Older players are also welcome in the Liga BBVA

On matchday nineteen of theLiga BBVA , Txema Añibarro became the oldest player to make his debut in La Liga when he played against Córdoba CF aged 35 years and 174 days.

The departure of Raúl Albentosa, a vital player in central defence next to Raúl Navas, and the subsequent injury to Borja Ekiza during the game, allowed the already experienced Basque player to make his debut in the Liga BBVA. It was a gift for Añibarro who, despite everything, is not the only player over 30 to have made their debut this season.  

Indeed, various older Eibar players have also made their debut in the Liga BBVA. Among them isMikel Arruabarrena, who made his debut aged 31 on the opening day of the season against Real Sociedad. Federico Piovaccari, aged 30, also an Eibar player, also played his first Liga BBVA game having been signed during transfer market.

Another team that has players over 30 making their debut is Córdoba, which is in fact another of the teams that have recently been promoted to the Liga BBVA. The most recent player to make their debut for Córdoba is the goalkeeper Mikel Saizar, aged 32, who started for his second time last week against RCD Espanyol. López Silva made his debut against Real Madrid on the opening day of the season aged 31, whilst López Garai also did during the same game. Aged 33 years old, he became one of the oldest players to make his debut in La Liga. Garai played six games for Córdoba before leaving during the winter transfer window.

Finally, Jonathan López 'Jona' is the exception to the rule, as he is the only older player to make his debut in the Liga BBVA with a team that was not promoted this season. He currently plays for Getafe CF and made his debut with them on matchday 22.

Xerez CD, a mine of older players

If we look back at other years, in the 2009-2010 season, Xerez CD were promoted to the Liga BBVA, an achievement that would allow two of their oldest and most faithful players to make their La Liga debuts. Jesús Mendoza, who is currently the player with the most minutes for the Cadiz side, made his debut on the opening day of the season aged 32. Vicente Moreno, the player with the second highest number of seasons at Xerez, also made his debut that aged 34 years old.

Other cases worth highlighting are those of the goalkeeper Armando Ribeiro and the forward Rubén Suárez.

Armando, made his debut for Cádiz during the 2005-2006 season aged 34, however he went on sign for Athletic Club for three years, between 2007 and 2010. On the other hand, Rubén Suárez made his La Liga BBVA debut aged 31 with Levante UD, despite a promising early career where he played for Spain in the Under-20 World Cup with players like Iker Casillas and Carlos Marchena. A serious knee injury when playing for Elche CF delayed his start to La Liga action. However, during his brief time in the league, he became an icon for Levante fans.