Real Club Celta de Vigo (
Galician pronunciation:[reˈalˈkluβˈθeltɐðɪˈβiɣʊ]; lit.'Royal Celtic Club of Vigo'), commonly known as Celta Vigo or just Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed Os Celestes (The Sky Blues), the club was founded in August 1923 as Club Celta, following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna. The club's home stadium is Balaídos, which seats 24,870 spectators.
The club's name is derived from the Celtic peoples who once lived in Galicia. Celta have a long-standing rivalry with fellow Galician club Deportivo La Coruña, with whom they contest the Galician derby.
Celta have never won the league title nor Copa del Rey, although they have reached the final three times in the latter. The club finished in their best-ever position of fourth in 2002–03, qualifying for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Arsenal in the round of 16. In the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Celta reached the semi-finals for the first time, losing to Manchester United. In 2000, Celta were one of the co-winners of the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
History
Foundation
Campo de Coia (1908–1928)
Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII' trophy in 1927
Real Club Celta de Vigo vs S.C. Braga in 1945
RC Celta de Vigo was formed as a result of the ambition of Vigo's teams to achieve more at national level, where the Basque sides had been their bête noire in the Spanish Championship. The idea was to merge both Vigo-based teams, Real Vigo Sporting and Real Club Fortuna de Vigo, to create a more powerful team at national level. The standard-bearer of this movement was Manuel de Castro, known as "Handicap", a sports writer for the Faro de Vigo who, from 1915, began to write in his articles about the need for a unitarian movement.[3] The slogan of his movement was "Todo por y para Vigo" ("All by and for Vigo"),[3] which eventually found support among the managers of both clubs. It was backed unanimously when De Castro himself presented the motion at the assembly of the Royal Spanish Football Federation in Madrid on 22 June 1923.[3]
On 12 July 1923, the merger was approved at the annual general meetings of Vigo and Fortuna, held at the Cine Odeón and Hotel Moderno, respectively.[3] At the last general meeting of Fortuna and Vigo, which approved the formation of the new club and was held on 10 August, the members decided on the name and colours of the team.[3] Among the various names proposed were Club Galicia, Real Atlético FC, Real Club Olímpico, Breogán and Real Club Celta. The latter two names were the most liked and in the end they decided on Club Celta, an ethnic race linked to Galicia.[3] The first president of Celta was Manuel Bárcena de Andrés, the Count of Torre Cedeira.[3] This assembly also decided on the squad, which totaled 64 players and included some important players from Fortuna and Vigo, and was managed by Francis Cuggy.[3] Their first match was a friendly against Portuguese side Boavista, which Celta won 8–2.[3]
In January 1927, Celta won the 'Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII' trophy after defeating the English sailors team 4–1.[4]
In 1947–48, Celta ranked fourth, the club's joint highest ever finish, and reached the Copa del Generalísimo final, where they lost 4–1 to Sevilla FC.[5] Local striker Pahiño, who took the Pichichi Trophy for 21 goals in 22 games that season, subsequently moved to Real Madrid.[6]
EuroCelta and subsequent decline
Celta supporters before a match
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Celta were dubbed "EuroCelta" by the Spanish press as a result of their European performance. This included a 4–1 aggregate win against Liverpool in a run to the quarter-finals of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup.[7] In the next season's edition they again reached the last eight, with a 4–0 second leg win over Juventus and a 7–0 home win against Benfica (8–1 on aggregate).[8] Domestically, the team reached the 2001 Copa del Rey final, losing 3–1 to Real Zaragoza in Seville.[9]
Key players during the period included Alexander Mostovoi, Valery Karpin and Haim Revivo, though the squad also relied upon other international players as well, such as goalkeeper Pablo Cavallero; defender and future coach Eduardo Berizzo, midfielders Claude Makélélé and Mazinho; winger Gustavo López; and strikers Catanha and Lyuboslav Penev, amongst others.
