of Madeira and CD Tenerife in 1925.|150px Club Deportivo Tenerife was founded in 1922.
La Liga started in 1928, but the team played in regional divisions until it was promoted to the
Segunda División in 1953. It first reached the top flight in 1961,
being immediately relegated back and, in the following 27 years, played almost exclusively in the second level, also spending three years in
Tercera División and six – five in a row – in
Segunda División B, the newly created division three (in 1978). In 1985 when Tenerife were relegated to the third division for a second time, Javier Pérez became president of the club. The side was promoted this year to the second level and,
two years later, returned to the first, after winning the promotion playoff against
Real Betis (4–1 on aggregate). In 1991,
Jorge Valdano took charge of the club as manager, and the Argentine would help deny former side
Real Madrid of two consecutive league titles in the last round, to the benefit of
Barcelona. In
the first season, the Canary Islands outfit barely avoided relegation, but would
finish in a best-ever fifth position in the following year, eventually reaching the
round of 16 in
the subsequent UEFA Cup, losing to
Juventus 2–4 on aggregate. German
Jupp Heynckes became head coach of Tenerife in 1995,
leading the club to another fifth-placed finish and the quarter-finals of the
Copa del Rey. In the
1996–97 UEFA Cup, the islanders fared better, reaching the last-four after defeating
Maccabi Tel Aviv,
Lazio,
Feyenoord and
Brøndby (the winner coming late in
extra time from an
Antonio Mata free-kick), only bowing out to eventual winners
Schalke 04. Tenerife then went on a downward spiral which eventually led to relegation to the "silver category" in
1999, prompting various managerial changes within the club. In
2001, the club was again promoted, led by
Rafael Benítez, who promptly left to take up the manager's job at
Valencia; the promotion was achieved in the last match of the campaign thanks to a goal from
Hugo Morales. , in 2008
Pepe Mel became the new trainer but the first division season never took off, as Tenerife were beaten heavily at home by Barcelona 0–6, which cost the manager his job.
Javier Clemente, formerly with the
Spain national team, took the reins, but could not help prevent
the eventual immediate relegation. Tenerife suffered from serious economic problems in the following years, owing more than €40 million. President Pérez was replaced with
Víctor Perez de Ascanio, who resigned due to bad management, leaving his position to
Miguel Concepción, who negotiated with local politicians and businessmen, also creating a construction company as a subsidiary of the side. On 13 June 2009, Tenerife
secured a top flight return after a seven-year absence after a 1–0 win at
Girona. In
the following season, even though the team held on until the last round, another relegation befell, after the 0–1 loss at third-placed Valencia.
2010–11 brought with it three coaching changes, as Tenerife eventually suffered another relegation, returning to the third division after 24 years. On 2 June 2013, the club, led by
Álvaro Cervera, returned to the second level after
winning the promotion play-off against
Hospitalet (3–2 on aggregate). Tenerife almost achieved promotion to La Liga in
2016-17 and
2021-22 season, but was defeated by both
Getafe and
Girona at final play-off promotion in their respective season. Tenerife eventually suffered relegation to third division in
2024-25 season, following a 12-years stay in second division. On 1 May 2026, the club achieved promoted back to second division following
Celta Fortuna loss to
Osasuna B. ==Seasons==