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Málaga CF

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Málaga
Full nameMálaga Club de Fútbol, S.A.D.
Nickname(s)Los Albicelestes (The White and Sky-Blues)
Los Blanquiazules (The White and Blues)
Los Boquerones (The Anchovies)
Founded25 May 1948; 76 years ago (1948-05-25) as Club Atlético Malagueño
GroundLa Rosaleda
Capacity30,044[1]
OwnerAbdullah Al Thani
PresidentJosé María Muñoz
Head coachSergio Pellicer
LeagueSegunda División
2023–24Primera Federación – Group 2, 3rd of 20 (promoted via play-offs)
Websitemalagacf.com
Current season

Málaga Club de Fútbol (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmalaɣa ˈkluβ ðe ˈfuðβol], Málaga Football Club), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system, following their promotion from the Primera Federación in the 2023–24 season.

They won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002 and qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-final stages. They also qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, where they were quarter-finalists. Since June 2010, the owner of the club has been Qatari investor Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani.

History

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Club Atlético Malagueño

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Main article: CD Málaga

Málaga's history trace back to CD Málaga, a club founded in 1904. Club Atlético Malagueño was founded on 25 May 1948 as a former reserve team 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 after CD Málaga was relegated at the end of the 1958–59 Segunda División. 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. 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. The following season, however, the club was relegated again and, facing financial difficulties, were in danger of folding.

Name change to Málaga CF

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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.

They made a solitary appearance in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002, clinching their only official trophy by beating Gent, Willem II and Villarreal. Málaga's run in the UEFA Cup 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), Amica Wronki, Leeds United (after a 2–1 win at Elland Road, courtesy of two Julio Dely Valdés goals) and AEK Athens.

After Peiró's retirement, a mass exodus slowly started. Darío Silva, Kiki Musampa, Dely Valdés and Pedro Contreras all left the club. Juande Ramos took over as coach and oversaw a 5–1 home thrashing of Barcelona, the club's biggest victory against the Catalan giants, with a hat-trick from loanee Salva Ballesta, who would end up missing out on the Pichichi Trophy by just two goals. Ramos, however, left for the Sevilla and Gregorio Manzano took charge.

Slow decline and financial issues

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Estadio de La Rosaleda

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 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, 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)

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Chart of Málaga CF league performance 1929–2023

Due to the club's economic problems, then-president Fernando Sanz found investments at Doha in Qatar to launch an ambitious project, entering in conversations with sheikh Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani.[2] On 11 June 2010, after a week of negotiations, Al Thani became the entity's new owner,[3] being named president on 28 July[2] in the members' meeting.

On 28 June 2010, Jesualdo Ferreira 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. In November, however, Jesualdo was fired because he had not obtained the desired performance, positioning the club in the relegation places.[4] Later, Shatat confirmed Manuel Pellegrini as coach.[5]

With "The Caretaker" in charge, it was decided to discard players of the squad and strengthen with players like centre back Martín Demichelis and midfielder Júlio Baptista.[6] A record five consecutive La Liga wins,[7] alongside a draw against Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés at the start of January 2011, helped the team maintain momentum in the league,[8] finishing the 2010–11 season in 11th place.

In preparation for the 2011–12 season, the club signed with Nike as supplier of the club's kits.[9] Málaga also reached a collaboration agreement with UNESCO, which, in addition, became the principal sponsor of the club's kit.[10] The more prominent signings of that season were the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy,[11] the ex-Lyon French midfielder, Jérémy Toulalan,[12] and the most expensive signing in the club's history, Santi Cazorla, who arrived from Villarreal in a €21 million deal.[13] Other less prominent players like Isco, former Spanish international midfielder Joaquín and left back Nacho Monreal, 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 campaign in fourth.[14] In the Champions League, Málaga were paired with Italian giants Milan and reigning Belgian and Russian champions Anderlecht and Zenit Saint Petersburg, 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, 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, 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 (90+1st minute) and Felipe Santana (90+3rd minute) turned the table in favour of the home team.[15] Immediately after the elimination, club president Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani announced a formal complaint would be filed with UEFA and FIFA.[16]

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.[17] However, the ban was eventually downgraded to one season and the club was excluded from the 2013–14 Europa League.

Deportivo de La Coruña vs. Málaga CF.

