Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German and English football players led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism; hence the slogan "Més que un club" ("More than a club"). Unlike many other football clubs, Barcelona are owned and operated by fans. It is the third most valuable football club in the world, valued at $5.6 billion, and the fourth richest football club in the world, with an annual turnover of €800.1 million.
The official anthem of Barcelona is "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas i Guiu and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally plays in dark blue and maroon striped jerseys, hence the nickname Blaugrana.
Barcelona is one of the clubs with the most trophies in the world. Domestically, Barcelona has won a record 81 trophies: 29 La Liga, 32 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa de la Liga, 16 Supercopa de España and 3 Copa Eva Duarte titles; He is also the record holder in the last four tournaments. In international club football, Barça have won 22 European and world championships: 5 UEFA Champions League titles, a record 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, a record 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, 5 UEFA Super Cups, a joint-record 2 Latin Cups and 3 FIFA Club World Cups.
Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History and Statistics Club World Rankings in 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and is ninth in the UEFA club rankings as of May 2023. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, with matches between the two teams being referred to as El Clásico.
Barcelona is one of the most supported teams in the world and has one of the largest social media followings in the world among sports teams. Barcelona players have won a record 12 Ballon d'Or awards, with names including Johan Cruyff, and a record 6 FIFA Player of the Year awards, with names including Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi.
In 2010, three players from the club's youth academy—Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi—were named the top three players in the world in the Ballon d'Or rankings; this was an unprecedented achievement for players from the same football academy. Additionally, players representing the club won a record 8 European Golden Shoe awards.
Barcelona is one of the three founding members of the Primera División, having never been relegated from the top division since its foundation in 1929; the others are Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League titles, and also won the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first European football club to win six competitions in a single year.
In 2011 the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. The Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the best of all time. By winning their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015 under Luis Enrique, Barcelona became the first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.
History
Barcelona was founded in 1899 as a result of an advertisement published in a newspaper. The club came into existence after 11 players responded positively to the offer in the advertisement. So far they have won the championship 29 times and won the domestic cup 32 times. Barcelona won its first league championship with 25 points in the 1928-29 season, the first year of the league.
The club won its fifth UEFA Champions League title in 2015, becoming the first club in history to achieve the "treble" of national cup, national league and UEFA Champions League titles twice in a single season.
Total Football Philosophy
The person who introduced total football to the world was Dutch Johan Cruyff in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The system, which is generally played with the 4-3-3 system, is based on the principle of "attack as a team, defense as a team". In the 1970s and 1980s, the system in which each player played by changing positions and individual talents came to the fore is now a team game based on a single pass, narrowing the area by standing in more areas of the players than in the past.
Even the goalkeeper is like a defender. After Cruyff became Barcelona coach in 1988, he rolled up his sleeves and tried to establish the system. Barcelona won its first championship club cup during his reign in 1992. This system was tried again in 2003, when Frank Rijkaard, another Dutchman, became the head of the team, and it reached its peak in 2008, when Guardiola, who was in charge of the infrastructure and a former player of the team, became the coach. The team won 6 cups that year.
Rivalries
El Clasico
The eternal rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid is known as El Clásico. This rivalry also manifested itself in the political arena during the Civil War, and cultural and political tensions arose between Catalans and Castilians.
During the reign of Francisco Franco, he implemented a policy of oppression against all regional cultures, especially the Catalans. The speaking of all languages other than Spanish is prohibited on Spanish soil. During this period, FC Barcelona became the symbol of the Catalan people and was known as "Més que un club".
Supporting Barcelona during the dictatorship was, as Manuel Vázquez Montalbán said, the most remarkable way to show that he was Catalan. This method was also a way to show that he was an opponent of the dictatorship without joining the anti-Franco movement. During the Civil War, when Barcelona symbolized the opposition, Real Madrid was seen as a symbol of the oppressive centralism approach and fascist regime.
Today, this competition, which only exists in a sporting sense, continues in areas such as football transfers, cup championships and financial income.