In 2002–03, under manager Miguel Ángel Lotina, Celta ranked fourth, their highest finish since 1948, and qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. They reached the round of 16, where they were eliminated by Arsenal 5–2 on aggregate.[10] Domestically that year, the team came 19th and suffered relegation to the Segunda División.[11] Although the squad was heavily dismantled following the demotion, Celta earned an immediate return to the top flight after finishing second in 2004–05.[12]
In 2006–07, Celta finished 18th and were once again relegated to the Segunda División. The team subsequently fought against relegation to the third tier, and the risk of bankruptcy.[13] This trend was bucked in the 2010–11 season, when new striker David Rodríguez, winger Enrique de Lucas and manager Paco Herrera helped them finish sixth. They were eliminated in the first knockout round by Granada after a penalty shoot-out, the game having finished 1–1 in 90 minutes.[14]
Return to La Liga and Europe
Celta playing regional rivals Deportivo de La Coruña in 2012
On 3 June 2012, Celta returned to La Liga after a five-year absence.[15] In their first season after returning to the top flight, they avoided relegation to the Segunda División on the final day after beating RCD Espanyol 1–0 to ensure a 17th-place finish.[16]
Under "EuroCelta" veteran Eduardo Berizzo in 2015–16, Celta finished sixth for their best result in a decade and earned a spot in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.[17] In their return to European competitions, Celta reached the semi-finals of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Manchester United.[18]
Celta avoided relegation on the final day of the season in 2019 and 2020, with the goals of local forward Iago Aspas being crucial in both seasons.[19][20] In late 2023, shortly after the club's centenary, Carlos Mouriño resigned the presidency that he had held since 2006, ceding it to his daughter Marián as the first woman in the office.[21] In 2024–25, Celta finished seventh and qualified for the Europa League for the first time in nine years.[22]
Identity
Crest
Celta's original crest was rather simple, featuring a red shield with two stylised letter Cs (Club Celta) and the royal crown of Spain; in the year of its foundation, the club became one of a number of Spanish football clubs to be granted patronage by Alfonso XIII and thus the right to use the honorific real (Royal) in its name and the crown on its badge.[3] The following year the shield's colour was changed to the traditional sky blue colour. Like many other Galician clubs, such as Compostela and Racing Ferrol, the crest also features the red cross of Saint James which was added in 1928.[23][24][25] During the Spanish Second Republic (1931–1936), the honorific title and crown were removed from the club's name and crest; however, it was to return under the Spanish State.
Kit
Celta's home colours are sky blue and white. Originally, their home strip consisted of a red shirt, black shorts and blue socks. This was later changed at an unknown date to the current colours, representative of the Galician flag.[3]
1923–1924
Current
Celta had the longest-running sponsorship deal in Spanish football, and one of the longest-running in the world, with the French automobile manufacturer Citroën from 1985 to 2016.[26] The company established its plant within walking distance from Balaídos in 1958, and had first sponsored the club's women's basketball team in 1980. In 2016, the sponsor was changed to that of Galician brewery, Estrella Galicia, which had advertised on the back of the shirts since 2011.[27] Their business deal with kit supplier, Umbro, was also one of the longest-running ones, from 1986 to 2010.[28]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
1
GK
ESP
Iván Villar
2
DF
SWE
Carl Starfelt
3
DF
ESP
Óscar Mingueza
4
DF
GHA
Joseph Aidoo
5
DF
ESP
Sergio Carreira
6
MF
GUI
Ilaix Moriba
7
FW
ESP
Borja Iglesias
8
MF
ESP
Fer López(on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
9
FW
ESP
Ferran Jutglà
10
FW
ESP
Iago Aspas(captain)
11
FW
ARG
Franco Cervi
12
DF
ESP
Manu Fernández
13
GK
ROU
Ionuț Radu
14
DF
ESP
Álvaro Núñez
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
15
MF
URU
Matías Vecino
16
MF
ESP
Miguel Román
17
DF
ESP
Javi Rueda
18
FW
ESP
Pablo Durán
19
FW
SWE
Williot Swedberg
20
DF
ESP
Marcos Alonso
21
DF
SRB
Mihailo Ristić
22
MF
ESP
Hugo Sotelo
23
FW
ESP
Hugo Álvarez
24
DF
ESP
Carlos Domínguez
25
GK
ESP
Marc Vidal
29
DF
ESP
Yoel Lago
32
DF
ESP
Javi Rodríguez
39
FW
MAR
Jones El-Abdellaoui
Reserve team
Main article: RC Celta Fortuna
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
28
FW
ESP
Ángel Arcos
30
FW
ESP
Hugo González
31
DF
ESP
Pablo Meixús
33
FW
ESP
Óscar Marcos
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
36
MF
ESP
Andrés Antañón
38
MF
ESP
Hugo Burcio
40
GK
ESP
Marcos González
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
—
DF
ESP
Unai Núñez(at Valencia until 30 June 2026)
—
DF
ESP
Manu Sánchez(at Levante until 30 June 2026)
—
MF
ESP
Carlos Dotor(at Málaga until 30 June 2026)
No.
