Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Spain, who compete in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, the second tier of the Spanish league system, following their promotion from the

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, officially the Primera Federación Versus e-Learning for sponsorship reasons (formerly known as Primera RFEF). is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administe ...

in the 2023–24 season. They won the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

in 2002 and qualified for the following season's

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, reaching the quarter-final stages. They also qualified for the

2012–13 UEFA Champions League The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was p ...

, where they were quarter-finalists. Since June 2010, the owner of the club has been

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

i investor Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani.

History

Club Atlético Malagueño

Málaga's history trace back to

CD Málaga Club Deportivo Málaga was a Spanish football club based in Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It played twenty seasons in La Liga, before being dissolved in 1992. History Origins The first football club in Málaga was establ ...

, a club founded in 1904. ''Club Atlético Malagueño'' was founded on 25 May 1948 as a former

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

of CD Málaga, after the club absorbed ''CD Santo Tomás'' with the purpose of establishing a reserve team, took over as Málaga's main team. ''Club Atlético Malagueño'' and ''CD Málaga'' had found themselves together in the

1959–60 Tercera División The 1959–60 Tercera División season was the 24th since its establishment. League table Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Source: Group 5 Group 6 Group 7 Group 8 Group 9 Group 10 Group 11 Group 12 Group 13 Group 14 Promotion play-o ...

after ''CD Málaga'' was relegated at the end of the

1958–59 Segunda División The 1958–59 Segunda División season was the 28th since its establishment and was played between 13 September 1958 and 19 April 1959. Overview before the season 32 teams joined the league, including two relegated from the 1957–58 La Liga an ...

. As a reserve team, the former should have been relegated to regional competition. To avoid this, they separated from their parent club and registered as an independent club within the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the natio ...

. That move made it possible for CA Malagueño to survive after CD Málaga suspended operations. The 1992–93 season saw CA Malagueño playing in Tercera División Group 9. After a successful campaign, the club was promoted to the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. The following season, however, the club was relegated again and, facing financial difficulties, were in danger of folding.

Name change to Málaga CF

On 19 December 1993, in a referendum, the club's members voted in favour of changing names and, on 29 June 1994, CA Malagueño changed their name to Málaga Club de Fútbol S.A.D. In the early 2000s, Málaga were a club rich in young and top quality players, and boasted a more modern and developed stadium. Although they never pushed for a Champions League place, Málaga were always successful under the popular

Joaquín Peiró Joaquín Peiró Lucas (29 January 1936 – 18 March 2020) was a Spanish football attacking midfielder and manager. After excelling at Atlético Madrid – where he would start and end his professional career, amassing La Liga totals of 166 game ...

. They made a solitary appearance in the

in 2002, clinching their only official trophy by beating

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent ( Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, ...

, Willem II and

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. Málaga's run in the

was something of an overachievement, and ended in a defeat on penalties in the quarter-finals to Boavista, after beating Željezničar Sarajevo (who had been eliminated from the Champions League by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Amica Wronki Amica Wronki was a Polish football club based in Wronki, Poland. The club was invariably linked to Amica, a manufacturer of white goods, predominantly stoves, which gave the club its nickname. The company's increasing profits gave the new te ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

(after a 2–1 win at Elland Road, courtesy of two

Julio Dely Valdés Julio César Dely Valdés (born March 12, 1967) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a twin brother of Jorge Dely Valdés and younger brother of Armando Dely Valdés. Club career Born in Colón, Dely ...

goals) and

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

. After Peiró's retirement, a mass exodus slowly started.

Darío Silva Darío Debray Silva Pereira (born 2 November 1972) is a Uruguayan retired professional footballer who played as a striker. After making a name for himself in his country and in Italy with Cagliari, he spent the following seven years of his car ...

Kiki Musampa Kizito Musampa (born 20 July 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a left winger. Musampa had a journeyman career, taking in notable spells at AFC Ajax, Bordeaux, Malaga CF, Atlético Madrid and Manchester City. Born Zaire, he ...

