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Málaga, Málaga · Spain · La Liga

Top-4 finishes
1

Power-ranking history

Hover a season for its rank and score
Rank (1 = best)1628Score (per-season normalised)0.00.51.064/6569/7074/7579/8084/8589/9094/9599/0004/0509/1014/15

Against expectation

Every Spanish top-flight match this club has played in the Primera División, scored against the odds an Elo rating gave it before kick-off. Over 37 seasons from 1949-50 to 2017-18 it has fallen short of them by 19.8 match points.

Malaga CF: surplus against expectation, 1949-50 to 2017-181949-50: −1.6 league points vs expected (21 on 22.6, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.8 match points1950-51: +1.4 league points vs expected (29 on 27.6, 2 for a win) · bar height +0.7 match points1952-53: −3.6 league points vs expected (22 on 25.6, 2 for a win) · bar height −1.8 match points1954-55: −6.5 league points vs expected (19 on 25.5, 2 for a win) · bar height −3.2 match points1962-63: −4.7 league points vs expected (20 on 24.7, 2 for a win) · bar height −2.4 match points1965-66: −0.7 league points vs expected (24 on 24.7, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.3 match points1967-68: +1.3 league points vs expected (27 on 25.7, 2 for a win) · bar height +0.7 match points1968-69: −1.9 league points vs expected (25 on 26.9, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.9 match points1970-71: +1.9 league points vs expected (28 on 26.1, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.0 match points1971-72: +3.0 league points vs expected (35 on 32.0, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.5 match points1972-73: −0.3 league points vs expected (33 on 33.3, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.1 match points1973-74: +2.6 league points vs expected (36 on 33.4, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.3 match points1974-75: −1.1 league points vs expected (31 on 32.0, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.5 match points1976-77: −12.2 league points vs expected (18 on 30.2, 2 for a win) · bar height −6.1 match points1979-80: −4.2 league points vs expected (22 on 26.2, 2 for a win) · bar height −2.1 match points1982-83: +2.7 league points vs expected (30 on 27.3, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.3 match points1983-84: +2.5 league points vs expected (33 on 30.5, 2 for a win) · bar height +1.3 match points1984-85: −1.0 league points vs expected (29 on 30.0, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.5 match points1988-89: −0.7 league points vs expected (33 on 33.7, 2 for a win) · bar height −0.3 match points1989-90: −4.1 league points vs expected (28 on 32.1, 2 for a win) · bar height −2.1 match points1999-00: +2.1 league points vs expected (48 on 45.9, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.5 match points2000-01: +7.1 league points vs expected (56 on 48.9, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.9 match points2001-02: +2.0 league points vs expected (53 on 51.0, 3 for a win) · bar height +1.3 match points2002-03: −6.0 league points vs expected (46 on 52.0, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.6 match points2003-04: +2.3 league points vs expected (51 on 48.7, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.0 match points2004-05: +4.6 league points vs expected (51 on 46.4, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.8 match points2005-06: −20.3 league points vs expected (24 on 44.3, 3 for a win) · bar height −6.9 match points2008-09: +10.8 league points vs expected (55 on 44.2, 3 for a win) · bar height +3.7 match points2009-10: −8.0 league points vs expected (37 on 45.0, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.6 match points2010-11: +2.6 league points vs expected (46 on 43.4, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.5 match points2011-12: +8.1 league points vs expected (58 on 49.9, 3 for a win) · bar height +2.4 match points2012-13: +2.5 league points vs expected (57 on 54.5, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.9 match points2013-14: −5.2 league points vs expected (45 on 50.1, 3 for a win) · bar height −1.7 match points2014-15: −0.8 league points vs expected (50 on 50.8, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.4 match points2015-16: +0.3 league points vs expected (48 on 47.6, 3 for a win) · bar height +0.7 match points2016-17: −1.2 league points vs expected (46 on 47.2, 3 for a win) · bar height −0.2 match points2017-18: −20.6 league points vs expected (20 on 40.5, 3 for a win) · bar height −7.4 match points
1949-50one bar per season · height in match points · hover for that season2017-18
Best season against expectation
2008-09 +10.8 league pts
55 points on 44.2 expected as Malaga CF
Worst season against expectation
2017-18 20.6 league pts
20 points on 40.5 expected as Malaga CF

Season points use that season’s own scoring, two for a win before 1995-96 and three from it; the bars use match points so the whole series is comparable. Played as CD Malaga, then Malaga CF.The rating only starts telling you much after about 1960. Before that, knowing the era’s home-and-away split is almost as good as knowing the teams.

Málaga against expectation →How this is measured →

What the squad was worth

Total market value of the squad, EUR millions, by month; the player count beside it is the size of the priced squad.

How this is measured

Drawn as a step, not a curve: Transfermarkt reprices every squad in December and June (marked with a small tick on the axis) and revalues continuously between, so the line only moves when a real valuation changed, never by interpolation.

