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Barcelona

Spain

Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation"fub'bol 'klub), frequently called Barcelona and also known colloquially as Barca , is a professional soccer club located at Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain which plays in La Liga, the top league in Spanish football.

In 1899, a group consisting of Swiss, Catalan, German and English footballers, led by Joan Gamper The club has grown into an icon that embodies Catalan tradition in addition to Catalanism which is why the club's motto is "Mes that a club" ( "More than the club"). Like many other football clubs that are owned by Barcelona's supporters have the ownership and control of Barcelona. It is the fourth-highest valued soccer team worldwide, valued at $4.76 billion. It is also the fourth most valuable football club, in terms of revenues, with an average annual revenue in the region of EUR582.1 million. The official Barcelona song is " Cant del Barca" composed by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinas. Barcelona typically plays with dark shades of blue, and the garnet stripes, which is why it's nicknamed Blaugrana.

On the national level, Barcelona has won a record-breaking 75 trophies, including 26, La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey 13 Supercopa de Espana, three Copa Eva Duarte, and two Copa de la Liga titles in addition to being the world record holder in the last four competitions. In international soccer, the club has been awarded twenty European and international titles, including Five UEFA Champions League titles, an unprecedented of four UEFA Cup Winners Cups, a record of five UEFA Super Cups and an unprecedented 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. The club has been ranked first in the world by Barcelona was ranked first on the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009 2011 and 2012, and currently sits in the sixth spot in the UEFA club rankings at the time of May 2022. The club has a long-running relationship against Real Madrid, and games between the two clubs are known by the name of The Clasico.

Barcelona is among the teams that are most popularly supported around the globe The club also has the most social media followers worldwide among teams of sports. Barcelona players have been awarded the record number of Ballon d'Or awards, with winners of the award including Johan Cruyff, as well as seven FIFA World Player of the Award which included Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. In the year 2010 three players who had come from the club's academy for youth (Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi) were selected as the top three players around the world for the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, which is a record for players who are from the same academy. In addition, players from the club have been awarded the record number of European Golden Shoe awards.

Barcelona is one of the three founders of the Primera Division that have never been exiled from the highest division since its creation at the end of 1929 together with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. The year 2009 saw Barcelona was the very first Spanish club to be awarded the continental treble comprising La Liga, Copa del Rey as well as the UEFA Champions League, and it also became the very first Spanish football team to be able to claim six of six tournaments in a single year. They also won both the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The club was European champions for the second time and won five trophies. The Barcelona team, which took home fourteen awards in the span of just the span of four seasons under the direction of Pep Guardiola is regarded by some within the sport as the greatest team ever. When they won five Champions League trophy in 2015, Barcelona became the first European football club to complete the continental treble on two occasions.

1. History

Please see below

1.1. 1899–1922: Beginnings

On the 22nd October of in 1899 Swiss Hans Gamper posted ads within Los Deportes declaring his intention to create an football club. A positive response led to an event in the Gimnasio Sole on November 29. Eleven players were present - Walter Wild (the first director of the club), Lluis d'Osso, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and William Parsons - and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was created.

FC Barcelona had a successful start to the season in both national and regional cups, participating at the Campionat de Catalunya as well as the Copa del Rey. The club in 1902 was awarded its first trophy in the form of that of the Copa Macaya, and participated in the inaugural Copa del Rey, losing 2 against Bizcaya during the championship final. It was 1908 when Hans Gamper - now known as Joan Gamper - became club president in a desperate effort in order to keep Barcelona from demise, and found the club struggling not only on the field as well as economically and socially, following not having won a trophy since the Campionat of Catalunya which was held in 1905. In a meeting, he said, "Barcelona cannot die and will not be destroyed. If no one will try the club, then I'll assume the charge of managing the club from this point on." The club president was elected on five distinct times between 1908 and. He stayed for a total of 25 years total in charge. One of his greatest accomplishments was helping Barca get its own stadium, which helped create a steady stream of income.