, Dely Valdés and

Pedro Contreras Pedro Contreras González (born 7 January 1972) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in 246 La Liga games over the course of 13 seasons, representing in the competition Real Madrid, Rayo Vallecano, Málaga and ...

all left the club.

Juande Ramos Juan de la Cruz "Juande" Ramos Cano (born 25 September 1954) is a former Spanish footballer and manager. After playing and managing at an amateur level, Ramos led Rayo Vallecano to promotion to La Liga, followed by reaching the quarter-finals ...

took over as coach and oversaw a 5–1 home thrashing of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, the club's biggest victory against the Catalan giants, with a hat-trick from loanee

Salva Ballesta Salvador Ballesta Vialcho (born 22 May 1975), commonly known as Salva, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. A goalscorer noted for his flair and workrate, he played for seven top-division cl ...

, who would end up missing out on the

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...

by just two goals. Ramos, however, left for the

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

and

Gregorio Manzano Gregorio "Goyo" Manzano Ballesteros (; born 11 March 1956) is a Spanish football manager. In a career of 35 years, he managed for 14 consecutive seasons in La Liga with seven clubs, including three spells at Mallorca and two at Atlético Madrid ...

took charge.

Slow decline and financial issues

Despite steering Málaga to their second consecutive tenth-placed finish, Manzano could not prevent a lackluster side from being relegated, and they finished at the bottom of the league with a paltry 24 points to their name. Málaga began the new second division season well. However, their form dipped dramatically and for two of the remaining six weeks were in the relegation zone. Málaga managed to address this situation and survived their first Segunda season. The

2007–08 Segunda División The 2007–08 season was the 77th in the history of the Segunda División (known as the Liga BBVA for sponsorship reasons), the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The first matches of the season were played on 25 August 2007, and ...

also began impressively, with seven straight victories. Málaga seemed to be on track for promotion but, after another slump in form, they were overtaken as leaders by Numancia. They needed a victory in their final game, at home to

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, to assure promotion. Two goals from Antonio Hidalgo secured a 2–1 triumph and Málaga returned to the top flight as runners-up.

Abdullah Al Thani era (2010–present)

Due to the club's economic problems, then-president Fernando Sanz found investments at

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

to launch an ambitious project, entering in conversations with

sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani. On 11 June 2010, after a week of negotiations, Al Thani became the entity's new owner, being named president on 28 July in the members' meeting. On 28 June 2010,

Jesualdo Ferreira Manuel Jesualdo Ferreira (born 24 May 1946) is a Portuguese Manager (association football), football manager who last managed Zamalek SC, Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League. In a managerial career of over forty years, he was in charge of all ...

was appointed as coach and Moayad Shatat was appointed as vice president and general manager. Following this was the signing of prominent players like Salomón Rondón and

Eliseu Eliseu Pereira dos Santos (born 1 October 1983), known simply as Eliseu (), is a Portuguese former professional Association football, footballer who played either as a left-back or winger (association football), left winger. After starting ou ...

. In November, however, Jesualdo was fired because he had not obtained the desired performance, positioning the club in the relegation places. Later, Shatat confirmed

Manuel Pellegrini Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti (; ; born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed clubs in S ...

as coach. With ''"The Caretaker"'' in charge, it was decided to discard players of the squad and strengthen with players like centre back

Martín Demichelis Martín Gastón Demichelis (; born 20 December 1980) is an Argentine professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, footballer who played usually as a centre-back, although he could also operate as ...

and midfielder

Júlio Baptista Júlio César Clemente Pereira Baptista (born 1 October 1981) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder or a forward. Baptista is nicknamed "The Beast" due to his size and physical presence on the ...

