ||
| Getafe |  Pablo Franco | 1 June 2015[9] | Fran Escribá | 26 June 2015[10] | |||
| Eibar | Gaizka Garitano | Mutual consent | 30 June 2015[11] | José Luis Mendilibar | 30 June 2015[12] | ||
| Las Palmas | Paco Herrera | Sacked | 19 October 2015[13] | 19th | Quique Setién | 19 October 2015[14] | |
| Levante | Lucas Alcaraz | 26 October 2015[15] | 20th | Rubi | 27 October 2015 | ||
| Real Sociedad | David Moyes | 9 November 2015[16] | 16th | Eusebio Sacristán | 9 November 2015 | ||
| Valencia | Nuno Espírito Santo | Resigned | 29 November 2015[17] | 9th | Gary Neville | 2 December 2015[18] | |
| Espanyol | Sergio González | Sacked | 14 December 2015 | 12th |  Constantin Gâlcă | 14 December 2015[19] | |
| Real Madrid | Rafael Benítez | 4 January 2016[20] | 3rd |  Zinedine Zidane | 4 January 2016 | ||
| Real Betis | Pepe Mel | 10 January 2016[21] | 15th | Juan Merino (caretaker) | 3 February 2016 | ||
| Granada | José Ramón Sandoval | 22 February 2016[22] | 20th | José González | 22 February 2016[23] | ||
| Valencia | Gary Neville | 30 March 2016[24] | 14th | Pako Ayestarán | 30 March 2016 | ||
| Getafe | Fran Escribá | 11 April 2016[25] | 19th |  Juan Esnáider | 12 April 2016 | ||
| Real Betis | Juan Merino | End of caretaker spell | 9 May 2016[26] | 14th | Gus Poyet | 9 May 2016 |
On 14 May 2016, Barcelona won their second consecutive and 24th overall La Liga title, following a 3–0 win over Granada at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes on the final matchday.[27] Real Madrid finished one point behind Barcelona as runners-up, having gone on a twelve-match win streak to close out the season.[28] Atlético Madrid ended the season three points off the top in third place, having been eliminated from title contention after a loss to Levante on the penultimate matchday.[29]
Levante were the first team to be mathematically relegated to the Segunda División, following a 1–3 loss against Málaga on 2 May 2016.[30] On 15 May 2016, Sporting Gijón ensured they would remain in the top flight after defeating Villarreal 2–0 and taking advantage of Getafe's loss against Real Betis, which saw Getafe relegated from La Liga for the first time in club history. Rayo Vallecano also went down despite winning their final match of the season.[31]
Salva Sevilla for Espanyol against Getafe (22 August 2015)[32] Álvaro Medrán for Getafe against Real Betis (15 May 2016)[33]| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[34] [35] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | 40 | |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 35 | |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 26 | |
| 4 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 24 | |
 Neymar | Barcelona | |||
| 6 | Antoine Griezmann | Atlético Madrid | 22 | |
| 7 | Aritz Aduriz | Athletic Bilbao | 20 | |
| 8 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 19 | |
| Rubén Castro | Real Betis | |||
| 10 | Borja Bastón | Eibar | 18 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists[36] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 16 | |
| Luis Suárez | Barcelona | |||
| 3 | Koke | Atlético Madrid | 14 | |
| 4 | Neymar | Barcelona | 12 | |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 11 | |
| 6 | Marco Asensio | Espanyol | 10 | |
| Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | |||
| Toni Kroos | Real Madrid | |||
| Roberto Soldado | Villarreal | |||
| 10 | Jonathan Viera | Las Palmas | 9 |
The Ricardo Zamora Trophy was awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with the lowest ratio of goals conceded to matches played. A goalkeeper had to play at least 28 matches of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.[37]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals against | Matches | Average[38] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Madrid | 18 | 38 | 0.47 | ||
| 2 | Claudio Bravo | Barcelona | 22 | 32 | 0.69 | |
| 3 | Alphonse Areola | Villarreal | 26 | 32 | 0.81 | |
| 4 | Keylor Navas | Real Madrid | 28 | 34 | 0.82 | |
| 5 | Gorka Iraizoz | Athletic Bilbao | 37 | 36 | 1.03 |
See main article: List of La Liga hat-tricks.