On March 14, 1909, they relocated to the Camp de la Industria which had a stadium with the capacity of 8000. To mark their new home the club organized an identity contest in the next year. Carles Comamala won the contest and his idea was adopted as the emblem which the club continues to wear but with minor tweaks in the current day.

The new stadium was built and Barcelona was a participant in the inaugural stage of the Pyrenees Cup, which in the time of its creation, comprised of the top teams from Languedoc, Midi and Aquitaine (Southern France) and in addition to the Basque Country and Catalonia; they were all previous members from the Marca Hispanica region. It was one of the most prestigious of that time. From the very first year in 1910 until 1913 Barcelona was the winner four times in succession. Carles Comamala was a key part in the four-time champion and was the team's manager alongside Amechazurra and Jack Greenwell. The latter was the first coach to be full-time at the club in 1917. The last tournament was held on the 14th of January in Barcelona and the local team Espanyol took the title.

In the same time that the club was changing their official language, that was previously Castilian and then Catalan which then gradually transformed into a sign for Catalan identity. For many fans, being a part in the club was less to do with the sport as such and more about being part of the club's overall identity. On February 4, 1917 the team hosted its first memorial match to honor the memory of Ramon Torralba who was a player from 1913 until 1928. The match was played against local team Terrassa in which Barcelona took the victory 6-2.

Gamper also launched an effort to increase the number of club members. By 1922, the club's membership was more than 20,000 who helped to finance a brand new stadium. The club later moved to the brand new Les Cortes stadium, which they opened the following year. Les Cortes had an initial capacity of 30,000, but during the 1940s, the capacity was increased to the capacity of 60,000.

Gamper enlisted Jack Greenwell as the first permanent manager in Barcelona's history. After his appointment the club's fortunes began getting better on the field. In the era of Gamper, Barcelona won eleven Campionats de Catalunya and Six Copa del Rey and four Pyrenees Cups. It also enjoyed their beginning "golden time".

1.2. 1923–1957: Rivera, Republic and Civil War

On the 14th of June 1925, as a spontaneous protest against Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, the people in the stadium cheered on in a rage against the Royal March. In response the stadium was shut down for six months, and Gamper was forced to give up the post of president at the club. The transition was akin into professional football. Moreover in 1926 Directors of Barcelona made public statements in the very first instance, that they would run a professional football club.

The 3rd July of 1927 was the day the club played an additional match to mark the anniversary of Paulino Alcantara and the Spanish nation's team. In the opening match of the tournament an local pilot and journalist Josep Canudas dropped the ball on the pitch from his aircraft. In 1928, winning the Spanish Cup was celebrated with the poem "Oda a Plako" that was composed by one of the Generation of the year '27, Rafael Alberti, inspired by the dramatic performance of Barcelona goalkeeper Franz Platko.On 23 June 1929, Barcelona won the inaugural Spanish League. After winning the title the following day, on July 30, 1930, Gamper took his own life following a depression-related period that was caused due to financial and personal problems.

Even though they still had players with the stature that of Josep Escola The club was now in an era of decline where political tensions dominated the sport in all of society. Participation at games fell as the population of Barcelona were consumed with discussions of issues of politics. While the team was successful in winning the Campionat of Catalunya in 1930 and 1931, 1932, 1934 1936, and 1938 but success at a at a national scale (with only the 1937 title dispute) did not come their way.

A month following that the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, many players from Barcelona joined the ranks of the soldiers fighting against the military rebellion as well as the players of Athletic Bilbao. On August 6, Falangist soldiers near Guadarrama killed the president of the club Josep Sunyol. He was a spokesman of the pro-independence party.[34The man was known as the barcelonisme martyr and his death was a turning point in the time of FC Barcelona and Catalan identity. In 1937's summer the team was on the road in Mexico as well as Mexico and the United States, where it was honoured as an ambassador to in the second Spanish Republic. The tour resulted in the financial stability of the club. However, it also led to half the players needing the asylum within Mexico and France which made it difficult for the remainder of the team to compete for trophy awards.

