The club's name is derived from theCelts, a people who once lived in the region. Celta have a long-standing rivalry with fellow Galician clubDeportivo La Coruña, with whom they contest theGalician derby.
Campo de Coia (1908–1928)Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII' trophy in 1927Real Club Celta de Vigo vsS.C. Braga in 1945
RC Celta de Vigo was formed as a result of the ambition of Vigo's teams to achieve more at national level, where theBasque sides had been theirbête noire in the Spanish Championship. The idea was to merge both Vigo-based teams,Real Vigo Sporting andReal Club Fortuna de Vigo, to create a more powerful team at national level. The standard-bearer of this movement was Manuel de Castro, known as "Handicap", a sports writer for theFaro de Vigo who, from 1915, began to write in his articles about the need for a unitarian movement.[3] The slogan of his movement was"Todo por y para Vigo" ("All by and for Vigo"),[3] which eventually found support among the managers of both clubs. It was backed unanimously when De Castro himself presented the motion at the assembly of theRoyal Spanish Football Federation inMadrid on 22 June 1923.[3]
On 12 July 1923, the merger was approved at the annual general meetings of Vigo and Fortuna, held at the Cine Odeón and Hotel Moderno, respectively.[3] At the last general meeting of Fortuna and Vigo, which approved the formation of the new club and was held on 10 August, the members decided on the name and colours of the team.[3] Among the various names proposed were Club Galicia, Real Atlético FC, Real Club Olímpico, Breogán and Real Club Celta. The latter two names were the most liked and in the end they decided on Club Celta, an ethnic race linked toGalicia.[3] The first president of Celta was Manuel Bárcena de Andrés, the Count of Torre Cedeira.[3] This assembly also decided on the squad, which totaled 64 players and included some important players from Fortuna and Vigo, and was managed byFrancis Cuggy.[3] Their first match was afriendly against Portuguese sideBoavista, which Celta won 8–2.[3]
In January 1927, Celta won the 'Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII' trophy after defeating the English sailors team 4–1.[4]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Celta were dubbed "EuroCelta" by the Spanish press as a result of their European performance. This included a 4–1 aggregate win againstLiverpool in a run to the quarter-finals of the1998–99 UEFA Cup.[7] In thenext season's edition they again reached the last eight, with a 4–0 second leg win overJuventus and a 7–0 home win againstBenfica (8–1 on aggregate).[8] Domestically, the team reached the2001 Copa del Rey final, losing 3–1 toReal Zaragoza inSeville.[9]
In 2002–03, under managerMiguel Ángel Lotina, Celta ranked fourth, their highest finish since 1948, and qualified for the2003–04 UEFA Champions League. They reached the round of 16, where they were eliminated byArsenal 5–2 on aggregate.[10] Domestically that year, the team came 19th and suffered relegation to theSegunda División.[11] Although the squad was heavily dismantled following the demotion, Celta earned an immediate return to the top flight after finishing second in2004–05.[12]
In2006–07, Celta finished 18th and were once again relegated to the Segunda División. The team subsequently fought against relegation to the third tier, and the risk of bankruptcy.[13] This trend was bucked in the 2010–11 season, when new strikerDavid Rodríguez, wingerEnrique de Lucas and managerPaco Herrera helped them finish sixth. They were eliminated in the first knockout round byGranada after apenalty shoot-out, the game having finished 1–1 in 90 minutes.[14]
On 3 June 2012, Celta returned to La Liga after a five-year absence.[15] In their first season after returning to the top flight, they avoided relegation to the Segunda División on the final day after beatingRCD Espanyol 1–0 to ensure a 17th-place finish.[16]
Celta avoided relegation on the final day of the season in 2019 and 2020, with the goals of local forwardIago Aspas being crucial in both seasons.[19][20] In late 2023, shortly after the club's centenary,Carlos Mouriño resigned the presidency that he had held since 2006, ceding it to his daughterMarián as the first woman in the office.[21] In2024–25, Celta finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League for the first time in nine years.[22]
Celta's original crest was rather simple, featuring a red shield with two stylised letter Cs (Club Celta) and theroyal crown of Spain; in the year of its foundation, the club became one of a number of Spanish football clubs to be granted patronage byAlfonso XIII and thus the right to use the honorificreal (Royal) in its name and the crown on its badge.[3] The following year the shield's colour was changed to the traditional sky blue colour. Like many other Galician clubs, such asCompostela andRacing Ferrol, the crest also features the redcross of Saint James which was added in 1928.[23][24][25] During theSpanish Second Republic (1931–1936), the honorific title and crown were removed from the club's name and crest; however, it was to return under theSpanish State.
Celta's home colours are sky blue and white. Originally, their home strip consisted of a red shirt, black shorts and blue socks. This was later changed at an unknown date to the current colours, representative of theGalician flag.[3]
1923–1924
Current
Celta had the longest-running sponsorship deal in Spanish football, and one of the longest-running in the world, with the French automobile manufacturerCitroën from 1985 to 2016.[26] The company established its plant within walking distance from Balaídos in 1958, and had first sponsored the club's women's basketball team in 1980. In 2016, the sponsor was changed to that of Galician brewery,Estrella Galicia, which had advertised on the back of the shirts since 2011.[27] Their business deal with kit supplier,Umbro, was also one of the longest-running ones, from 1986 to 2010.[28]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Carlos Mouriño was the club's president between 2006 and 2023
Real Club Celta de Vigo, S.A.D. is asociedad anónima deportiva, a public limited sports company, owned by the Spanish-Mexican businessmanCarlos Mouriño, who has been the majority shareholder since May 2006 when he acquired Horacio Gómez's 39.84% shareholding in the club. He currently owns 67.9% of the club through the holding company Grupo Corporativo Ges, S.L.[37]
In October 2016, the club was the subject of a potential €100 million takeover by the ChineseCITS Group.[38]
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