Pos.
Nation
Player
—
MF
ESP
Damián Rodríguez(at Racing Santander until 30 June 2026)
The following past and present Celta players have been capped at full international level while playing for the club.[36]
Kamel Ghilas
Pablo Cavallero
Augusto Fernández
Gustavo López
Facundo Roncaglia
Nelson Vivas
Juan Manuel Peña
Vágner
Petar Zanev
Pablo Contreras
Marcelo Díaz
Pablo Hernández
Fabián Orellana
Mauricio Pinilla
Jeison Murillo
Stjepan Andrijašević
Ioannis Okkas
Michael Krohn-Dehli
Pione Sisto
Daniel Wass
Iván Kaviedes
Mido
Lévy Madinda
Joseph Aidoo
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Anastasios Douvikas
Zisis Vryzas
Claudio Beauvue
Ilaix Moriba
Gilberto Yearwood
Haim Revivo
Jonathan Bamba
Māris Verpakovskis
Néstor Araujo
Orbelín Pineda
Sofiane Boufal
Dan Eggen
Jørgen Strand Larsen
Júnior Alonso
Juan Jayo
Renato Tapia
Jorge Cadete
Gabriel Tamaș
Valery Karpin
Aleksandr Mostovoi
Nemanja Radoja
Saša Ilić
Savo Milošević
Stanislav Lobotka
Róbert Mazáň
Benni McCarthy
Park Chu-young
Gabriel Alonso
Iago Aspas
Fran Beltrán
Santiago Cañizares
Catanha
Quique Costas
Juanfran
Ángel López
Sebastián Losada
Brais Méndez
Óscar Mingueza
Miguel Muñoz
Nolito
Jorge Otero
Borja Oubiña
Pahiño
Luis Pasarín
Ramón Polo
José Fernando Rodilla
Míchel Salgado
Juan Sánchez
José Vega
Juan Velasco
John Guidetti
Carl Starfelt
Williot Swedberg
Emre Mor
Okay Yokuşlu
Luca de la Torre
Fabián Canobbio
Pablo García
Maxi Gómez
Andrés Túñez
Goran Đorović
Management
Ownership
Carlos Mouriño was the club's president between 2006 and 2023
Real Club Celta de Vigo, S.A.D. is a sociedad anónima deportiva, a public limited sports company, owned by the Spanish-Mexican businessman Carlos Mouriño, who has been the majority shareholder since May 2006 when he acquired Horacio Gómez's 39.84% shareholding in the club. He currently owns 67.9% of the club through the holding company Grupo Corporativo Ges, S.L.[37]
In October 2016, the club was the subject of a potential €100 million takeover by the Chinese CITS Group.[38]
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Celta Vigo's finishing positions in the Spanish football league system
Season
Tier
Division
Place
Copa del Rey
1923–24
—
1ª Reg.
1st
Quarter-finals
1924–25
1ª Reg.
1st
Semi-finals
1925–26
1ª Reg.
1st
Semi-finals
1926–27
1ª Reg.
2nd
Quarter-finals
1927–28
1ª Reg.
