LaLiga Kicks Off Without Mbappe or Yamal as Barcelona and Real Madrid Wait Out Opening Weekend

You'll have to wait a bit to see Lamine Yamal or Kylian Mbappe open the season. That's the first oddity of this LaLiga kickoff: just weeks after Spain claimed its second world title, the Spanish league is the first of Europe's big five to get underway, but it does so quietly, without its two biggest names on the opening weekend.

The reason is simple: both defending champion Barcelona and Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid had players competing right up to the end of the World Cup, so the league gave them a few extra days before their debuts. Barca, chasing a third straight league title, will visit Elche on August 23, while Madrid, thoroughly rebuilt under Mourinho after two seasons without a major trophy, will open on the road at Espanyol on August 22.

There's also a last-minute wrinkle: a fungus outbreak on the pitch forced the postponement of Celta's opener against Osasuna, which will now be played on August 27 instead of this weekend.

A Barca That Keeps Almost Everything (and Loses Ferran)

Hansi Flick is sticking with the bulk of the squad that helped Spain win the World Cup: Yamal, Dani Olmo, Gavi, Pedri and Pau Cubarsi all remain part of the project. What isn't sticking around is Ferran Torres, who scored Spain's decisive goal in the final against Argentina and is widely expected to leave for PSG. Coming in as reinforcement is English winger Anthony Gordon, brought in to fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski's departure.

Mourinho Rebuilds Madrid

Mourinho's return to the Bernabeu comes with a heavily overhauled roster. Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham are staying, but there are some heavyweight additions: world champion Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Bernardo Silva and Yan Diomande. Among those leaving are veterans Dani Carvajal and David Alaba.

Diego Simeone's Atletico, meanwhile, opens this Wednesday at home against newly promoted Malaga with a significant question mark hanging over the club: the future of Julian Alvarez. The forward, who played in the World Cup final with Argentina, asked to leave during the tournament itself, and both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been mentioned as interested parties. The club has been clear about its stance:

We have no intention of selling the player.Diego Simeone

Alvarez has already rejoined training, though doubts about his future remain. Simeone also had to deal with the departures of Antoine Griezmann, Thiago Almada, Nahuel Molina and Clement Lenglet, offsetting them with the arrivals of Alejandro Grimaldo, Morten Hjulmand and Lee Kang-In, with Cristian "Cuti" Romero set to join them.

What's Coming This Weekend

The schedule kicks off Saturday with Alaves hosting Getafe, followed by Sevilla against Rayo Vallecano. Sunday brings a special storyline: Racing de Santander returns to the top flight after 14 years away and makes its home debut against Villarreal, third-place finishers last season behind Barcelona and Madrid. That same day, Levante travels to Espanyol.

Rounding out the promoted teams are Racing, Malaga, and a historic club returning to the top flight after eight seasons in the lower divisions: Deportivo de La Coruna. Mallorca, Girona and Oviedo were relegated.

As an interesting bit of trivia for this season, LaLiga claims to be the first league in the world to roll out "connected ball" technology at scale, using a radio frequency sensor inside the ball that transmits its position and every touch in real time, picked up by a network of antennas installed in every stadium.