Valencia CF

Valencia CF, based at the Estadio Mestalla in Valencia, have won 6 La Liga titles and were consecutive Champions League finalists in 2000 and 2001, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively.

The Mestalla, built in 1923 and expanded over the decades to hold 49,430, is one of the most atmospheric grounds in Spain and one of the oldest in continuous use in European football. Valencia spent most of the 2000s as a genuine force, with Claudio Ranieri and then Rafa Benítez building sides capable of competing at the highest level. The 2004 La Liga title under Benítez, with David Villa, David Albelda, and Roberto Ayala as the spine, was the club’s most recent championship. Nineteen months later, Benítez left for Liverpool and the club’s decline began slowly, then accelerated.

The sale to Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim in 2014 initially promised investment and stabilisation. Instead it delivered a decade of poor recruitment, changing managers, squad fragmentation, and a half-built new stadium, the Nou Mestalla, that has stood incomplete on the edge of the city since construction was halted in 2009. The unfinished concrete skeleton has become a symbol of what the club might have been. The October 2024 flood that devastated the Valencia region, killing over 220 people, added tragedy to an already difficult period.

Hugo Duro’s goals have kept Valencia competitive in La Liga in recent seasons, and the supporters’ relationship with the club remains fierce despite the institutional failures. No stadium in Spain treats an opposition equaliser with the hostility of the Mestalla at full roar.

When does Valencia play? Mestalla matches typically kick off at 14:00, 16:15, or 21:00 CET (UTC+1). Valencia is on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, two hours south of Barcelona. A 21:00 CET Saturday kickoff means 20:00 GMT in London, 15:00 ET in New York. Check Valencia time for current local time. Full La Liga fixture list available.