2nd
Quarter-finals
1928–29
2
2ª
9th
Round of 32
1930–31
3
3ª
1st
Round of 32
1931–32
2
2ª
9th
Semi-finals
1932–33
2
2ª
7th
Round of 32
1933–34
2
2ª
4th
Round of 16
1934–35
2
2ª
1st
Round of 16
1935–36
2
2ª
1st
Round of 16
1939–40
1
1ª
10th
Round of 16
1940–41
1
1ª
10th
Semi-finals
1941–42
1
1ª
5th
First round
1942–43
1
1ª
5th
Round of 16
1943–44
1
1ª
14th
Round of 16
1944–45
2
2ª
3rd
First round
1945–46
1
1ª
10th
Round of 16
1946–47
1
1ª
9th
Quarter-finals
Season
Tier
Division
Place
Copa del Rey
1947–48
1
1ª
4th
Runners-up
1948–49
1
1ª
11th
Round of 16
1949–50
1
1ª
7th
Round of 16
1950–51
1
1ª
8th
First round
1951–52
1
1ª
9th
First round
1952–53
1
1ª
13th
DNP
1953–54
1
1ª
10th
Round of 16
1954–55
1
1ª
11th
Round of 16
1955–56
1
1ª
10th
Round of 16
1956–57
1
1ª
13th
Quarter-finals
1957–58
1
1ª
7th
Round of 16
1958–59
1
1ª
16th
Round of 16
1959–60
2
2ª
2nd
First round
1960–61
2
2ª
2nd
Round of 32
1961–62
2
2ª
6th
Round of 32
1962–63
2
2ª
6th
First round
1963–64
2
2ª
9th
Round of 16
1964–65
2
2ª
5th
Round of 32
1965–66
2
2ª
2nd
Round of 32
1966–67
2
2ª
3rd
First round
Season
Tier
Division
Place
Copa del Rey
1967–68
2
2ª
3rd
Semi-finals
1968–69
2
2ª
2nd
DNP
1969–70
1
1ª
10th
Round of 16
1970–71
1
1ª
6th
Round of 16
1971–72
1
1ª
10th
Quarter-finals
1972–73
1
1ª
15th
Round of 16
1973–74
1
1ª
12th
Round of 32
1974–75
1
1ª
17th
Round of 16
1975–76
2
2ª
2nd
Round of 16
1976–77
1
1ª
17th
Quarter-finals
1977–78
2
2ª
3rd
Third round
1978–79
1
1ª
16th
Round of 16
1979–80
2
2ª
17th
Round of 16
1980–81
3
2ª B
1st
Third round
1981–82
2
2ª
1st
Third round
1982–83
1
1ª
17th
Round of 16
1983–84
2
2ª
6th
First round
1984–85
2
2ª
3rd
Third round
1985–86
1
1ª
18th
Quarter-finals
1986–87
2
2ª
1st
Third round
Season
Tier
Division
Place
Copa del Rey
1987–88
1
1ª
7th
Round of 16
1988–89
1
1ª
8th
Quarter-finals
1989–90
1
1ª
19th
Round of 16
1990–91
2
2ª
14th
Fifth round
1991–92
2
2ª
1st
Third round
1992–93
1
1ª
11th
Third round
1993–94
1
1ª
15th
Runners-up
1994–95
1
1ª
13th
Fourth round
1995–96
1
1ª
11th
Round of 16
1996–97
1
1ª
16th
Semi-finals
1997–98
1
1ª
6th
Round of 16
1998–99
1
1ª
5th
Round of 16
1999–00
1
1ª
7th
Round of 16
2000–01
1
1ª
6th
Runners-up
2001–02
1
1ª
5th
Round of 32
2002–03
1
1ª
4th
Round of 32
2003–04
1
1ª
19th
Quarter-finals
2004–05
2
2ª
2nd
Round of 64
2005–06
1
1ª
6th
Round of 16
2006–07
1
1ª
18th
Round of 32
Season
Tier
Division
Place
Copa del Rey
2007–08
2
2ª
16th
Second round
2008–09
2
2ª
17th
Round of 32
2009–10
2
2ª
12th
Quarter-finals
2010–11
2
2ª
6th
Second round
2011–12
2
2ª
2nd
Round of 32
2012–13
1
1ª
17th
Round of 16
2013–14
1
1ª
9th
Round of 32
2014–15
1
1ª
8th
Round of 16
2015–16
1
1ª
6th
Semi-finals
2016–17
1
1ª
