Establishment and early years Rayo Vallecano was founded on 29 May 1924 in the hometown of Prudencia Priego, wife of the club's first president Julián Huerta. Greatly inspired by
River Plate (a Football club from
Argentina), in 1949, after an agreement with
Atlético Madrid, a red diagonal stripe was added to the team's kit, and the club reached
Tercera División for the first time in its history.
Yo-yo years One of the perennial yo-yo clubs of Spanish football, and always in the shadow of the two biggest clubs in the city (
Real Madrid and
Atlético Madrid), Rayo Vallecano spent many years during the 1980s and 1990s moving back and forth between
La Liga and
Segunda División. The 1983–84 season was the worst during the 1980s. The club finished in the last position in Segunda División and was relegated to Segunda División B. Due to a tragedy Rayo Vallecano turned out to be
Laurie Cunningham's last club; he was killed in a car crash just outside Madrid in 1989, after a sole season. He had recently won an
F.A. Cup winners medal with
Wimbledon F.C. in England the previous year and had also represented neighbours Real Madrid for four years. They appeared to have consolidated their top flight status after
gaining promotion in 1999, and the team's most successful season came in
2000–01 when they
reached the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup, going out only to eventual runners-up
Alavés; Rayo finished ninth in
the previous campaign, but entered the competition via the
fair play draw.
2003–11: Segunda División and below vs. Rayo Vallecano However, the club shortly thereafter fell on hard times, enduring successive relegations in
2003 and
2004. For
2005–06 manager
Míchel, a Real Madrid legend in the 1980s and '90s, was hired. Rayo finished the
2006–07 season in second place in
Segunda División B, winning the
promotion play-off semifinal but losing in the final to
Eibar (1–2 aggregate).
The following campaign, the team returned to division two after a four-year absence after a victorious run in
the playoffs, disposing of
Benidorm in the semi-final and
Zamora in the last game 2–1 on aggregate. In its first seasons back in the second tier of Spanish football, Rayo finished comfortably, often either in or just outside the promotion places. In
2010–11, the team ranked in second position and returned to the top flight after an eight-year absence, only trailing champions
Real Betis in spite of very serious economic problems.
2011–: La Liga and Segunda División yo-yo with Rayo Vallecano in 2012 In March 2014,
Huawei agreed to sponsor Rayo Vallecano for two league matches against Real Madrid and
Athletic Bilbao. In August 2015, Rayo Vallecano purchased the majority of
Oklahoma City FC, a
NASL expansion franchise which had yet to officially play a game renaming the club to
Rayo OKC, despite the stadium increasingly needing work. It was the first ever entry of a Spanish club into the American sports market and mirrored a 2013 sponsorship agreement with
Qbao in terms of expanding the club's profile overseas. Rayo OKC folded after a year due to Rayo Vallecano's relegation from La Liga and a dispute between the co-owners led to less finance for the U.S. side. In May 2016, Rayo Vallecano were relegated to the Segunda División, finishing 18th in the
2015–16 La Liga season. This ended their five-year streak in La Liga, their longest ever stay in the top-flight. Their first season back in the second division was a poor one, with both problems on the field and off, and they finished in 12th position. Rayo went through three managers in the
2016–17 Segunda División season before finally settling on club legend
Míchel. He revived the club from the relegation places to 12th, almost making the playoffs. At the start of the
2017–18 Segunda División season, the club appointed their recently retired goalkeeper
David Cobeño as the sporting director of the club. They secured their promotion with a 1–0 over
CD Lugo with one game remaining. That season the club won Segunda División with 76 points in 42 games. in January 2019 On 20 March 2019, the club appointed
Paco Jémez as head coach, and on 4 May, Rayo was relegated back to the Segunda División after losing 4–1 to
Levante UD, eventually finishing last. In August 2020, the club appointed
Andoni Iraola as head coach. They finished sixth and won promotion in the playoffs against
Girona FC; despite losing the first leg at home 1–2, the team came back to win the second leg 2–0 away to claim a place in La Liga for
2021–22. In February 2022, Iraola's side defeated
RCD Mallorca to make the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey; it was the second time in club history and first since 1982. The club finished 12th in La Liga. This was a big achievement as they were by far the league's smallest team, and most had predicted that they would be relegated. They once again qualified for European football after 24 years, entering into the
UEFA Conference League play-offs by finishing 8th in
2024-25 season. They went on to make their debut appearances in a major UEFA competition group or league phase by reaching the
2025–26 UEFA Conference League league phase. ==Previous names==