A month renders no value at all once the priced squad falls below 15 players, so a thin squad is never shown as a cheap one. The series is floored at July 2012on purpose: earlier Transfermarkt totals reflect which players happened to be priced yet rather than the squad’s real worth, and are excluded rather than shown misleadingly low.

Upstream (dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets) has been paused since July 2026, so the series ends where the source ends rather than where the season does.

Player valuations from Transfermarkt via github.com/dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets (CC0).

What the squad was worth€11m
Málaga CF: squad value by month, 2012-07 to 2023-1107014112-1314-1516-1718-1920-2122-23
Peak
€131m in Nov 2012 · 27 players valued
Most recent
€11m in Nov 2023 · 16 players valued

Málagaon the rankings →

The money ledger

Fees paid and received each season, and what the squad was worth once the trading is netted out.

How this is measured

Spent is the fees paid for players arriving, received the fees for players leaving, both in EUR millions by the July-to-June season of the move. A move with no fee on record (a free, a loan, an undisclosed sum) is counted, never priced: the small figure beside each total is the moves with a fee, plus those without (so 4+3 is four priced arrivals and three unpriced), and a quiet window is not mistaken for a cheap one. Wages are not here: they are estimates nobody licenses, and fees are documented.

Appreciationis the season’s change in squad value with the net spend taken out: buy 100m of players and finish 100m higher is zero; finish 120m higher and the club made 20m of players better, or the market repriced them. It needs a priced squad at both ends of the season (the same 15-player floor as the value chart), so it is blank rather than guessed for a season that lacks one.

The source has been paused since 6 July 2026, so the final row holds only the opening days of its window.

Transfer fees and player valuations from Transfermarkt via github.com/dcaribou/transfermarkt-datasets (CC0).

The money ledger+€118m
Spent
€17m
8 arrivals with a fee
Received
€135m
18 departures with a fee
Net
+€118m
125 moves with no fee
Appreciation
+€40m
11 seasons with a priced squad

Grown or bought: in 2025-26, trading €0m and appreciation . Over the last 5 seasons (2021-222025-26), trading +€2m and appreciation unpriced.

The director’s ledger: 7 arrivals graded since 2022-23, 100% EV-positive. No fee-paying arrivals to grade a multiplier on.

2025-26 spent received
1 moves, no fee on record
unpriced
2024-25 spent received €2m
out: Roberto Fernández €2m
unpriced
2023-24 spent received
1 moves, no fee on record
unpriced
2022-23 spent received
11 moves, no fee on record
−€6m
squad gain
2021-22 spent received
11 moves, no fee on record
+€9m
squad gain
2020-21 spent received €2m
out: Álex Mula €1m
−€2m
squad gain
2019-20 spent received €8m
out: Federico Ricca €3m
−€17m
squad gain
2018-19 spent received €11m
out: Youssef En-Nesyri €6m
+€4m
squad gain
Show all 14 seasons
2017-18 spent €4m received €18m
in: Esteban Rolón €3m
−€22m
squad gain
2016-17 spent €7m received
in: Michael Santos €5m
−€8m
squad gain
2015-16 spent €6m received €37m
in: Nordin Amrabat €4m
+€34m
squad gain
2014-15 spent €1m received
in: Ricardo Horta €1m
+€3m
squad gain
2013-14 spent received €30m
out: Isco €30m
+€25m
squad gain
2012-13 spent received €28m
out: Santi Cazorla €19m
+€21m
squad gain

Money against football

Every priced club-season in the six leagues: points against expectation across, squad value gained beyond the net spend up. This club’s seasons are joined.

Tap or drag on the plot: the nearest club-season, its points and its money.

the frontier: no other club-season beat it on both axes · this club, season by season, the largest dot the latest

Every club’s return on the transfer window →

Greatest games

Málaga CF's top matches by the club Game Score: closeness, stakes, quality and upset over one unified rating of league and European play.All-time board.

#DateStageResultScore
12013-04-09Champions League · Quarterfinals · 2nd leg, agg 2-3AL 2-3 v Borussia Dortmundgame score 71.6
22013-03-13Champions League · Round of 16 · 2nd leg, agg 2-1HW 2-0 v FC Portogame score 65.3
32003-02-27UEFA Cup · Fourth Round · 2nd leg, agg 1-0AW 1-0 v AEK Athensgame score 61.6
42013-02-19Champions League · Round of 16 · 1st legAL 0-1 v FC Portogame score 61.5
52002-12-12UEFA Cup · Third Round · 2nd leg, agg 2-1AW 2-1 v Leeds Unitedgame score 60.7
62014-05-11LA LigaAD 1-1 v Atlético de Madridgame score 59.5
72017-05-21LA LigaHL 0-2 v Real Madridgame score 58.8
82012-11-06Champions League · Group Stage · 2nd leg, agg 2-1AD 1-1 v AC Milangame score 58.8
92004-01-07Copa del Rey · Round of 16 · 2nd leg, agg 2-3HL 0-1 v Celta de Vigogame score 58.5
102012-01-03Copa del Rey · Round of 16 · 1st legAL 2-3 v Real Madridgame score 58.2