. A record five consecutive

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

wins, alongside a draw against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

at San Mamés at the start of January 2011, helped the team maintain momentum in the league, finishing the 2010–11 season in 11th place. In preparation for the 2011–12 season, the club signed with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

as supplier of the club's kits. Málaga also reached a collaboration agreement with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, which, in addition, became the principal sponsor of the club's kit. The more prominent signings of that season were the Dutchman

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

, the ex-

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

French midfielder,

Jérémy Toulalan Jérémy Toulalan (born 10 September 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, but was also utilized as a central defender. He is best known for his humble demeanor, simple distribution, good technique ...

, and the most expensive signing in the club's history,

Santi Cazorla Santiago Cazorla González (; born 13 December 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Segunda División club Oviedo. A former Spanish international, Cazorla operates primarily as an attacking midfielder, but also plays as a ...

, who arrived from

in a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

21 million deal. Other less prominent players like Isco, former Spanish international midfielder

Joaquín Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956) (Joaquín Alonso González), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981) (Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez) ...

and left back

Nacho Monreal Ignacio "Nacho" Monreal Eraso ( or ; born 26 February 1986) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back or centre-back. He started playing with Osasuna in 2005, going on to appear in 144 official games over the course ...

, were key in the successful season which followed for the Málaga. For the first time in its history, the club qualified for the Champions League after finishing the

2011–12 La Liga The 2011–12 La Liga season (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 81st season of the top level Spanish association football competition. The campaign began on 27 August 2011, and concluded on 13 May 2012. Real Madrid won a ...

campaign in fourth. In the Champions League, Málaga were paired with Italian giants

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and reigning Belgian and Russian champions

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

and

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

, respectively. Málaga made it out of the group stage unbeaten, winning their matches against all three clubs. In the round of 16, the team drew Portuguese champions

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, losing the first away game 1–0 while winning at home 2–0, advancing to the quarter-finals. In a highly anticipated tie against German champions

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, the home game ended 0–0, leaving ''Malagauistas'' with a reasonable chance to advance on the back of a draw in the away fixture. In a second leg marked by controversial referee decisions, the scoreboard showed 1–2 at the full 90 minutes mark, seemingly ensuring Málaga's place in the semi-finals, but two late goals by

Marco Reus Marco Reus (; born 31 May 1989) is a German professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Reus spent his youth career at Borussia Dortmund, prior to l ...

(90+1st minute) and

Felipe Santana Felipe Augusto Santana (; born 17 March 1986), known as Felipe Santana, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Figueirense Having started his football career at Figueirense since 1996 and progres ...

(90+3rd minute) turned the table in favour of the home team. Immediately after the elimination, club president Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani announced a formal complaint would be filed with

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

and

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. The following season, Málaga was banned by UEFA, along with other clubs for its debts. In a statement the agency declared that the club would be excluded from a subsequent competition, for which it would otherwise qualify, in the next four seasons. However, the ban was eventually downgraded to one season and the club was excluded from the 2013–14 Europa League. Deportivomalaga

In the summer of 2013, Isco was sold to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, Joaquín to

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

and midfielder Jérémy Toulalan to

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. The managerial position also changed, with

Bernd Schuster Bernd Schuster (born 22 December 1959) is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides Barcelona (1980–1988) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a midf ...

taking over from Manuel Pellegrini. Following 2013, Málaga encountered a steady decline that would result in them finishing in a lower position in the league each year. On 19 April 2018, Málaga faced Levante U.D. hoping to end their run of ten consecutive defeats that left them placed 20th in LaLiga. However, fate took a turn for the worse and Málaga conceded a goal to Levante's Emmanuel Boateng in stoppage time to see the final score at 0–1. This loss meant that Málaga would be relegated to the Segunda División, ending a run of ten consecutive seasons in the top flight. In 2019, Málaga came close to being promoted to La Liga, finishing third in the

, but was eliminated in the first round of the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. For the

2019–20 Segunda División The 2019–20 Segunda División season, also known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, was the 89th since its establishment. On 12 March 2020 after most of teams had played 31 games, the league was suspended for at least two weeks due t ...