13th
Semi-finals
2017–18
1
1ª
13th
Round of 16
2018–19
1
1ª
17th
Round of 32
2019–20
1
1ª
17th
Round of 32
2020–21
1
1ª
8th
Second round
2021–22
1
1ª
11th
Round of 32
2022–23
1
1ª
13th
Round of 32
2023–24
1
1ª
13th
Quarter-finals
2024–25
1
1ª
7th
Round of 16
2025–26
1
1ª
Round of 32
60seasons in La Liga
32seasons in Segunda División
1season in Segunda División B
1season in Tercera División
European competitions
All results (home and away) list Celta's goal tally first.[61]
Season
Competition
Round
Opponent
Home
Away
Aggregate
1971–72
UEFA Cup
First round
Aberdeen
0–2
0–1
0–3
1998–99
UEFA Cup
First round
Argeș Pitești
7–0
1–0
8–0
Second round
Aston Villa
0–1
3–1
3–2
Third round
Liverpool
3–1
1–0
4–1
Quarter-finals
Marseille
1–2
0–0
1–2
1999–2000
UEFA Cup
First round
Lausanne
4–0
2–3
6–3
Second round
Aris
2–2
2–0
4–2
Third round
Benfica
7–0
1–1
8–1
Fourth round
Juventus
0–1
4–0
4–1
Quarter-finals
Lens
0–0
1–2
1–2
2000
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Third round
Pelister
3–0
2–1
5–1
Semi–finals
Aston Villa
1–0
2–1
3–1
Finals
Zenit Saint Petersburg
2–1
2–2
4–3
2000–01
UEFA Cup
First round
Rijeka
0–0
1–0
1–0
Second round
Red Star Belgrade
0–1
3–0
3–1
Third round
Shakhtar Donetsk
0–0
1–0
1–0
Fourth round
VfB Stuttgart
0–0
2–1
2–1
Quarter-finals
Barcelona
3–2
1–2
4–4 (a)
2001–02
UEFA Cup
First round
Sigma Olomouc
4–0
3–4
7–4
Second round
Slovan Liberec
3–1
0–3
3–4
2002–03
UEFA Cup
First round
Odense
2–0
0–1
2–1
Second round
Viking
3–0
1–1
4–1
Third round
Celtic
2–1
0–1
2–2 (a)
2003–04
UEFA Champions League
Third qualifying round
Slavia Prague
3–0
0–2
3–2
Group H
Ajax
3–2
0–1
2nd
Club Brugge
1–1
1–1
Milan
0–0
2–1
Round of 16
Arsenal
2–3
0–2
2–5
2006–07
UEFA Cup
First round
Standard Liège
1–0
3–0
4–0
Group H
Eintracht Frankfurt
1–1
—N/a
2nd
Newcastle United
—N/a
1–2
Fenerbahçe
1–0
—N/a
Palermo
—N/a
1–1
Round of 32
Spartak Moscow
1–1
2–1
3–2
Round of 16
Werder Bremen
0–1
0–2
0–3
2016–17
UEFA Europa League
Group G
Ajax
2–2
2–3
2nd
Standard Liège
1–1
1–1
Panathinaikos
2–0
2–0
Round of 32
Shakhtar Donetsk
0–1
2–0 (a.e.t.)
2–1
Round of 16
Krasnodar
2–1
2–0
4–1
Quarter-finals
Genk
3–2
1–1
4–3
Semi-finals
Manchester United
0–1
1–1
1–2
2025–26
UEFA Europa League
League phase
VfB Stuttgart
—N/a
1–2
16th of 36
PAOK
3–1
—N/a
Nice
2–1
—N/a
Dinamo Zagreb
—N/a
3–0
Ludogorets Razgrad
—N/a
2–3
Bologna
1–2
—N/a
Lille
2–1
—N/a
Red Star Belgrade
—N/a
1–1
Knockout phase play-offs
PAOK
1–0
2–1
3–1
Round of 16
Lyon
1–1
2–0
3–1
Quarter-finals
SC Freiburg
1–3
0–3
1–6
References
^"Club history". RC Celta de Vigo. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
^"Instalaciones" (in Spanish). RC Celta de Vigo. Retrieved 1 June 2024.