The club was officially founded on 23 June 1928.[2] Its first president was Ramón del Hierro. However the club had to suspend operations in 1936 due to the Spanish civil war, where they remained inactive until they reformed on 4 September 1946.
Leganés played the vast majority of its existence in the lower leagues. In 1977 the club regained promotion to the fourth division, where it had played before for seven years when the category was still the third level.
After a steady progression, Leganés reached the new division three in 1987, being promoted to the second division six years later and maintaining its league status for 11 seasons; during this timeframe, it collected two consecutive eighth places (best) from 1995 to 1997.
On 24 December 2008, Victoria Pavón and Felipe Moreno acquired a majority stake of the club.[3] Since July 2009, Victoria Pavón has been the president of the club.[4][5]
In the 2023–24 season, Leganes finished at first place in the Segunda Division and were promoted to La Liga, thus returning after a four season absence.
The squad that won La Liga in 2024 paying a visit to the regional government
The fans have friendly relation with ultras group Gate 12 of Egaleo FC, the towns of Egaleo and Leganés happen to be twinned too. They also have friendly ties with Reading F.C. of England, partially due to sharing their blue and white colours. Their biggest rival is Getafe with whom they contest the South Madrid derby.