El Derbi Barcelona
It refers to the matches played by Barça against its rival Espanyol, representing the same city. Traditionally, by the vast majority of Barcelona citizens, especially during the Franco regime, Espanyol was seen as a dual club with some form of compliance with central authority, in contrast to the revolutionary spirit of Barcelona.
Barcelona has an overwhelming lead over Espanyol in the local derby. Espanyol last managed to beat Barcelona in the 2008-09 season. In the 1950-51 season, Espanyol beat Barcelona with a different score of 6-0. In the 152 matches played between the two teams, Barcelona won 84 times, Espanyol won 34 times, and the other 34 matches were a draw.
While Barcelona sent 278 goals to Espanyol's nets, Espanyol could only score 171 goals to Barcelona's nets.
Top scorers
- 1 — Argentina — Lionel Messi — 2004-2021 — 658 — 763 — 0.86
- 2 — Spain — César Rodríguez Álvarez — 1942-1955 — 232 — 301 — 0.77
- 3 — Uruguay — Luis Suárez — 2014-2020 — 195 — 283 — 0.68
- 4 — Hungary — László Kubala — 1950-1961 — 194 — 280 — 0.69
- 5 — Spain — Josep Samitier — 1919-1932 — 178 — 333 — 0.53
- 6 — Spain — Josep Escolà [en] — 1934-1949 — 163 — 223 — 0.73
- 7 — Philippines — Paulino Alcántara — 1912-16,1918-27 — 142 — 369 — 0.38
- 8 — Spain — Ángel Arocha [en] — 1926-1933 — 134 — 215 — 0.62
- 9 — Cameroon — Samuel Eto'o — 2004-2009 — 130 — 199 — 0.65
- 10 — Brazil — Rivaldo — 1997-2002 — 129 — 235 — 0.54
sponsorship
Barcelona has not received jersey advertising since its foundation. This is because it appears as the national team of Catalonia. On 14 July 2006, the club announced a five-year agreement with UNICEF for jersey advertising. As a result of this agreement, the club did not receive any fees and donated €1.5 million annually to UNICEF during this period.
He signed an agreement with Qatar Foundation in the summer of 2011. Qatar Airways is also Barcelona's transportation sponsor.
At the end of the 2017 season, the sponsorship contract with Qatar Airways ended and Barcelona's new global sponsor became Rakuten with a 5-year contract. With this agreement, Barcelona surpassed Manchester United's record and became the club that earns the most in sponsorship agreements in the world.
The contract with Rakuten ended in 2021, after which Spotify became the new main sponsor of the club.
Jersey sponsors and manufacturers
- 1982-1992 — Meyba — None
- 1992-1998 — Kappa — None
- 1998-2006 — Nike — None
- 2006-2010 — Nike — UNICEF
- 2011-2013 — Nike — Qatar Foundation / UNICEF
- 2013-2014 — Nike — Qatar Airways / Intel / UNICEF
- 2014-2017 — Nike — Qatar Airways / Intel / UNICEF / Beko
- 2017-2022 — Nike — Rakuten / Intel / UNICEF / Beko
- 2022-2024 — Nike — Spotify / UNHCR
achievements
Spain
- La Liga
- Champion (29): 1928-29, 1944-45, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1973-74, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2024-25, 2025-26
- Copa del Rey (record)
- Champion (32): 1909-10, 1911-12, 1912-13, 1919-20, 1921-22, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1941-42, 1950-51, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1962-63, 1967-68, 1970-71, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2024-25
- Supercopa de España (record)
- Champion (16): 1983, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2025, 2026
- Copa de la Liga (record)
- Champion (2): 1982-83, 1985-86
- Copa Eva Duarte (record)
- Champion (3): 1947-48, 1951-52, 1952-53
Europe
- Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League
- Champion (5): 1991-92, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (record)
- Champion (4): 1978-79, 1981-82, 1988-89, 1996-97
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
- Champion (3): 1957-58, 1959-60, 1965-66
- UEFA Super Cup
- Champion (5): 1992, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2015
- Latin Cup (record)
- Champion (2): 1949, 1952
International
- FIFA Club World Cup
- Champion (3): 2009, 2011, 2015
Cast
Staff
- As of September 7, 2026