season, Víctor Sánchez del Amo continued as coach. In early 2020, reports emerged that club owner Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani and his family who owe Málaga €7.3m in loans and credit lines, were buying out shares from smaller shareholders to be directed to their personal expenses and business interests, yet up to February 2022 no evidence has proven any misconduct to allow the courts to rule that a criminal case is justified. In August 2020, the court appointed administrator issued a statement that he would lay off the entire first-team squad to save the club from oblivion. In May 2023, Málaga fell into the third tier for the first time since 1998. In the first season back in

, The team ended in 3rd position. Twelve points behind the promoted

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

and seven points behind the 2nd ranked

Córdoba CF Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...

. In the first round of the play-off they knocked out Celta B 4-3 on aggregate. The final was against

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

(who had finished 2nd in the regular season). Málaga won the first leg at home 2-1. In the second leg, Gimnàstic scored early and forced extra time. After going 2-0 down, the Albiazules scored two goals in the second half of extra time to draw the game 2-2, winning 4-3 on aggregate and winning promotion back to the second tier of Spanish football.

Honours

Domestic

** Winners (1): 1998–99 *

** Winners (1): 1997–98 *

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

** Winners (3): 1963–64, 1992–93, 1994–95

International

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

**''Quarter-finals (1):''

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

**''Quarter-finals (1):'' 2002–03 *

: ** Winners (1):

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Friendly

* Trofeo Costa del Sol ** Winners (8): 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2023 * Schalke 04 Cup ** Winners (1): 2014 * Copa EuroAmericana ** ''Runner-up (1)'': 2015

Trofeo Costa del Sol

Between 1961 and 1983, the club organised its own summer tournament, the Trofeo Costa del Sol. In this first age of the tournament, the club won this competition themselves on three occasions, beating

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

and

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in the finals. After a long time of inactivity from 1983 onwards, the competition was revived in 2003. Since then, the club has won the competition on seven occasions, beating

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

, Everton, Lekhwiya and

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

in the finals. All ten trophies are currently placed together in the ''Museo Malaguista'' in La Rosaleda.

Eastern Andalusia Derby

Málaga's main rivalry is with

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol (), known simply as Granada or ''"Graná"'', is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that currently plays in Segunda ...

, known as the Derby of eastern Andalusia. The two clubs are located approximately 90 kilometers apart.

First-team squad

Personnel

Current technical staff

Seasons

Recent seasons

European record

Season to season

*As ''Club Atlético Malagueño'' *''As an independent team'' *''As Málaga Club de Fútbol'' ---- *17 seasons in

*10 seasons in

*1 season in

*4 seasons in

*39 seasons in

Stadium information

La Rosaleda Stadium Estadio La Rosaleda (; literally The Rose Garden) is a football stadium in the city of Málaga, in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is the home stadium of Málaga CF in Segunda División and was previously that of Club Deportivo Málaga, of which M ...

Notable players

;Argentina *

Willy Caballero Wilfredo Daniel Caballero Lazcano (born 28 September 1981) is an Argentine professional football coach and former goalkeeper. He is currently the assistant coach of club Chelsea. He spent most of his career in Spain, representing Elche and M ...

Javier Saviola Javier Pedro Saviola Fernández (; born 11 December 1981) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He represented both FC Barcelona, Barcelona and Real Madrid ...

Ariel Zárate Ariel Silvio Zárate Riga (born 13 July 1973) is an Argentine former professional association football, footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder, and a manager (association football), manager. Only having made his debut in the A ...

;Brazil *

;Cameroon *

Carlos Kameni Idriss Carlos Kameni (born 18 February 1984) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He spent the vast majority of his career in Spain, mainly with Espanyol for whom he appeared in 229 official games over eight La Li ...