In the summer of 2013, Isco was sold to Real Madrid,[18] Joaquín to Fiorentina and midfielder Jérémy Toulalan to Monaco.[19] The managerial position also changed, with Bernd Schuster taking over from Manuel Pellegrini.[20]

A home fixture versus Sevilla in May 2015

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 Segunda División, but was eliminated in the first round of the play-offs by Deportivo de La Coruña. For the 2019–20 Segunda División season, Víctor Sánchez del Amo continued as coach.[21]

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.[22] 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.[23]

In May 2023, Málaga fell into the third tier for the first time since 1998.[24] In the first season back in Primera Federación, The team ended in 3rd position. Twelve points behind the promoted CD Castellón and seven points behind the 2nd ranked Córdoba CF. In the first round of the play-off they knocked out Celta B 4-3 on aggregate. The final was against Gimnàstic de Tarragona (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

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Domestic

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International

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Friendly

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Trofeo Costa del Sol

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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 Real Madrid, Red Star Belgrade and Derby County 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 Newcastle United, Real Betis, Parma, Peñarol, Everton, Lekhwiya and Sampdoria in the finals. All ten trophies are currently placed together in the Museo Malaguista in La Rosaleda.

Eastern Andalusia Derby

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Main article: Derby of eastern Andalusia

Málaga's main rivalry is with Granada CF, known as the Derby of eastern Andalusia. The two clubs are located approximately 90 kilometers apart.

First-team squad

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As of 18 November 2024[25]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Spain ESP Alfonso Herrero (captain)
2 DF Spain ESP Jokin Gabilondo
3 DF Spain ESP Carlos Puga
4 DF Spain ESP Einar Galilea
5 DF Spain ESP Álex Pastor
6 MF Spain ESP Ramón
7 MF Morocco MAR Haitam
8 MF Spain ESP Juanpe
9 FW Croatia CRO Roko Baturina (on loan from Gil Vicente)
10 MF Spain ESP David Larrubia
11 MF Spain ESP Kevin
12 MF Spain ESP Manu Molina
13 GK Spain ESP Carlos López
14 DF Spain ESP Víctor García
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Mali MLI Moussa Diarra
16 DF Spain ESP Diego Murillo
17 FW Spain ESP Dioni
18 DF Spain ESP Dani Sánchez
19 MF Spain ESP Luismi
20 DF Portugal POR Nélson Monte
21 MF France FRA Yanis Rahmani
22 MF Spain ESP Dani Lorenzo
23 MF Spain ESP Luca Sangalli
24 MF Spain ESP Julen Lobete
25 FW Spain ESP Sergio Castel
26 MF Spain ESP Antoñito
29 MF Spain ESP Izan Merino
35 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Aarón Ochoa

Reserve team

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Main article: Atlético Malagueño

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
27 FW Spain ESP Chupete
30 GK Spain ESP Andrés Céspedes

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Spain ESP Juan Hernández (at Algeciras until 30 June 2025)

Personnel

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Current technical staff

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See also: Category:Málaga CF managers
Position Staff
Head coach Spain Sergio Pellicer
Assistant coach Spain Manolo Sánchez
Fitness coach Spain Julio Rodríguez
Goalkeeping coach Spain 'Caco' De la Torre
Physiotherapists Spain Ernesto González
Spain Fernando Lacomba
Spain José Miguel Escobar
Kit man Spain Migue Zambrana
Chief Doctor Spain Pablo Campos
Sport readaptator Spain José Antonio Lizana
Analyst Guatemala Juan Roldán
Delegate Spain Raúl Iznata

Last updated: 9 November 2024
Source: Málaga CF (in Spanish)

Seasons

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Recent seasons

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[26]

