The La Liga Awards, previously known as the LFP awards, are presented annually by the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) to the best players and coach in La Liga, the first division of association football in Spain. Established in the 2008–09 season, they were the first official awards in the history of the Spanish competition.[1] La Liga's best coach and player in each position—goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward—were chosen based on a voting by the captain and vice-captains of each club, while the best player overall was determined via statistical analysis.[2]
Since the La Liga Awards' creation, Barcelona players have won 32 honours in the six main categories, almost triple the number of any other club. Barcelona's forward Lionel Messi has been named La Liga's best player for six times and La Liga's best forward for seven times, both all-time records. Across all positions, the other outstanding individuals are Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta with five wins, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola with four wins, Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos with four wins, and goalkeepers Iker Casillas of Real Madrid and Víctor Valdés of Barcelona with two wins each.
Many of the awards were discontinued after the 2015–16 season.[3]
- ^ "Memoria de la Liga de Fútbol Profesional 2009–10" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga de Fútbol Profesional. pp. 149–152. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Prize categories in Premios LaLiga". Liga de Fútbol Profesional. 28 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "La Liga cancels 2016-17 award ceremony". ESPN. Retrieved 26 October 2018.