Marked for Rafita
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Redru keeps the receipts“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Málaga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Málaga
Carlos Puga was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Rafita Rafita asks to leave Málaga
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
Málaga release $17.3M for the managerThe board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Market7 Aug 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Málaga know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A new face in his position, and Gerard Moreno suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Málaga have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market7 Aug 2028
No fee and no drama: Abdoul Kialy Koné has signed at Málaga , and the wage bill is the only line that moved.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Carlos López asks for a word with the manager“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
In brief
Boardroom
Málaga keep producing them
Boardroom
The Málaga board put their names to it
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Málaga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad17 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Málaga this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rafa Rodríguez and Málaga agree another 5 years.
Market17 Jul 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Málaga have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market17 Jul 2028
Rafita told to find a new club“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Rafita has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Málaga .
Squad17 Jul 2028
Joaquín gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad8 May 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Luka Sučić
26 goals and a season average of 8.19 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match6 May 2028
Still nobody has beaten Málaga
The unbeaten run reaches 20. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match6 May 2028
6‑0 , and David Larrubia took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Málaga tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Luka Sučić Defences have started doubling up on Luka Sučić
Squad8 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Málaga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Málaga
Izan Merino was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings8 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 9.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
Boardroom
$17.3M on the table at Málaga
Squad
Rafita gets it from the manager
Market
The Chupete story refuses to die
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Apr 2028
23 goals and a season average of 8.12. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match22 Apr 2028
Whatever happens, Málaga do not lose
18 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Málaga
Izan Merino was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market24 Apr 2028
As if he never left: Seb Stacey returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Seb Stacey is a Málaga player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Gerard Moreno
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
One of those days for Luka Sučić
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.71, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Rafita signs a new deal“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rafita commits to Málaga for another 5 years.
Match22 Apr 2028
It finished 1‑1 , and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match25 Mar 2028
Still nobody has beaten Málaga
The unbeaten run reaches 14. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad27 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Málaga this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Chupete
16 goals and a season average of 7.25 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match25 Mar 2028
Three points for Málaga , 3‑1 the final word against Granada in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
A performance of 9.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Chupete gets it from the manager“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
One of those days for Luka Sučić
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Marked 8.80 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Jan 2028
Málaga are in among the leadersPosition 1 and 51 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad10 Jan 2028
15 goals and a season average of 7.84. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Rafita keeps the receipts“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Málaga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 Jan 2028
At 20, Aarón Ochoa is already the best thing here
An average of 7.10 in a first team he is several years too young for. Málaga have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Málaga
Carlos Puga was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
One of those days for Chupete
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.44, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match8 Jan 2028
It finished 3‑3 , and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad22 Nov 2027
Luka Sučić is in the form of his lifeA season average of 7.81 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match20 Nov 2027
Nobody wants to play Málaga right now
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad22 Nov 2027
At 21, Izan Merino is already the best thing here
An average of 7.22 in a first team he is several years too young for. Málaga have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Málaga
Carlos Puga was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match20 Nov 2027
It finished 3‑1 , and it was Chupete ’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Málaga .
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
One of those days for Luka Sučić
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.87 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.75 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
Squad
Rafita gets it from the manager
Market
Izan Merino linked with a move away
Boardroom
Málaga keep producing them
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match25 Sep 2027
Málaga make it 5 in a rowMomentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Málaga have 5 straight wins of it.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Rafita keeps the receipts“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Málaga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 55 days on the sidelines for Gerard Moreno , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Rafita Rafita keeps the receipts
Squad27 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Málaga
David Larrubia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match25 Sep 2027
A 4‑2 win over Albacete , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
A performance of 9.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.25 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Sep 2027
Málaga cannot stop winning3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 65 days on the sidelines for Diego Murillo , and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Málaga
David Larrubia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match11 Sep 2027
Málaga get the job done against Huesca A 3‑1 win over Huesca , earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 9.19 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.90 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad13 Sep 2027
30 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.