;Chile * Manuel Iturra ;Costa Rica *

Paulo Wanchope Paulo César Wanchope Watson (; born 31 July 1976), more commonly known as Paulo Wanchope, is a Costa Rican football coach and former professional footballer who is the manager of Deportivo Saprissa. As a player he was a striker who notably ...

;Denmark *

Patrick Mtiliga Patrick Jan Mtiliga (; born 28 January 1981) is a Danish retired professional Association football, footballer and currently the Assistant Academy Director of FC Nordsjælland. He played as a Defender (association football), defender, most frequ ...

;France *

;Mexico *

Guillermo Ochoa Francisco Guillermo Ochoa Magaña (; born 13 July 1985), commonly known as "Memo Ochoa", is a Mexican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Primeira Liga club AVS Futebol ...

;Morocco *

Nordin Amrabat Noureddine "Nordin" Amrabat (, ; born 31 March 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Moroccan Botola Pro club Wydad. Amrabat played for Morocco, which he represented at two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, 2012 Olympic ...

Youssef En-Nesyri Youssef En-Nesyri (; pronounced ; born 1 June 1997) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Morocco national team. After representing local youth teams, especially the King Mohamme ...

Munir Mohamedi Munir Mohand Mohamedi El Kajoui (; born 10 May 1989), known simply as Munir, is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Botola Pro club RS Berkane and the Morocco national ...

Nabil Baha Nabil Baha (Arabic: نبيل باها; born 12 August 1981) is a retired footballer who played as a striker. He started playing for Montpellier in 2000 and spent much of his career in the top divisions of Portugal and Spain, with notable stint ...

;Netherlands *

Joris Mathijsen Joris Mathijsen (born 5 April 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is the director of football at Willem II. Club career Mathijsen started his football career at SV VOAB in Goirle after he visited a tr ...

;Panama * Julio Dely Valdes ;Paraguay *

Roque Santa Cruz Roque Luis Santa Cruz Cantero (; born 16 August 1981) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Paraguayan Primera División club Libertad. He is the record goal scorer and has earned over 100 caps for the Paraguay n ...

;Portugal *

Duda The Hungary, Hungarian duda (also known as ''tömlősíp'' and ''bőrduda'') is the traditional bagpipe of Hungary. It is an example of a group of bagpipes called Medio-Carparthian bagpipes. Accounts are conflicting regarding the exact form of ...

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

;Serbia * Zdravko Kuzmanovic ;Spain * Apoño *

Francesc Arnau Francesc Xavier Arnau Grabalosa (23 March 1975 – 22 May 2021) was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a 16-year professional career he played for Barcelona and Málaga, appearing in 126 La Liga games over the course of 12 seas ...

* Basti * Francisco Bravo * Javier Calleja * Ignacio Camacho *

Jesús Gámez Jesús Gámez Duarte (; born 10 April 1985) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back. He spent most of his career with Málaga, making his debut with the first team in 2005 and going on to make 293 official ...

Gerardo Gerardo may refer to: People Given name Gerardo is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of the male given name Gerard. * Gerardo Amarilla (born 1969), Uruguayan politician * Gerardo Bonilla (born 1975), Puerto Rican-born professional race c ...

* Luis Hernández * Antonio Hidalgo *

Fernando Hierro Fernando Ruiz Hierro (; born 23 March 1968) is a Spanish football executive and former player who played as a centre-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder. He won five La Liga and three Champions League trophies with Real Madrid in 14 years ...

* Isco *

Juanito Juanito is a given name or nickname, meaning "Little Juan" or Johnny. Notable people with the name include: Professional footballers * Juan Ignacio Gomez Taleb (born 1985), Argentinian forward * Juan Díaz Sánchez (1948–2013), Spanish forw ...

* Domingo Larrainzar *

Albert Luque Albert Luque Martos (born 11 March 1978) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left winger or striker. His 14-year professional career was mainly associated with Mallorca and Deportivo, and he amassed La Liga totals of 248 matches a ...

