Official: Girona Are Relegated From La Liga
Girona have been officially relegated from La Liga after failing to secure the victory they desperately needed on the final day of the 2025/26 Spanish football season. It is one of the most shocking collapses in recent European football — a club that was challenging for the La Liga title just two seasons ago, now heading down to the second division.
The Final Day: So Close, Yet So Far
Girona needed to win and for other results to favour them to make a last-gasp escape from the bottom three. They had no such luck.
The Catalan side could only manage a draw at home against Elche — a result that confirmed their drop to the Segunda División. Heading into the decisive fixture, Girona knew that only three points would give them a chance of survival. However, the pressure of the occasion quickly became evident as the visitors struck first before half-time. Álvaro Rodríguez silenced the home crowd in the 39th minute with a brilliant turn and finish inside the penalty area, handing Elche a crucial advantage. The hosts responded shortly after the restart when club captain Arnau Martínez reacted quickest after a save from the goalkeeper and bundled the ball in to level the score.
Despite pushing forward in search of the winning goal, Girona were unable to find the breakthrough that would have kept their survival hopes alive. The final whistle confirmed a heartbreaking end to the campaign, with the Catalans finishing 19th in the La Liga table — just one point away from safety.
From Heroes to Heartbreak: The Timeline of a Collapse
2023/24 — The Dream Season
Just two seasons ago, Girona were the talk of European football. Under Michel Sánchez and backed by the City Football Group, they finished third in La Liga — their highest-ever finish — and qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. The Montilivi faithful had never seen anything like it.
2024/25 — Champions League Adventure
Girona competed on the biggest stage in club football, rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite. It was a proud, historic chapter for a club from a city of just 100,000 people.
2025/26 — Disaster
The nightmare unfolded rapidly. Girona languished in the relegation zone for all but one of the opening 17 matchdays. While a mid-season rally briefly ignited hopes of an unlikely escape, the side ran out of steam during the final stretch. An eight-match winless run proved to be the final nail in the coffin, condemning the club to a return to La Liga 2.
Among their lowest moments of the campaign, Girona suffered a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Levante in September — a result that symbolised just how far the club had fallen.
What Went Wrong?
It is a staggering decline for a club that was challenging for the La Liga title just two years ago and rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite last season. In the end, even their high-profile ties to Manchester City could not prevent the drop to La Liga 2.
The reasons are multiple: the departure of key players after their historic seasons, the physical and mental toll of Champions League football on a small squad, an inability to recruit adequately, and a fixture schedule that exposed the thin margins of a club operating far beyond its traditional level.
Who Goes Down With Them?
Girona will join last-placed Real Oviedo in the second division next season, along with Mallorca — who beat Oviedo 3-0 on the final day but whose goal difference with Osasuna and Levante ultimately did them in.
What Comes Next?
Girona now face an uncertain future in the Segunda División. Their Manchester City-linked ownership will need to decide whether to invest heavily to bounce straight back up, or rebuild more modestly. Key players like Arnau Martínez, Paulo Gazzaniga, and any remaining squad members from the glory years will be subject to intense transfer interest.
For the fans of Girona — a club that dared to dream and, for one glorious season, made the whole world take notice — this hurts deeply. But this club has risen before, and they will rise again.
“I am torn up. It’s our fault we are going down.” — Sergi Darder, Mallorca midfielder, echoing the pain felt across all three relegated clubs.