La Liga midfielders – Who are the best CMs in Spain?

Spanish football has produced some of the very best midfielders in the world in the 21st Century. The current crop of LaLiga midfielders features a number of very exciting young players, as well as some established veterans who are still doing their thing to a high level.

We’re going to take a look at the best midfielders in LaLiga. Rankings are according to their L15 (last 15 match averages) score on Sorare’s advanced scoring matrix. This takes into account decisive actions like goals and assists, but passes, interceptions and duels won also score, meaning LaLiga defensive midfielders can often outscore their more attack-minded counterparts.

To feature in our rankings, players must have appeared in at least eight of their last 15 eligible fixtures. That includes LaLiga, some international matches and all European fixtures. They also must have predominantly featured as a midfielder during the 2024/25 season and have contracts running beyond this summer at LaLiga clubs. 

We have rundowns of the best LaLiga wingers and best LaLiga forwards where you may find other players who sometimes play in advanced midfield roles.

LaLiga central midfielders – Top 5 ranked by their Sorare scores

5. Lucien Agoume, Sevilla – 60

When it comes to the best LaLiga midfielders, Lucien Agoume’s name isn’t one that immediately jumps out, but the Sevilla man posted some seriously impressive numbers towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign, even though his team continued to struggle.

Despite occupying a holding role, the Frenchman registered goals or assists in four of his final nine league appearances. All of his three assists in LaLiga so far have come after Sevilla sacked Garcia Pimienta in April, with caretaker boss Joaquin Caparros seemingly getting the best out of the 23-year-old.

The midfielder is still young enough to be eligible to play at the Euro U21 Championships where he is currently featuring prominently for France. He’s clearly one of the players that new Sevilla boss Matias Almeyda will be hoping to build a team around next term.

4. Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid – 60

Despite a significant drop in his goal threat and the perception that he didn’t have as great a campaign as in his debut season in Spain, Jude Bellingham still ranked among the best LaLiga midfielders in 2024/25.

He was mostly used as an attacking midfielder when he first joined Real Madrid, often operating as almost a deep-lying forward between Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior. The arrival of Kylian Mbappe at the Santiago Bernabeu did force Bellingham to drop deeper, and despite a flurry of goals in late 2024, he only netted nine times in the league last term, compared to 19 the season before.

He still put in some impressive all-round displays at various points in the campaign though, and was one of the few Madrid players who looked like taking some responsibility in the big games. Finding the right role for Bellingham will be one of the priorities for incoming boss Xabi Alonso.

3. Arda Guler, Real Madrid – 63

Faced with serious competition from a number of elite-level Real Madrid midfielders and wingers, Arda Guler has struggled to nail down a starting role at the Bernabeu, but the Turkish international is still only 20 and has plenty of time to continue developing his game.

During the final months of the 2024/25 season, Guler appeared to step up a level and he was challenging for a starting position on a more regular basis. He was arguably the best player on the pitch in home games against Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad in May, and Guler will be hoping for more opportunities when Los Blancos kick off their Club World Cup campaign this week.

There are still doubts about what Guler’s best position is, with the youngster having already featured for Madrid as a central midfielder, right winger, a number 10 and even as a false nine.

2. Isco, Real Betis – 64

Building on a very impressive 2023/24 season, Isco’s renaissance continued with a brilliant second half of the 2024/25 campaign after he’d recovered from an injury that saw him miss the opening few months.

Despite only making 22 appearances in LaLiga, he registered nine goals and eight assists for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, averaging a goal contribution every 91 minutes. The 33-year-old was also the driving force behind Real Betis’ run to the Conference League final which ended in defeat to Chelsea in Poland.

Isco is firmly back as one of the top LaLiga attacking midfielders again, after a really difficult few years that saw his Real Madrid career peter out, before an ill-fated spell at Sevilla ended with the mutual termination of his contract.

1. Pedri, Barcelona – 70

Long seen as destined to become one of the all-time great Barcelona midfielders, we may end up reflecting on the 2024/25 season as the time when Pedri really took that leap and established himself as one of the world’s best.

Overplayed as a teenager, injuries hampered Pedri’s development, as did questions about how best to utilise his precocious talent. Even over the past 12 months, he has been largely used as a more advanced midfielder by Luis de la Fuente on Spain duty, but Hansi Flick looks to have cracked the code to some extent, with the 22-year-old now looking much more comfortable in a deeper role.

That allows him to pick up the ball earlier and dictate the pace of the game, without having to feel quite so much pressure to chip in with goals and assists. Pedri may never excel on that front, but he’s clear of the rest when it comes to a whole range of other LaLiga midfielder stats, and the Canary Islander was arguably the best player in the whole division last season.

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10 best midfielders in LaLiga right now according to Sorare

Real Madrid midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Fede Valverde take up the next two places. Both players will be hoping to return to their natural roles under Alonso, having frequently been used in defence by Carlo Ancelotti last term due to injuries.

The top-three theme continues with Frenkie de Jong, who was Pedri’s regular midfield partner in the second half of the season at Barca, and Rordrigo De Paul who was a regular fixture for Atletico Madrid, although he may face greater competition next season with Los Rojiblancos likely to invest in that department.

Aside from Isco and Agoume, the only other player from outside the top three to feature in the top 10 midfielders in LaLiga according to Sorare is Sergi Darder. He was used in both wider and central roles for Jagoba Arrasate’s Mallorca last season, and overall had a stronger second season in Palma following his 2023 move from Espanyol.