This summer has seen La Liga say goodbye to two of its most iconic and successful players of all time.
Xavi left for Al-Sadd after 17 seasons, 505 appearances and eight La Liga titles with Barça. Iker Casillas's Real Madrid career came to an end as he signed for Porto after 16 seasons, 510 appearances and five La Liga titles with 'Los Blancos'.
The former Barça and Real Madrid captains will be the most high-profile absentees in a competition that has seen other stars move to England in big-money deals such as Pedro signing for Chelsea and Nicolás Otamendi joining Manchester City after a magnificent season at Valencia.
After 12 seasons at Athletic, Andoni Iraola moved to New York City to finish his career in the MLS. João Miranda packed his bags for Inter Milan earlier in the summer and will come up against former teammate Mario Mandzukic, who signed for Juventus in June.
Like Xavi, former Espanyol, Betis, Zaragoza and Barcelona forward Sergio García also recently packed his bags for Qatar after 12 seasons plying his trade in La Liga.
La Liga's Latin American influence is also on the wane with Carlos Bacca now an AC Milan player after an impressive spell with Sevilla, while the departures of Javier Hernández (Manchester United), Héctor Moreno (PSV), Raúl Jiménez (Benfica) and Aquino (Tigres) have depleted the Mexican contingent in Spain.
Other notable exits include Sami Khedira (Juventus) and Stéphane Mbia (Trabzonspor). As for Spaniards finding new clubs abroad, Gerard Deulofeu joined Everton, Mario Suárez Fiorentina and Martín Montoya Inter.
Source: Marca
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