Promotion was confirmed a round before the end of the Segunda División season with a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid at the Estadio José Zorrilla.
Goals from Mario Soriano and Zakaria Eddahchouri sealed the result, with Almería's defeat at Sporting de Gijón the same afternoon making the mathematics official. Head coach Antonio Hidalgo's side had led the division for most of the season and finished as champions.
The occasion carries significant historical weight. In their early 2000s peak, Deportivo were a genuine force in European football — champions of Spain in 2000, Copa del Rey winners, and semi-finalists in the Champions League. Their decline into the lower tiers was one of the more dramatic falls from grace in the history of the Spanish game.
The club's return to the top flight automatically triggers a pre-agreed clause in the contract of midfielder José Gragera. Deportivo negotiated a mandatory purchase option worth €1.5 million upon promotion when they signed the 26-year-old on loan.
The Asturian central midfielder, who previously played for Espanyol, was limited to 10 Segunda División appearances this season due to injury but will now prepare for his first experience in LaLiga.
The transfer structure includes a further detail of note: Sporting de Gijón, the club that developed Gragera in their academy, retained a 30 per cent sell-on clause when he moved on permanently. They will receive €450,000 from the activation of Deportivo's purchase option.
Gragera is the first confirmed signing of Deportivo's LaLiga era. He will not be the last.