# 2025–26 Primeira Liga
The 2025–26 [Primeira Liga](https://www.edgepedia.org/primeira-liga) (Liga Portugal Betclic) was the 92nd edition of Portugal's top-flight football competition, contested by 18 clubs over 34 matchdays from a Friday-night opening in August 2025, when defending champions [Sporting CP](https://www.edgepedia.org/sporting-cp) faced Casa Pia, to 17 May 2026.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) [FC Porto](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-porto) won the title with 88 points, finishing six points clear of Sporting, while Benfica finished third despite going unbeaten in the league.[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition | 92nd edition of the Portuguese top division; 18 clubs, 34 matchdays, August 2025 to 17 May 2026[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) |
| Champion | FC Porto, 88 points, six clear of Sporting CP[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919) |
| Runner-up | Sporting CP, the defending double champion seeking a third straight title[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919) • [3](https://gokkenprimeiraliga.com/articles/primeira-liga-seizoen-2025-2026/) |
| Unbeaten side | Benfica finished third without losing a league match[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919) |
| Record transfer sale | Viktor Gyökeres to Arsenal for 65.8 million euros, plus up to 10.3 million euros in add-ons[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) |
## Format and calendar
The league ran over nine months with each of the 18 clubs playing the others home and away for a 34-round schedule.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) The season included a winter break around Christmas and [New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-year) and ran through to late May 2026.[4](https://predictbet.ai/blog/primeira-liga-202526-season-guide) The Taça de Portugal final was scheduled for 24 May 2026, a week after the league's last round.[5](https://www3.fpf.pt/pt/News/Todas-as-not%C3%ADcias/Not%C3%ADcia/news/49352/contextid/971) At the bottom of the table, the last two clubs were relegated directly to [Liga Portugal 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/liga-portugal-2), and the 16th-placed club entered a promotion/relegation playoff against the third-placed club of Liga Portugal 2.[6](https://ligaportugal-web-hkc7bjg6czecffdp.a02.azurefd.net/pages/sobre-a-liga)
## Pre-season context
**Sporting CP** entered as the two-time defending champion, having won the 2023/24 and 2024/25 titles, the club's first back-to-back championships since 1953/54, and was chasing its first three-in-a-row since the four-title run that ended in 1954.[3](https://gokkenprimeiraliga.com/articles/primeira-liga-seizoen-2025-2026/) • [1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) The club kept the core of the title-winning squad under Rui Borges but sold top scorer [Viktor Gyökeres](https://www.edgepedia.org/viktor-gyokeres) to Arsenal for a record 65.8 million euros, reinvesting about a third of that fee (22.2 million euros) in Colombian striker [Luis Suárez](https://www.edgepedia.org/luis-suarez) as his successor.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507)
**Benfica** underwent the most turbulence. After a summer that brought Richard Ríos, the club's most expensive signing at 27 million euros, Franjo Ivanović at 22.8 million euros, Enzo Barrenechea, and others, a poor start led to the dismissal of manager [Bruno Lage](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-lage) and the appointment of [José Mourinho](https://www.edgepedia.org/jose-mourinho).[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) • [7](https://portugoal.net/club-news/5183-2025-26-portuguese-league-preview-favourites-transfers-storylines) The club had also lost influential players including Carreras, Di María, and Kökçü, and its presidential elections of 25 October 2025 shaped an unusually active transfer window.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507)
**FC Porto** took the opposite approach under president [André Villas-Boas](https://www.edgepedia.org/andre-villas-boas), who announced the aim of "the biggest transfer market in the club's history" at the presentation of new Italian coach Francesco Farioli. Signings included [Victor Froholdt](https://www.edgepedia.org/victor-froholdt), Gabri Veiga, Prpić, Borja Sainz, Jan Bednarek, Alberto Costa, and a late surprise in [Luuk de Jong](https://www.edgepedia.org/luuk-de-jong).[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) Froholdt, the previous season's MVP in Portugal, was retained.[8](https://portugoal.net/club-news/5956-liga-portugal-kicks-off-tonight-whos-gonna-win-it)
Benfica opened the competitive year by beating Sporting 1-0 in the [Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira](https://www.edgepedia.org/supertaca-candido-de-oliveira), the traditional season opener.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507)