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo5 | Real Madrid | Espanyol | 6–0 (A) | 12 September 2015 | Report | |
| Real Sociedad | Granada | 3–0 (A) | 22 September 2015 | Report | ||
| Málaga | Real Sociedad | 3–1 (H) | 3 October 2015 | Report | ||
| Neymar4 | Barcelona | Rayo Vallecano | 5–2 (H) | 17 October 2015 | Report | |
| Sevilla | Getafe | 5–0 (H) | 24 October 2015 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Eibar | 3–1 (H) | 25 October 2015 | Report | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | Rayo Vallecano | 3–0 (A) | 29 November 2015 | Report | ||
| Sporting Gijón | Las Palmas | 3–1 (H) | 6 December 2015 | Report | ||
| Gareth Bale4 | Real Madrid | Rayo Vallecano | 10–2 (H) | 20 December 2015 | Report | |
| Real Madrid | Rayo Vallecano | 10–2 (H) | Report | |||
| Barcelona | Granada | 4–0 (H) | 9 January 2016 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Deportivo La Coruña | 5–0 (H) | Report | |||
| Barcelona | Athletic Bilbao | 6–0 (H) | 17 January 2016 | Report | ||
| Sporting Gijón | Real Sociedad | 5–1 (H) | 22 January 2016 | Report | ||
| Real Madrid | Espanyol | 6–0 (H) | 31 January 2016 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Celta Vigo | 6–1 (H) | 14 February 2016 | Report | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | Deportivo La Coruña | 4–1 (H) | 2 March 2016 | Report | ||
| Barcelona | Rayo Vallecano | 5–1 (A) | 3 March 2016 | Report | ||
| Cristiano Ronaldo4 | Real Madrid | Celta Vigo | 7–1 (H) | 5 March 2016 | Report | |
| Luis Suárez4 | Barcelona | Deportivo La Coruña | 8–0 (A) | 20 April 2016 | Report | |
| Valencia | Eibar | 4–0 (H) | Report | |||
| Granada | Levante | 5–1 (H) | 21 April 2016 | Report | ||
| Luis Suárez4 | Barcelona | Sporting Gijón | 6–0 (H) | 23 April 2016 | Report | |
| Barcelona | Granada | 3–0 (A) | 14 May 2016 | Report |
La Liga's governing body, the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the La Liga Awards.[41]
| Award | Recipient | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Player | (Atlético Madrid) | |
| Best Coach | Diego Simeone (Atlético Madrid) | |
| Best Goalkeeper |  Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid) | |
| Best Defender | Diego Godín (Atlético Madrid) | |
| Best Midfielder | Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) | |
| Best Forward | Lionel Messi (Barcelona) |
| Team of the Year[42] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid) | ||||||
| Defence | Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) | Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) | Diego Godín (Atlético Madrid) | Marcelo (Real Madrid) | |||
| Midfield | Andrés Iniesta(Barcelona) | Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) | Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) | ||||
| Attack | Lionel Messi (Barcelona) | Luis Suárez (Barcelona) | Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) | ||||
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |||
| September | Marcelino | Villarreal | Nolito | Celta Vigo | [43] [44] | |
| October | Ernesto Valverde | Athletic Bilbao | Borja Bastón | Eibar | [45] [46] | |
| November | Diego Simeone | Atlético Madrid | Neymar | Barcelona | [47] [48] | |
| December | Javi Gracia | Málaga | Lucas Pérez | Deportivo La Coruña | [49] [50] | |
| January | Unai Emery | Sevilla | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | [51] [52] | |
| February | Eusebio Sacristán | Real Sociedad |  Miku | Rayo Vallecano | [53] [54] | |
| March | Quique Setién | Las Palmas | Aritz Aduriz | Athletic Bilbao | [55] [56] | |
| April | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | Koke | Atlético Madrid | [57] [58] | |
| May | Luis Enrique | Barcelona | Luis Suárez | Barcelona | [59] [60] | |
Telefónica purchased the exclusive television broadcasting rights to telecast the 2015–16 season in Spain. Sky Sports had exclusive rights in the United Kingdom, and beIN Sports had exclusive rights to air the season in various countries, including the United States, Canada, MENA, France and the Middle East.[61] KBSN Sports had the exclusive television broadcasting rights in South Korea, apart from internet broadcasting.[62]
Nolito named liga BBVA player of the month for September