Season Div. Pos. Pld W D L GF GA Pts Copa del Rey Notes
1999–2000 1D 12th 38 11 15 12 55 50 48 Second Round
2000–01 1D 8th 38 16 8 14 60 61 56 Second Round
2001–02 1D 10th 38 13 14 11 44 44 53 Round of 32
2002–03 1D 13th 38 11 13 14 44 49 46 Round of 16
Quarter-finals UEFA Cup
2003–04 1D 10th 38 15 6 17 50 55 51 Round of 16
2004–05 1D 10th 38 15 6 17 40 48 51 Round of 32
2005–06 1D 20th 38 5 9 24 36 68 24 Third Round
Relegated
2006–07 2D 15th 42 14 13 15 49 50 55 Round of 16
2007–08 2D 2nd 42 20 12 10 58 42 72 Round of 32
Promoted
2008–09 1D 8th 38 15 10 13 55 59 55 Round of 32
2009–10 1D 17th 38 7 16 15 42 48 37 Round of 16
2010–11 1D 11th 38 13 7 18 54 68 46 Round of 16
2011–12 1D 4th 38 17 7 14 54 53 58 Round of 16
2012–13 1D 6th 38 16 9 13 53 50 57 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals Champions League
2013–14 1D 11th 38 12 9 17 39 46 45 Round of 32
2014–15 1D 9th 38 14 8 16 42 48 50 Quarter-finals
2015–16 1D 8th 38 12 12 14 38 35 48 Round of 32
2016–17 1D 11th 38 12 10 16 49 55 46 Round of 32
2017–18 1D 20th 38 5 5 28 24 61 20 Round of 32
Relegated
2018–19 2D 3rd 44 21 11 12 53 36 74 Second Round
2019–20 2D 14th 42 11 20 11 35 33 53 First Round
2020–21 2D 12th 42 14 11 17 37 47 53 Round of 32
2021–22 2D 18th 42 11 12 19 36 57 45 Second Round
2022–23 2D 20th 42 10 14 18 37 44 44 Second Round
Relegated
2023–24 3D 3rd 38 19 13 6 52 25 70 Round of 32
Promoted

European record

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Season Competition Round Opposition First leg Second leg Aggregate
2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round Belgium Gent 3–0 1–1 4–1
Semi-finals Netherlands Willem II 2–1 0–1 3–1
Finals Spain Villarreal 0–1 1–1 2–1
2002–03 UEFA Cup First round Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar 0–0 1–0 1–0
Second round Poland Amica Wronki 2–1 1–2 4–2
Third round England Leeds United 0–0 1–2 2–1
Fourth round Greece AEK Athens 0–0 0–1 1–0
Quarter-finals Portugal Boavista 1–0 1–0 1–1 (p)
2012–13 UEFA Champions League Play-off round Greece Panathinaikos 2–0 0–0 2–0
Group C Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 3–0 2–2 1st place
Belgium Anderlecht 0–3 2–2
Italy Milan 1–0 1–1
Round of 16 Portugal Porto 1–0 2–0 2–1
Quarter-finals Germany Borussia Dortmund 0–0 3–2 3–2

Season to season

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  • As Club Atlético Malagueño
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1948–49 5 2ª Reg. 2nd
1949–50 4 1ª Reg. 2nd
1950–51 3 3ª 12th
1951–52 3 3ª 14th
1952–53 3 3ª 16th
1953–54 3 3ª 15th
1954–55 3 3ª 7th
1955–56 3 3ª 11th
1956–57 3 3ª 12th
1957–58 3 3ª 7th
1958–59 3 3ª 5th
1959–60 3 3ª 6th
1960–61 3 3ª 7th
1961–62 3 3ª 4th
1962–63 3 3ª 2nd
1963–64 3 3ª 1st
1964–65 3 3ª 4th
1965–66 3 3ª 4th
1966–67 3 3ª 5th
1967–68 3 3ª 8th
1968–69 3 3ª 12th
1969–70 4 Reg. Pref. 1st
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1970–71 3 3ª 13th
1971–72 3 3ª 11th
1972–73 3 3ª 19th
1973–74 4 Reg. Pref. 5th
1974–75 4 Reg. Pref. 6th
1975–76 4 Reg. Pref. 10th
1976–77 4 Reg. Pref. 8th
1977–78 4 3ª 14th
1978–79 4 3ª 12th
1979–80 4 3ª 11th
1980–81 4 3ª 15th
1981–82 4 3ª 4th
1982–83 4 3ª 12th
1983–84 4 3ª 6th
1984–85 4 3ª 4th
1985–86 4 3ª 5th
1986–87 4 3ª 9th
1987–88 4 3ª 2nd
1988–89 4 3ª 3rd
1989–90 4 3ª 5th
1990–91 4 3ª 6th
1991–92 4 3ª 4th
  • As an independent team
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1992–93 4 3ª 1st First round
1993–94 3 2ª B 18th First round
  • As Málaga Club de Fútbol
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
1994–95 4 3ª 1st First round
1995–96 3 2ª B 5th First round
1996–97 3 2ª B 5th Second round
1997–98 3 2ª B 1st
1998–99 2 2ª 1st Third round
1999–2000 1 1ª 12th Second round
2000–01 1 1ª 8th Second round
2001–02 1 1ª 10th Round of 32
2002–03 1 1ª 13th Round of 32
2003–04 1 1ª 10th Round of 16
2004–05 1 1ª 10th Round of 32
2005–06 1 1ª 20th Third round
2006–07 2 2ª 15th Round of 16
2007–08 2 2ª 2nd Round of 32
2008–09 1 1ª 8th Round of 32
2009–10 1 1ª 17th Round of 16
2010–11 1 1ª 11th Round of 16
2011–12 1 1ª 4th Round of 16
2012–13 1 1ª 6th Quarter-finals
2013–14 1 1ª 11th Round of 32
Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey
2014–15 1 1ª 9th Quarter-finals
2015–16 1 1ª 8th Round of 32
2016–17 1 1ª 11th Round of 32
2017–18 1 1ª 20th Round of 32
2018–19 2 2ª 3rd Second round
2019–20 2 2ª 14th First round
2020–21 2 2ª 12th Round of 32
2021–22 2 2ª 18th Second round
2022–23 2 2ª 19th Second round
2023–24 3 1ª Fed. 3rd Round of 32
2024–25 2 2ª TBD

