After four seasons at the top, Compostela was relegated after losing a relegation play-off match to Villarreal CF on the away goals rule, despite playing overall attractive football. The club was also about to start a downward spiral; after a relegation to the third level in 2001 the team returned the following year but, in the following campaign, played to a backdrop of off-field distractions, with the players and staff going unpaid for months – a final ninth place was not enough to prevent another relegation, as the club failed to meet the 31 July deadline to settle all wage debts.