Footprint

Tiers played
L1
Top-flight (L1) seasons
38
First season
1950
Most recent season
2026

The Heartbreak Index7.4 · #290

The Tortured · Never won it, waiting since 1950

7.4
Heartbreak
#290
of 1,139 clubs
#181
in Football
7.4
agony
The clocks
  • First major trophy since 195010.6
Heaviest wounds

relegated from the top flight, 2006 · relegated from the top flight, 2018 · relegated from the top flight, 1990 · relegated from the top flight, 1985

One formula, every club the site covers. See the whole board →

Season-by-season

Most recent season first. Covers La Liga only. Rows tagged "national playoff" are pre-modern formats where the workbook records only playoff participants, not round-robin standings.

2027
La Liga (1) · P18● live
5 P · 0-3-2 · 2:8 · -6
3
pts
2018
La Liga (1) · P20
38 P · 5-5-28 · 24:61 · -37
20
pts
2017
La Liga (1) · P11
38 P · 12-10-16 · 49:55 · -6
46
pts
2016
La Liga (1) · P8
38 P · 12-12-14 · 38:35 · +3
48
pts
2015
La Liga (1) · P9
38 P · 14-8-16 · 42:48 · -6
50
pts
2014
La Liga (1) · P11
38 P · 12-9-17 · 39:46 · -7
45
pts
2013
La Liga (1) · P6
38 P · 16-9-13 · 53:50 · +3
57
pts
CL
2012
La Liga (1) · P4
38 P · 17-7-14 · 54:53 · +1
58
pts
CL
2011
La Liga (1) · P11
38 P · 13-7-18 · 54:68 · -14
46
pts
2010
La Liga (1) · P17
38 P · 7-16-15 · 42:48 · -6
37
pts
2009
La Liga (1) · P8
38 P · 15-10-13 · 55:59 · -4
55
pts
2006
La Liga (1) · P20
38 P · 5-9-24 · 36:68 · -32
24
pts
Show all 38 seasons
2005
La Liga (1) · P10
38 P · 15-6-17 · 40:48 · -8
51
pts
2004
La Liga (1) · P10
38 P · 15-6-17 · 50:55 · -5
51
pts
2003
La Liga (1) · P14
38 P · 11-13-14 · 44:49 · -5
46
pts
UC
2002
La Liga (1) · P9
38 P · 13-14-11 · 44:44 · 0
53
pts
UC
2001
La Liga (1) · P8
38 P · 16-8-14 · 60:61 · -1
56
pts
2000
La Liga (1) · P12
38 P · 11-15-12 · 55:50 · +5
48
pts
1990
La Liga (1) · P17
as CD Málaga · 38 P · 9-10-19 · 23:50 · -27
28
pts
1989
La Liga (1) · P16
as CD Málaga · 38 P · 12-9-17 · 39:53 · -14
33
pts
1985
La Liga (1) · P16
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 7-15-12 · 23:36 · -13
29
pts
1984
La Liga (1) · P9
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 11-11-12 · 41:35 · +6
33
pts
1983
La Liga (1) · P10
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 10-10-14 · 37:48 · -11
30
pts
1980
La Liga (1) · P18
as CD Málaga · 33 P · 8-6-19 · 28:55 · -27
19
pts
1977
La Liga (1) · P18
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 6-6-22 · 27:60 · -33
18
pts
1975
La Liga (1) · P16
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 13-5-16 · 33:42 · -9
31
pts
1974
La Liga (1) · P7
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 12-12-10 · 31:32 · -1
36
pts
1973
La Liga (1) · P10
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 11-11-12 · 33:29 · +4
33
pts
1972
La Liga (1) · P7
as CD Málaga · 34 P · 9-17-8 · 27:31 · -4
35
pts
1971
La Liga (1) · P9
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 8-12-10 · 27:32 · -5
28
pts
1969
La Liga (1) · P14
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 9-7-14 · 37:42 · -5
25
pts
1968
La Liga (1) · P10
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 9-9-12 · 29:37 · -8
27
pts
1966
La Liga (1) · P13
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 8-8-14 · 24:37 · -13
24
pts
1963
La Liga (1) · P16
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 8-4-18 · 25:70 · -45
20
pts
1955
La Liga (1) · P16
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 6-7-17 · 36:65 · -29
19
pts
1953
La Liga (1) · P15
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 10-2-18 · 47:69 · -22
22
pts
1951
La Liga (1) · P13
as CD Málaga · 30 P · 12-5-13 · 55:52 · +3
29
pts
1950
La Liga (1) · P12
as CD Málaga · 26 P · 8-5-13 · 44:51 · -7
21
pts
European competition appearances

Most recent first. One row per entry showing the deepest round reached. A Cup Winner badge marks tournaments the club won: gold for the European Cup / Champions League, silver for every other UEFA or Intercontinental trophy.

2012-13
Champions League(CL)
Quarter-final
2002-03
UEFA Cup(UC)
Quarter-final