Special Treatment: Barcelona and Real Madrid to Start Season Later

While the 2026/27 La Liga season is set to kick off on August 15th, Real Madrid's first league match under returning coach Jose Mourinho won't be until August 22nd, with Barcelona's campaign beginning a day later.

Real Madrid will play their opening La Liga fixture of the new season on Saturday, August 22nd, away at Espanyol Barcelona. The initial schedule had them hosting Real Sociedad on the opening weekend, but La Liga officials have rescheduled that match for Wednesday, August 26th.

Defending champions Barcelona will start their title defense on Sunday, August 23rd, on the road against Elche. Their original home opener against Athletic Bilbao has also been postponed by the league, now set for Thursday, August 27th.

According to AFP, La Liga opted for these fixture changes because several players from both Real Madrid and Barcelona are still competing in the World Cup semi-finals with their national teams.

However, Atletico Madrid, who also have several international players at the World Cup, will play their opening match as originally planned: at home against Malaga on Wednesday, August 19th.

The new season of Spain's top flight will officially commence on Saturday, August 15th, with Alaves hosting Getafe and Rayo Vallecano traveling to face Sevilla.