Since its La Liga debut in the 1948–49 season (in which it became the first club from the region to play in La Liga – five others have since done so), Valladolid is the most successful football club in Castile and León by honours and history, with a total of 47 seasons in the First Division, 36 in the Second and 10 in the Third.[4] Historically, Valladolid is the 13th-best team in Spain by overall league points. Two of its players have won the Pichichi Trophy:Manuel Badenes andJorge da Silva; and ten were internationals with theSpain national football team. In the 21st century, the club's domestic performance follows ayo-yo club pattern, with multiple promotions to (and relegations from) the first division.
On 3 September 2018, it was announced that Brazilian former international footballerRonaldo Nazario had become the majority shareholder after purchasing a 51% controlling stake in the club.[5]
In 2025, Nazario sold the controlling stake to Grupo Ignite.
Real Valladolid was founded from the merger of Real Unión Deportiva de Valladolid and Club Deportivo Español, the club played its first game on 22 September 1928. It was a 2–1 win over Alavés.[6] Valladolid first reached thetop level in the 1947–48 season, as champions of theSegunda División. The club became the first Castile and León club to play in the Spanish top flight. The following year, the team pushed on from this success and reached the finals of theCopa del Rey inChamartín Stadium againstAthletic Bilbao, losing 4–1.
The next ten years were spent in the first division, and relegation was short-lived as Valladolid gained promotion again in 1958–59 with a 5–0 win overTerrassa under manager José Luis Saso,[7] a legendary figure in club history.[8] He had originally been a goalkeeper for the club and went on to perform many roles, including serving as president of the club.
Valladolid swung between the first and second divisions in subsequent years, falling as low as to thethird division in 1970–71. Next year the club was promoted to second division and in 1980 promoted to first division, where Valladolid played until 1992 when the club was relegated to the second division again. Promoted in1992–93, the club was again sent down after the2003–04 season. In 1984, Valladolid also won theCopa de la Liga (a competition only played in the early 1980s) overAtlético Madrid.
Real Valladolid uniform in the season 1983–84, when the club won its only official trophy: the1984 Copa de la Liga
On 14 April 1996, Valladolid played its 1,000th game in La Liga.
The side's highest position during this 11-year stint was seventh in1996–97, being coached in the previous seasons by formerReal Madrid Castilla coachRafael Benítez, as various players from that team would also later appear for Valladolid.
Real Valladolid players cruising theRío Pisuerga while celebrating the club's promotion toLa Liga in April 2007
In the2006–07 season, after signingBasqueJosé Luis Mendilibar as head coach, Valladolid had one of its best years in its history while playing in the second level. The club took the league lead in the 15th matchday and went on to finish with a competition all-time high 88 points, winning the championship by a total margin of eight points, and holding an advantage of 26 points over the non-promotion zone (fourth and below), both being all-time records in the league. Valladolid also achieved the honour of going unbeaten in 29-straight matches, from 10 October 2006 to 6 May 2007, being mathematically promoted after a 2–0 away win againstTenerife on 22 April 2007 (the 34th matchday of the season), the earliest any club has achieved promotion in Spanish history.
Two relatively successful seasons in the top division followed, finishing in 15th place while avoiding relegation after a 1–1 draw on the last matchday of both seasons (againstRecreativo de Huelva in2007–08 andReal Betis inthe following campaign).
After a slow start to2009–10 (three wins in the first 20 matches), Mendilibar was sacked on 1 February 2010 following a draw at home againstAlmería. The week following his sacking, Valladolid dropped into the relegation zone (something that never happened during Mendilibar's 138-match stint), with former playerOnésimo Sánchez taking charge.
After only one win in 10 matches, Sánchez was fired. FormerSpain national team managerJavier Clemente was named Sánchez's replacement in a desperate move to avoid relegation with only eight matches remaining. After a brief breather (16th position), Valladolid again returned to the bottom three, then faced a must-win last game at theCamp Nou against aBarcelona squad needing a win to secure the Liga championship. Level in the standings withRacing de Santander,Málaga and Tenerife for the two final safe positions, Valladolid lost 0–4 and consequently was relegated, ending a three-year stay in the top flight.
The2011–12 season saw Valladolid return to La Liga under the management ofMiroslav Đukić, promoted through the play-offs after finishing third in the division.
