1996–97 La Liga
The 1996–97 La Liga season, the 66th since its establishment, started on 31 August 1996 and finished on 23 June 1997.
Promotion and relegation
Teams promoted from 1995–96 Segunda DivisiónTeams relegated to 1996–97 Segunda División
Clubs and locations
1996-97 season was composed of the following clubs:| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Barcelona | Camp Nou | 98,772 |
| Real Madrid | Santiago Bernabéu | 80,354 |
| Atlético Madrid | Vicente Calderón | 55,005 |
| Valencia | Mestalla | 55,000 |
| Real Betis | Manuel Ruiz de Lopera | 52,132 |
| Sevilla | Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán | 45,500 |
| Espanyol | Sarrià | 44,000 |
| Athletic Bilbao | San Mamés | 39,750 |
| Deportivo de La Coruña | Riazor | 34,600 |
| Real Zaragoza | La Romareda | 34,596 |
| Celta de Vigo | Estadio Balaídos | 32,500 |
| Real Sociedad | Anoeta | 32,200 |
| Real Oviedo | Carlos Tartiere | 30,500 |
| Hércules | José Rico Pérez | 29,500 |
| Valladolid | José Zorrilla | 27,846 |
| Sporting de Gijón | El Molinón | 25,885 |
| Tenerife | Heliodoro Rodríguez López | 22,824 |
| Racing de Santander | El Sardinero | 22,222 |
| Logroñés | Las Gaunas | 16,000 |
| Rayo Vallecano | Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas | 14,708 |
| Compostela | San Lázaro | 12,000 |
| Extremadura | Francisco de la Hera | 11,580 |
- It was the last season with 22 teams in La Liga. To reduce the number of teams in the league, the last four teams, CF Extremadura, Sevilla FC, Hércules CF and CD Logroñés, were relegated and the fifth-to-last team, Rayo Vallecano, played a relegation playoff and was also relegated.
Personnel and sponsoring
League table
Positions by round
| Team \ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| Real Madrid | 12 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Barcelona | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Deportivo | 12 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Betis | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| At. Madrid | 4 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Ath. Bilbao | 21 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Valladolid | 7 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| R. Sociedad | 9 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Tenerife | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Valencia | 14 | 20 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Compostela | 22 | 14 | 20 | 12 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| Espanyol | 14 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
| Racing | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 |
| Zaragoza | 10 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 14 |
| Sporting | 5 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 15 |
| Celta Vigo | 20 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 |
| Oviedo | 19 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Rayo | 16 | 18 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Extremadura | 16 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Sevilla | 18 | 21 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 20 |
| Hércules | 7 | 13 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 |
| Logroñés | 10 | 16 | 10 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Source: LFP
Note: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup spot being non-related with a position in La Liga, does not appear until the team is assured to be qualified. Conditions to be assured are: Copa del Rey winner cannot reach UEFA Champions League's places or one of finalists' Copa del Rey cannot qualify mathematically to UEFA Champions League. Barcelona was qualified to UEFA Champions League since 39th round, thus Betis could not reach UEFA Champions League places, so after matchday 39 Betis' places are coloured in yellow. In light yellow the spot expected for 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
| Leader | |
| 1997–98 UEFA Champions League Group stage | |
| 1997–98 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round | |
| 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round | |
