How many Non-EU players are allowed in La Liga

South American talents such as Luis Suarez and Marcelo have been playing in  La Liga for many season now for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, but the fact that they are even playing in Spain at all is seen as fortunate.

La Liga have strict rules about how many non-EU players are allowed to play for each side, which affects the way a club handles their transfer business.

So what is the rule, why is this rule made and how do players and clubs manage to work around it?

What is the non-EU players rule?

In La Liga, each club is allowed to have five non-EU players in their team, but are only allowed to name three non-EU players in each matchday squad.

The term 'non-EU' refers to a player whose country of citizenship is outside of the European Union.

Countries which are included in EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

The figure drops to two non-EU players in Segunda Division (Second Division In Spain)

Can non-EU players claim other citizenship?

In La Liga, players can claim citizenship from a nation that their ancestors belong. Brazil international Philippe Coutinho was able to be granted Portuguese citizenship through his wife after he left Liverpool for Barcelona in January 2018.

However,Philippe Coutinho had been married to Portuguese wife Aine for more than two years, he was able to meet the eligibility criteria to apply for Portuguese documentation. Doing so allowed him to play in the Spanish league as a Portuguese citizen rather than a Brazilian, which eventually helped barcelona.

At the time, Barcelona had reached their full quota of the number of foreign players in their squad. Three of their January transfer window signings in Arthur Melo, Malcom and Arturo Vidal were counted as non-EU players.

Non-EU players, after five years of playing in Spain, can claim Spanish citizenship.

 Players who hail from ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group) nations that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement are not considered as non-EU due to the Kolpak ruling.

Why was this non-EU PLAYER rule made?

The non-EU players rule encourages clubs to nurture domestic European talent instead of the purchasing overseas talents.