Valladolid were relegated back to the Segunda División on the last matchday of the2013–14 season.[9]
In the summer of 2018, a series of purchase offers were presented by several foreign entrepreneurs.[10][11] This process concluded with the acquisition led by the former Brazilian playerRonaldo Nazário, who was officially introduced as the majority shareholder and president of the board of directors on 3 September 2018. The presentation took place in the reception hall of the Valladolid City Hall.[12][13] It is worth noting that the former president,Carlos Suárez [es], continued in the role of CEO until he resigned in August 2019.[14]
When Ronaldo was introduced, the team had already completed the first three rounds of the2018–19 La Liga season. Despite failing to score any goals, they managed to secure two draws out of three matches, largely due to their strong defensive performance.[15] Their standing improved to 6th place by the 10th round, but a lack of goals combined with a deteriorating defense resulted in a series of unfavorable outcomes. Throughout April, they found themselves periodically in positions that could lead to relegation. However, the team's performance notably picked up in the final rounds of the season, ensuring their safety in the league mathematically one match prior to the end of the championship.[16] As part of changes, Calero, who had performed well, was transferred toEspanyol for a fee of 8 million euros plus additional variables.[17]
Sergio González Soriano continued as the coach for the 2019–20 season. TheCOVID-19 pandemic caused a pause in the season on 13 March when the team was in 15th place, four points above the relegation zone. The league resumed from mid-June to mid-July, with the team securing safety in the second-to-last round and finishing 13th, their best position in 18 seasons.[18] Throughout the season, Valladolid avoided relegation positions, relying on effective but not flashy play. The standout was Salisu, a Ghanaian defender from the youth team, who excelled in defense. He was sold to Southampton FC for 12 million euros in the summer, a record sale for Valladolid.[19] In January, Ronaldo signed high-profile playerBen Arfa, who played sparingly and left at the season's end.
On 23 May 2020, a preliminary agreement was announced with theClub Baloncesto Ciudad de Valladolid for collaboration between the two entities. The merger would result in the basketball club becoming a section within Real Valladolid. Among the changes would be alterations to the club's colors and the basketball team's name.[20] On 10 July 2020, members of Atlético Tordesillas agreed to have the team become a subsidiary of Real Valladolid for one season, extendable over time. Atlético Tordesillas would retain its legal identity and board of directors.[21] The agreement would bring young players from the Valladolid academy, a full coaching staff funded by Valladolid, training for lower division coaches at Tordesillas, supply of sports equipment, and the presence of Valladolid's groundskeepers to maintain the Tordesillas team's fields.
On 3 August 2020, a 3-year collaboration agreement was signed with Club Baloncesto Ciudad deValladolid. The basketball team's name changed toReal Valladolid Baloncesto, adopting white and purple colors. David Espinar, the basketball team's director, joined the board of directors. This partnership aimed to attract resources, strengthen fan connections, and enhance public relations.[22] On 21 August 2020, the agreement withAtlético Tordesillas was confirmed, making it the club's second subsidiary team..
The 2020–21 season began in September instead of August due to the COVID-19-induced pause. The RFEF established rules for the 2020–21 league that required teams inLa Liga andSegunda División to find alternative stadiums for home matches in case COVID-19 complications prevented matches from being played at their regular venues. The preferred option was theEstadio Nueva Balastera inPalencia, provided it met the minimum requirements set by theLFP. The alternative, however, needed to be located outside the club'sAutonomous Community. Therefore, stadiums inMadrid were the most likely candidates, and even the possibility of a mutual agreement to share the alternative stadium with another team was considered.[23] Furthermore, during this season, five substitutions in three intervals per match would continue to be allowed. A protocol was designed to address issues like playing surfaces, schedules, first-team player numbers, and what would happen if matches couldn't be played or if positive COVID-19 cases were detected among teams, coaches, and players. The protocol also covered the promotion playoffs to La Liga.[24][25]
Despite the disappointing results, Real Valladolid had a slim chance of avoiding relegation until the very last matchday. They needed to beat the league champions,Atlético de Madrid, and hope their rivals didn't win their matches. Unfortunately, this scenario didn't play out, resulting in relegation as the second-to-last team. The club faced criticism from fans for not taking adequate measures to prevent relegation. Despite various challenges including injuries and COVID-19 absences, coachSergio González Soriano remained in charge throughout the season, ultimately leading the team back to the lower division.