Stadium information

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Notable players

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See also: Category:CD Málaga footballers and Category:Málaga CF footballers
Argentina
Brazil
Cameroon
Chile
Costa Rica
Denmark
France
Mexico
Morocco
Netherlands
Panama
Paraguay
Portugal
Serbia
Spain
Uruguay
Venezuela

Previous coaches

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See also: Category:CD Málaga managers and Category:Málaga CF managers

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "La Rosaleda Stadium". Málaga CF. 24 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Historia de Málaga CF; Temporada 2002/2003". Málaga official web site. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Jeque compra Málaga". Málaga official web site. Retrieved 13 April 2013.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "El Jeque destituye a Jesualdo Ferreira". As.com. 2 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Manuel Pellegrini nuevo entrenador del Málaga Club de Fútbol". Málaga official web site. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Alta a Asenjo, Demichelis, Camacho y Julio Baptista". As.com. 28 December 2010.
  7. ^ "Málaga bate registro histórico de cinco victorias seguidas". La Opinión de Málaga. 15 May 2011.
  8. ^ "Remontada fulminante del Málaga". Malagacf.diariosur.es. Diario Sur. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  9. ^ "Fiebre por el Málaga". Malagacf.diariosur.es. Diario Sur. 24 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Responsables de la Unesco visitan la Rosaleda". Malagacf.diariosur.es. Diario Sur. 6 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Baño de multitudes en La Rosaleda". Malagacf.diariosur.es. Diario Sur. 7 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Toulalan es presentado por el Málaga ante unos ocho mil aficionados presentes". Andaluciadeportes.com. 9 July 2011.
  13. ^ "El Málaga ficha a Cazorla por 21 millones de euros". As.com. 26 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Málaga se clasifica a la Champions y el Villarreal desciende en la Liga española".[dead link‍]
  15. ^ "Offside goals in Borussia Dortmund - Málaga CF - The Third Team". Archived from the original on 13 April 2013.
  16. ^ "Malaga owner Al Thani slams "injust" Dortmund winner | La Liga News.TV". 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014.
  17. ^ "La UEFA castiga al Málaga por sus deudas". Telegraph.co.uk. 21 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Real Madrid announce Isco signing". Goal.com. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Official: Toulalan signs for Monaco". Goal.com. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  20. ^ "BBC Sport – Malaga name Bernd Schuster as Manuel Pellegrini's replacement". Bbc.co.uk. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  21. ^ Suárez, César (30 June 2019). "Víctor Sánchez del Amo seguirá al frente del banquillo del Málaga". Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Family of Malaga owner Al Thani owes club €7.3m". Football Espana. 3 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Crisis club Malaga to release entire first-team squad". Football Espana. 24 August 2020.
  24. ^ "Malaga fans pretend random visitor is Spanish football club's new player in prank protest at lack of signings". Sky News. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Málaga Club de Fútbol – Jugadores" [Málaga Club de Fútbol – Players] (in Spanish). Málaga CF. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  26. ^ "Standings Archive Liga BBVA".
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