## The title race
The season was framed as a long Lisbon derby between Benfica and Sporting that Porto, with its new coach and record investment, hoped to interrupt.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) Porto ended Sporting's reign as champions, taking the title with 88 points and a six-point margin over Sporting, while Benfica's unbeaten league campaign still left it third.[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919) It was Porto's first championship since 2022, ending a run in which the title had moved between the Lisbon clubs.[9](https://bolanarede.pt/nacional/primeira-liga/quem-e-o-favorito-a-vencer-a-primeira-liga/)
The league's competitive character at the top was a recurring theme: commentators describe a division in which the leading clubs are far stronger than the rest, yet the championship fight among the top sides is more open than in many of Europe's wealthier leagues.[8](https://portugoal.net/club-news/5956-liga-portugal-kicks-off-tonight-whos-gonna-win-it) Upsets were frequent: eleven of the previous season's eighteen clubs had recorded at least one home win against a Big Three side.[4](https://predictbet.ai/blog/primeira-liga-202526-season-guide)
## Relegation and the rest of the table
Both had been promoted for 2025/26 alongside Alverca, with Tondela and Alverca named as the newly promoted sides in the pre-season preview.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507) Braga, under new Spanish coach Carlos Vicens, formerly [Pep Guardiola](https://www.edgepedia.org/pep-guardiola)'s assistant at Manchester City, was again the main force behind the Big Three, having finished fourth in the two previous seasons.[1](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507)
## Aftermath
The 2026/27 Primeira Liga season began on Friday, 7 August 2026, with Porto defending the title.[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919) Benfica appointed [Marco Silva](https://www.edgepedia.org/marco-silva) as manager in the close season as it sought to convert an unbeaten league campaign into a championship.[2](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919)
## References
1. [I Liga 2025/26. Um longo dérbi entre Benfica e Sporting, em que o FC Porto se pode intrometer, RTP/Lusa](https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/1a-liga/i-liga-202526-um-longo-derbi-entre-benfica-e-sporting-em-que-o-fc-porto-se-pode-intrometer_d1674507)
2. [Portuguese Primeira Liga Prediction and Tips, bet365 News](https://news.bet365.com/en-gb/article/football-portuguese-primeira-liga-prediction-and-tips/2026080511411301919)
3. [Primeira Liga Seizoen 2025/26: Analyse, Favorieten en Wedkansen, Gokken op Primeira Liga](https://gokkenprimeiraliga.com/articles/primeira-liga-seizoen-2025-2026/)
4. [Primeira Liga 2025/26 Season Guide, PredictBet](https://predictbet.ai/blog/primeira-liga-202526-season-guide)
5. [Supertaça na abertura da época, Federação Portuguesa de Futebol](https://www3.fpf.pt/pt/News/Todas-as-not%C3%ADcias/Not%C3%ADcia/news/49352/contextid/971)
6. [Liga Portugal - Sobre a Liga](https://ligaportugal-web-hkc7bjg6czecffdp.a02.azurefd.net/pages/sobre-a-liga)
7. [2025/26 Portuguese league preview: favourites, transfers & storylines, PortuGOAL](https://portugoal.net/club-news/5183-2025-26-portuguese-league-preview-favourites-transfers-storylines)
8. [Liga Portugal kicks off tonight. Who's gonna win it?, PortuGOAL](https://portugoal.net/club-news/5956-liga-portugal-kicks-off-tonight-whos-gonna-win-it)
9. [Quem é o favorito a vencer a Primeira Liga?, Bola na Rede](https://bolanarede.pt/nacional/primeira-liga/quem-e-o-favorito-a-vencer-a-primeira-liga/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Seasons and editions › Domestic league season editions › Western and Southern European league seasons › Mediterranean league seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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