Marked for Rafita
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 22 in, 2 out at Huesca
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 22 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Huesca counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Huesca now.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Alianza Lima have kept their man, and Huesca go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Huesca
Rafita and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Salva Ruiz, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Dani Ojeda runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Roberto Prieto after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Cristian Herrera has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Aug 2026
10 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match22 Aug 2026
A hiding for Huesca
Beaten 0‑3 by Almería, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market24 Aug 2026
Huesca say no — this time
The offer from Almería for Óscar Sielva was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The deal with Málaga is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Huesca asked and CSKA Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Óscar Sielva, and the manager let it.
Market24 Aug 2026
Liberto attracts admirers
The name of Liberto has come up in conversations Huesca were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Huesca this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Doors closed at Huesca
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Málaga have gone to New York City with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Market17 Aug 2026
Málaga pay Elche $10.5M for a proper upgrade
Elche did not want to sell and the number is why they did. $10.5M for Yago Santiago, and the expectation that arrives with him is the kind no amount of settling-in period softens.
Market17 Aug 2026
Gijón pay $5.3M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Market17 Aug 2026
Aarón Ochoa has left for Racing Santander in a $3.3M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Too dear: Málaga walk away from Selton
$1.4M was the most the club would pay and Athletic Bilbao were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Málaga
David Larrubia and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Málaga training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Calero is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
The town asked, and Málaga paid $10.5M
Yago Santiago was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $10.5M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The deal with Elche is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Market10 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Málaga have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Málaga asked and Universitario said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
Málaga say no — this time
The offer from Betis for Izan Merino was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The offer went to Athletic Bilbao this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alfonso Herrero commits to Málaga for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Málaga training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Larrubia is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Málaga
Pablo Martínez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market10 Aug 2026
Eyes on Rafita again
The phone has started ringing about Rafita again, and this time the name on the line is Pergolettese. Málaga are listening politely and promising nothing.