The following season, 2021–22, marked Real Valladolid's 36th season in the second tier. The main goal was to rekindle the fans' enthusiasm after one of the worst seasons in the club's history. On 22 June 2021, the subsidiary agreement with Atlético Tordesillas was terminated due to Real Valladolid's relegation. Despite this, the collaboration between the two clubs continued. After a somewhat inconsistent start, the team began 2022 with a strong defense, surpassing the team's previous unbeaten record. It is important to note that the earlier record was set inLa Liga by César Sánchez, who went 555 minutes without conceding a goal. This achievement spanned from the 85th minute (goal byJulen Guerrero) of matchday 33 in the1997–98 season to the 10th minute (goal byPredrag Mijatović) of matchday 2 in the1998–99 season.[29] Ultimately, the record was extended to 646 minutes byJordi Masip between the 29th-minute goal byBorja Bastón on matchday 20 and the 45th-minute goal byBernardo Espinosa on matchday 27.[30] The team eventually secured direct promotion by defeatingS.D. Huesca 3–0 in the final matchday, even though it relied on results fromU.D. Almería andS.D. Eibar. These results materialized with Almería drawing atButarque and Eibar surprisingly losing to A.D. Alcorcón, who had been relegated for several rounds. Despite this, Alcorcón finished as the bottom team in the second division. Valladolid concluded the season as runners-up, being the top goal-scorers with 71 goals, largely thanks to the 20 goals contributed by Israeli playerShon Weissman. Furthermore, they set a record by spending the fewest matchdays in direct promotion positions before securing promotion, achieving this in only 5 matchdays in total.[31]
The 2022–23 season of La Liga began with Pacheta as the coach, following their promotion, and notable signings like the return of academy graduateSergio Asenjo and Valladolid nativeSergio Escudero. The season was marked by inconsistent performance, swinging between periods of positive and negative results, often conceding goals in the closing minutes of matches. The team managed to stay above the relegation zone until the break for theQatar World Cup.
During the winter transfer window, new players were brought in to elevate the team's performance, but injuries hindered the contribution of some players.Paulo Pezzolano replaced Pacheta as the coach after the team conceded six goals in a single match. Despite Pezzolano's efforts, the team's irregular form persisted. In the final matchday, playing at home against Getafe, Valladolid was relegated, marking their fifth relegation in two decades, making them the most relegated team in the 21st century.[32][33]
The day after relegation, President Ronaldo confirmed Pezzolano as the coach for the 2023–24 season. Just days before the new season's start,Fran Sánchez was dismissed, and Domingo Catoira took over as the sporting director.[34] The fans' dissatisfaction with these changes, along with concerns about the team's direction and squad changes, were evident during the Trofeo Ciudad de Valladolid, with strong protests against the club's leadership, including chants calling for Ronaldo's departure.[35]
The 24 April 2025, after the defeat vs. Betis, it was relegated to Second Division (La Liga 2).
On 23 May 2025, the club announced that Ronaldo agreed to selling the controlling stake to a group of investors.[36]
In 2010, it was announced that there were plans to expand the stadium to 40,000 spectators. This project was known as Valladolid Arena[baʎaˈðoliðaˈɾena], but was contingent on Spain winning the right to host the 2018 FIFA World cup.[39]
The following list shows Valladolid's record as well as all the presidents and coaches for every season since its foundation in 1929.[40] All presidents and coaches are Spanish unless otherwise noted.
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.
Since it was started in 1928, Real Valladolid has always had a home uniform of purple and white stripes. This uniform was picked to make sure it wasn't too similar to other early clubs, and they still use the same basic design with very few changes. Purple and white have become the team's colors, and they're a big part of the club's story.[43][44][45]
During the 2012–13 season, Real Valladolid showed their support forMadrid's bid to host the2020 Olympics by wearing a special shirt for their match againstReal Madrid at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium. The shirt featured black and purple stripes with eye-catching orange numbers on the back.[46]
On September 24, 2023, Real Valladolid had to play their match at theCarlos Tartiere Stadium againstReal Oviedo wearing a fourth kit. This is because the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) considered that the three kits of the pucelano team have violet as the predominant color and considered that they are similar to the first kit of the Asturian team, despite having played other seasons with the first kit, replacing the white shorts with violet ones.[47] The Promesas wore their previously mentioned kit without issue during theirSegunda Federación match againstReal Oviedo Vetusta last week.[48] This kit consisted of a yellow shirt and socks, along with violet shorts carried over from their second kit.[49][50]
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