2008–09 La Liga
The 2008–09 La Liga season was the 78th since its establishment. Real Madrid were the defending champions, having won their 31st La Liga title in the previous season. The campaign began on 30 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2007–08 season, and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División. A new match ball – the Nike T90 Omni – served as the official ball for all matches.
On 16 May 2009, after Villarreal's 3–2 victory over Real Madrid, Barcelona were declared champions, their 19th La Liga title, with three matches to play. Lionel Messi received the inaugural LFP Award for Best Player from the Liga de Fútbol Profesional.
Promotion and relegation
, Real Murcia and Levante were relegated to the 2008–09 Segunda División after finishing in the bottom three spots of the table at the end of the 2007–08 La Liga. Zaragoza were relegated to the Segunda División after five seasons of continuous membership in the top football league of Spain; Levante returned in Segunda División after two-year tenured in La Liga; and Murcia made their immediate return to the second level.The three relegated teams were replaced by three 2007–08 Segunda División sides. Champions Numancia, who ended their second-level status after three years, runners-up Málaga, who returned to the top flight after two season in the second level, and Sporting de Gijón returned to the highest Spanish league after ten years.
Team information
Stadia and locations
| Team | Venue | Capacity |
| Almería | Estadio del Mediterráneo | 22,000 |
| Athletic Bilbao | San Mamés | 39,750 |
| Atlético Madrid | Vicente Calderón | 54,851 |
| Barcelona | Camp Nou | 98,772 |
| Betis | Manuel Ruiz de Lopera | 52,132 |
| Deportivo | Riazor | 34,600 |
| Espanyol | Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys | 55,926 |
| Getafe | Coliseum Alfonso Pérez | 16,300 |
| Málaga | La Rosaleda | 35,530 |
| Mallorca | ONO Estadi | 23,142 |
| Numancia | Los Pajaritos | 9,700 |
| Osasuna | Estadio Reyno de Navarra | 19,553 |
| Racing Santander | El Sardinero | 22,400 |
| Real Madrid | Santiago Bernabéu | 80,354 |
| Recreativo | Nuevo Colombino | 21,600 |
| Sevilla | Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán | 45,500 |
| Sporting | El Molinón | 25,885 |
| Valencia | Mestalla | 55,000 |
| Valladolid | Estadio José Zorrilla | 26,512 |
| Villarreal | El Madrigal | 23,000 |
Personnel and sponsoring
- Barcelona had no shirt sponsor during the 2008–09 season. Instead, following the signing of a five-year agreement with the humanitarian organisation UNICEF in 2006, the club sported the UNICEF logo on the front of its jersey while making an annual donation to the organisation.
- on the back of the shirt
Managerial changes
League table
Positions by round
Results
Awards
LFP Awards
For the first time in La Liga's history, its governing body, the Liga de Fútbol Profesional, honoured the competition's best players and coach with the LFP Awards.| Recipient | |
| Best Player |  Lionel Messi |
| Best Coach |  Pep Guardiola |
| Best Goalkeeper | Iker Casillas |
| Best Defender |  Dani Alves |
| Best Midfielder | Xavi Andrés Iniesta |
| Best Forward | Lionel Messi |
Pichichi Trophy
The Pichichi Trophy is awarded to the player who scores the most goals in a season.| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 |  Diego Forlán | Atlético Madrid | 32 |
| 2 |  Samuel Eto'o | Barcelona | 30 |
| 3 | David Villa | Valencia | 28 |
| 4 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 23 |
| 5 | Gonzalo Higuaín | Real Madrid | 22 |
| 6 | Álvaro Negredo | Almería | 19 |
| 6 |  Thierry Henry | Barcelona | 19 |
| 8 | Raúl | Real Madrid | 18 |
| 8 |  Frédéric Kanouté | Sevilla | 18 |
| 10 | Sergio Agüero | Atlético Madrid | 17 |
| 11 | Joseba Llorente | Villarreal | 15 |
Source:
Zamora Trophy
The Zamora Trophy is awarded by newspaper Marca to the goalkeeper with least goals-to-games ratio. A goalkeeper must play at least 28 games of 60 or more minutes to be eligible for the trophy.| Rank | Name | Club | Goals against | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Víctor Valdés | Barcelona | 31 | 35 | 0.89 |
| 2 | Andrés Palop | Sevilla | 35 | 35 | 1.00 |
| 3 | Daniel Aranzubia | Deportivo | 45 | 37 | 1.22 |
| 4 | Toño | Racing Santander | 41 | 33 | 1.24 |
| 5 | Carlos Kameni | Espanyol | 47 | 37 | 1.27 |
Source:
Assists table
- Source:
Fair Play award
| Rank | Club | Points |
| 1 | Barcelona | 98 |
| 2 | Deportivo | 102 |
| 3 | Villarreal | 110 |
| 4 | Recreativo | 113 |
| 5 | Valladolid | 114 |
| 6 | Numancia | 131 |
| 6 | Valencia | 131 |
| 8 | Almería | 132 |
| 9 | Getafe | 133 |
| 10 | Espanyol | 134 |
| 11 | Mallorca | 135 |
| 12 | Atlético Madrid | 136 |
| 12 | Sevilla | 136 |
| 14 | Málaga | 139 |
| 15 | Osasuna | 148 |
| 15 | Real Madrid | 148 |
| 17 | Athletic Bilbao | 149 |
| 18 | Racing Santander | 164 |
| 19 | Betis | 165 |
| 20 | Sporting de Gijón | 183 |
- Source: 2008–09 Fair Play Rankings Season.
Scoring
- First goal of the season:
- Last goal of the season:
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Reference |
 Mate Bilić | Sporting Gijón | Sevilla | 3–4 | 13 September 2008 | |
 Rafael van der Vaart | Real Madrid | Sporting Gijón | 7–1 | 24 September 2008 | |
| Samuel Eto'o | Barcelona | Almería | 5–0 | 25 October 2008 | |
 Mohamed Tchité | Racing Santander | Valencia | 4–2 | 1 November 2008 | |
| Gonzalo Higuaín4 | Real Madrid | Málaga | 4–3 | 8 November 2008 | |
| Samuel Eto'o4 | Barcelona | Valladolid | 6–0 | 8 November 2008 | |
| Thierry Henry | Barcelona | Valencia | 4–0 | 9 December 2008 | |
| Roberto Soldado | Getafe | Sporting Gijón | 5–1 | 25 January 2009 | |
| Frédéric Kanouté | Sevilla | Valladolid | 4–1 | 21 March 2009 | |
| Raúl | Real Madrid | Sevilla | 4–2 | 26 April 2009 | |
| Diego Forlán | Atlético Madrid | Athletic Bilbao | 4–1 | 23 May 2009 | |
| Raúl Tamudo | Espanyol | Málaga | 3–0 | 31 May 2009 |
4 Player scored four goals - Home ; - Away
Discipline
- First yellow card of the season: Grégory Béranger for Espanyol against Valladolid
- First red card of the season: Diego Godín for Villarreal against Osasuna