| 1997–98 UEFA Cup First round | |
| [|Play-off relegation] to 1997–98 Segunda División | |
| Relegation to 1997–98 Segunda División |
Results
Relegation playoff
First Leg
Second Leg
Pichichi Trophy
Signings
Source: http://www.bdfutbol.com/es/t/t1996-97.html| Team | Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| Real Madrid |  Bodo Illgner ' |  Christian Panucci ' Carlos Secretário ' Roberto Carlos ' |  Clarence Seedorf ' Zé Roberto ' |  Predrag Mijatović ' Davor Šuker ' |
| Barcelona | Vítor Baía ' |  Laurent Blanc ' Fernando Couto ' |  Emmanuel Amunike ' Giovanni ' |  Luis Enrique ' Juan Antonio Pizzi ' Ronaldo ' Hristo Stoichkov ' |
| Deportivo |  Petr Kouba ' Nuno ' Jacques Songo'o ' | Armando Álvarez ' Jérôme Bonnissel ' Hélder Cristóvão ' Noureddine Naybet ' | Flávio Conceição ' Corentin Martins ' | Mickaël Madar ' Renaldo ' Rivaldo ' |
| Betis | Toni Prats ' | Luis Fernández ' | Nenad Bjelica ' Finidi George ' Albert Nađ ' | |
| Atlético Madrid | Juan Carlos Aguilera ' Pablo Alfaro ' Daniel Prodan ' | Radek Bejbl ' Veljko Paunović ' Đorđe Tomić ' |  Juan Esnáider ' Santiago Ezquerro ' Yordi González ' | |
| Athletic Bilbao | Bixente Lizarazu ' | José Mari García ' | Ismael Urzaiz ' | |
| Valladolid | Agustín Elduayen ' | Júlio César ' |  Harold Lozano ' Edu Manga ' | Christiano ' Víctor Fernández ' |
| Real Sociedad | Juan Gómez ' | Mutiu Adepoju ' Håkan Mild ' | Darko Kovačević ' | |
| Tenerife | Bengt Andersson ' |  Sizwe Motaung ' David Nyathi ' Pablo Paz ' Francisco Rojas ' | Dani González ' Aurelio Vidmar ' |  Meho Kodro ' Oliver Neuville ' |
| Valencia | Iván Campo ' Fernando Cáceres ' |  Valeri Karpin ' Ariel Ortega ' | Claudio López ' Leandro Machado ' Gabi Moya ' Romário ' Goran Vlaović ' | |
| Compostela | Rafa Gómez ' | William Amaral ' Manuel Galdames ' Goran Šaula ' | Saïd Chiba ' Pirri Mori ' Dmitri Popov ' Carlos Sastre ' | Manuel Mosquera ' Maurício Pantera ' Luboslav Penev ' |
| Espanyol | Pascal Olmeta ' | José Cobos ' | Adolfo Aldana ' Miodrag Anđelković ' Favio Fernández ' Dominique Lemoine ' Nenad Pralija ' | Nicolas Ouédec ' |
| Racing Santander | Fernando Marcos ' Javier Pinillos ' |  Diego López ' Javi López ' Francesc Sànchez Jara ' Gabriel Schürrer ' | Óscar Arpón ' Fernando Morán ' Jaime Sánchez ' Francisco Sanz ' Sergey Shustikov ' Dmitri Ulyanov ' José Luis Zalazar ' | Vladimir Beschastnykh ' |
| Zaragoza |  Otto Konrad ' | Ander Garitano ' Gilmar ' Quique Sánchez Flores ' Miquel Soler ' | Kily González ' Vladislav Radimov ' | José Luis Loreto ' |
| Sporting Gijón | Francisco Liaño ' | Yuri Nikiforov ' Javier Villarroya ' | Valtemir Teles ' | Dmitri Cheryshev ' Rónald Gómez ' Javier Luna ' |
| Celta Vigo | José Luis Diezma ' Richard Dutruel ' | David Belenguer ' Josema López ' Adriano Teixeira ' | Daniel Dutuel ' Javi González ' Mazinho ' Alexander Mostovoi ' José del Solar ' | Moisés García ' Juan Manuel Prieto ' Haim Revivo ' |
| Oviedo | Fernando Gamboa ' Abel Xavier ' | Paulo Bento ' Juan José Borrelli ' Aurelio Gay ' Iván Iglesias ' Toni Velamazán ' | Pablo Maqueda ' | |
| Rayo Vallecano | Horacio Ameli ' José María López ' Juan Ramón López ' | Yassine Abdellaoui ' Fabrice Moreau ' | Dmitri Radchenko ' | |
| Extremadura | Carlos N. Montoya ' | Juanito Rodríguez ' | José Basualdo ' Ignacio Soler ' | Alejandro Duré ' Quique Estebaranz ' Javier García ' Igor Gluščević ' Iván Pérez ' Javier Pineda ' Walter Silvani ' |
| Sevilla | Zigor Aranalde ' Mirsad Hibić ' Miguel Ramis ' Thomas Rytter ' | Matías Almeyda ' Antonio Gómez ' Petros Marinakis ' Robert Prosinečki ' Vassilios Tsiartas ' | Bebeto ' Cristian Colusso ' Ivica Mornar ' Onésimo Sánchez ' | |
| Hércules | Gaëtan Huard ' Peter Rufai ' | Víctor Ferreras ' Andrei Mokh ' Predrag Stanković ' Paqui Vega ' | Peter Artner ' Damiano Longhi ' Diego López ' Sandro Mendes ' Nemanja Miljanović ' Pablo Morant ' | Gabriel Amato ' Flavio Maestri ' |
| Logroñés | Jorge Aizkorreta ' Andoni Cedrún ' | Ricardo Canals ' Voro González ' Jochen Kientz ' Sotero López ' | Agustín Abadía ' Ivan Adžić ' Danilo Baltierra ' Jesús Dulce ' Kelly Evandro ' Marcelo Tejera ' | José Luis Morales ' Rubén Sosa |