* Miguel Ángel *

* José María Movilla * Recio * Miguel Ángel Roteta * Francisco Rufete *

* Sergio Sánchez *

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Braz ...

* Fernando Sanz * Vicente Valcarce *

Manuel Velázquez Manuel Velázquez Villaverde (24 January 1943 – 15 January 2016) was a Spanish footballer who played as a central midfielder. Club career Born in Madrid, Velázquez spent all of his 12 years in La Liga with Real Madrid. After three seasons o ...

* Esteban Vigo ;Uruguay * Sebastián Fernández * Marcelo Romero *

;Venezuela * Juanpi * Salomón Rondón *

Roberto Rosales Roberto José Rosales Altuve (; born 20 November 1988) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays for Deportivo Táchira and the Venezuela national team. Mainly a right back, he can also play as a right midfielder. Club career Gent ...

Previous coaches

* Abdallah Ben Barek (1969–70) *

Antonio Benítez Antonio Benítez may refer to: * Antonio Benítez (footballer, born 1942) (1942–2022), Spanish footballer and manager * Antonio Benítez (footballer, born 1951) (1951–2014), Spanish footballer {{hndis, Benitez, Antonio ...

(1976–979) *

Ricardo Albis Ricardo Raúl Albisbeascoechea Pertica (born 18 August 1960), known as Ricardo Albis or simply Albis, is an Argentine retired footballer who played as a midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of a ...

(1994) *

(1994–95) * Pepe Cayuela (1996) *

(1997) * Tolo Plaza (1997) * Ismael Díaz (1997–98) *

(1 July 1998 – 16 June 2003) *

(1 July 2003 – 14 June 2004) *

(2004–05) *

Antonio Tapia Antonio Tapia Flores (born 13 November 1959) is a Spanish football manager. Career Born in Baena, Córdoba, Tapia had an unassuming career as a footballer, only representing Atlético Malagueño and amateurs UD Fuengirola. Still not in his ...

(12 January 2005 – 30 January 2006) * Manolo Hierro (2006) *

Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) * Marcos family Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Né ...

(2006) * Juan Muñiz (2006–08) *

(1 July 2008 – 30 June 2009) * Juan Muñiz (2009–10) *

(2010) *

Rafa Gil Rafael "Rafa" Gil Sánchez (born 11 October 1975) is a Spanish football manager, currently in charge of Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim II FC. Manager career Born in Tolox, Málaga, Andalusia, Gil began his managerial career at local CD Alh ...

''(interim)'' (2010) *

(5 November 2010 – 23 June 2013) *

(12 June 2013 – 16 May 2014) *

Javi Gracia Javier "Javi" Gracia Carlos (; born 1 May 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He totalled 430 matches across both major levels of Spanish football, in a 15-year professional career. Afte ...

(1 July 2014 – 24 May 2016) *

(27 May 2016 – 27 December 2016) * Marcelo Romero (28 December 2016 – 6 March 2017) * Míchel (7 March 2017 – 13 January 2018) * José González (13 January 2018 – 20 June 2018) * Juan Muñiz (20 June 2018 – 14 April 2019) * Víctor Sánchez (15 April 2019 – 11 January 2020) * Sergio Pellicer (11 January 2020 – 31 May 2021) * José Alberto (1 June 2021 – 24 January 2022) * Natxo González (27 January 2021 – 2 April 2022) * Pablo Guede (2 April 2022 – 21 September 2022) *

Pepe Mel José "Pepe" Mel Pérez (born 28 February 1963) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. He amassed Segunda División totals of 215 matches and 78 goals over eight seasons, for Real Madrid Cast ...

(21 September 2022 – 25 January 2023) * Sergio Pellicer (25 January 2023 – today)

References

External links

*
Málaga CF
at

(archived)
Málaga CF
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaga CF Segunda División clubs Football clubs in Andalusia Sport in Málaga Association football clubs established in 1948 1948 establishments in Spain La Liga clubs UEFA Intertoto Cup winning clubs