Las Palmas Season in Review: Not a bad team, but a limited one

With the European season officially at an end, Football España will be reviewing each and every one of the La Liga sides and how they fared this season.

Results:

La Liga: 19th – 32 points

Copa del Rey: Round of 32

Top Scorer: Fabio Silva – 10 goals

Top Assister: Oli McBurnie – 6 assists

Season Summary

Las Palmas started off the season much the same as they did last year, with a six-game winless run. In contrast though, it cost Luis Carrion his position, with Las Palmas opting for a shift in style under Diego Martinez. The initial bounce under Martinez was astounding, with some brilliant wins against Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano following. Las Palmas looked solid, agile and purposeful, playing direct football with few touches.

Yet by the time 2025 rolled around, Las Palmas looked increasingly uncertain. The improved defending was no longer a factor, and with goals just as hard to come by as last season, Martinez found himself trying to coach a perfect game every week. Las Palmas rarely played badly, and on their day, could beat anyone, including Atletico Madrid. A 13-game winless run between January and April condemned them ahead of time though.

Verdict: D

Ultimately, relegation was a failure to make the grade for Las Palmas. The tragic absence of captain Kirian Rodriguez from February onwards no doubt had an impact, and the feeling is that this was not a bad football team that was being relegated, but a limited one.

The frustrating thing for those on Gran Canaria will be that some of the errors were foreseeable. Save for one or two seasons, Oli McBurnie has not demonstrated that he is a regular goalscorer, and while Sandro Ramirez is a useful player, he is a condiment not a main course. Goals were a problem last season, and their efforts looked short at the time.

If that was to be the case – there is not always a well of goals available on the market – then perhaps a more sturdy side needed to be built. The midfield and defence is littered with decent to good players, but few players that enter the stadium with a knife between their teeth.

Player of the Season: Fabio Silva

It is hard to look past the Portuguese forward, who arrived on loan from Wolves with little expectation. After a disappointing season with Rangers, Fabio Silva seemed to find his grove, imposing himself physically and ensuring he was in the right place when required.

A neat footballer on the face of it, he did seem to find an edge and a hunger to his game that took him to the next level. His 10 goals and three assists are evidence of that, and Martinez might wonder what could have been had Silva not picked up an injury during a crucial period.

Pleasant Surprise of the Season: Dario Essugo

We say this with a smidge of reluctance. Dario Essugo’s performances, and indeed his number of minutes slalomed downwards after a move to Chelsea looked on the cards in early February. Yet there is a reason the Blues were interested. Essugo exhibited an ease on the ball, and a languid ability to drift through the middle of the pitch that made him a problem for the opposition. Cutting in the tackle, Essugo has all the raw materials to become a top quality central midfielder – consistency is his next objective.

If only we could have had a bit more from: Oli McBurnie

Something of a tricky task, and here too, there is an element of injustice. McBurnie left absolutely everything on the pitch for Las Palmas, and bought into the life off it too. Battling and hustling, he ended up with five goals and six assists, the second-most goal contributions of any player.

But… And that was the feeling all season. McBurnie spurned too many clear chances throughout the season. Given Las Palmas’ lack of goals, this only turned up the temperature for his team, and fatalism often set in. A more clinical number nine to go with Silva and Sandro probably sees Las Palmas in La Liga next season.

On the horizon, you see…

The first thing to say is that Kirian is back in training, which is the best news possible. Their captain and leader, if he can recover anything like his level over the last two years, will also be a major argument for a promotion push. It will be a total rebuild from a squad that was packed with veterans of Europe’s top five leagues, and emerging loan stars.

🙌🏽 ¡Bienvenido, míster! 💛💙

😃 ¡Luis García ya está en Gran Canaria!

Sigue esta tarde la presentación de nuestro nuevo entrenador, a las 16:30, en #UDRadio y en nuestro canal de YouTube.#SeremosMásUnión #LaUniónHaceLasPalmas | @vwcanarias pic.twitter.com/s48NQi9lB5

— UD Las Palmas (@UDLP_Oficial) July 9, 2025

Luis Garcia Plaza has been entrusted with that rebuild, and over the last 15 years, it’s difficult to find too many better track records in the bottom half of La Liga/top half of Segunda. Particularly when it comes to the second division, Garcia seems to understand exactly what is required. Segunda is a whirlpool though, and there is little that is predictable about it.