On the 16th of March 1938 Barcelona received an aerial attack by the Italian Air Force that resulted in over 3000 deaths, with an explosion striking the offices of the club. Then, a few months later Catalonia was under the control of the Spanish government and, as a symbol of its "undisciplined" Catalanism The club, which was with just 3,486 members, had to face several restrictions. Any sign of regional nationalism, like flag, language and other indications of independence were prohibited throughout Spain. In addition, the Catalan flag was banned, and the club was prohibited from using names that were not Spanish. The club was forced in changing its name Club de Futbol Barcelona and also to eliminate the Catalan flag from its crest.

In 1943, Barcelona faced rivals Real Madrid during the semi-finals of the Copa del Generalisimo (now the Copa del Rey). The first game held at Les Corts was won by Barcelona with a score of 3-0. Real Madrid comfortably won the second match, beating Barcelona 11-1. According to writer for the sport Sid Lowe, "There were a little mentions of the match since then, and it's not an outcome which has been a lot of attention in Madrid. In fact, the 11-1 has an even more prominent position in the history of Barcelona. It was the first match that led to the concept with Madrid as the side of the dictatorship, and Barcelona as the victims." According to the local newspaper journalist Paco Aguilar, that Barcelona's players were allegedly snatched by the police in the changing rooms, but nothing has ever been proven.

Despite the difficult political environment, CF Barcelona had a great run during the 1950s and 1940s. In 1945 with Josep Samitier as coach, and players such as Cesar, Ramallets and Velasco and others, they took home La Liga for the first time since 1929. They won two more championships in the years 1948 and 1949. They also won the Copa Latina in 1949. 1949 they also won the inaugural Copa Latina. The year was June, 1950. Barcelona hired Laszlo Kubala who would become an important player for the club.[On the rainy day of 1951, the fans left Les Corts stadium following the 2-1 victory over Santander on walking, refusing to take trams, which shocked authorities. Francoist authorities. The reason was straightforward that at the same an unrest in the trams was going on in Barcelona with the backing of the blaugrana supporters. These events have made CF Barcelona represent much more than Catalonia and a lot of modern Spaniards believed that the club was an unwavering champion of freedoms as well as rights and freedoms.

The coach Ferdinand Daucik and Laszlo Kubala took the team to five different awards, including La Liga, the Copa del Generalisimo and the Copa Latina, the Copa Eva Duarte as well as the Copa Martini Rossi in 1952. The year 1953 saw the team was crowned champions in La Liga and the Copa del Generalisimo again.

1.3. 1957–1978: Club de Fútbol Barcelona

The team was led by Helenio Herrera as the coach and a promising youthful Luis Suarez, the European Footballer of the Year in the year 1960 as well as two powerful Hungarians who were recommended through Kubala, Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor The team also won a national double in 1959 as well as the La Liga and Fairs Cup double in the year 1960. In 1961 they were the very first team to defeat Real Madrid in a European Cup play-off. They lost 3-2 against Benfica at the end of the game.

The 1960s were not as successful for the club, as Real Madrid monopolising La Liga. The construction of the Camp Nou, completed in the year 1957, meant the club was left with little to invest in new players. In the 1960s, there was rise from Josep Maria Fuste and Carles Rexach The club was awarded the Copa del Generalisimo in 1963 as well as in 1966, the Fairs Cup in 1966. Barcelona brought back some pride after defeating Real Madrid 1-0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalisimo final at the Santiago Bernabeu in the presence the imposing presence of Francisco Franco, along with manager Salvador Artigas, who was a former republican pilot during the Civil War. After the Franco's regime in 1974, it changed the team's name as Futbol FC Barcelona and changed the crest back to its original style, including the original letters again.

The 1973-74 season witnessed the debut of Johan Cruyff and was acquired for a record price of $920,000 by Ajax.  A seasoned player at Ajax Cruyff soon won over Barcelona fans after he announced to the European media that he had chosen Barcelona ahead of Real Madrid because he could not join a club which was associated by Francisco Franco. He also gained a lot of respect by naming his child "Jordi", following his hometown Catalan Saint George. In addition to champions such as Jose Manuel Asensi, Carles Rexach and Hugo Sotil, He helped Barcelona win their 1973-74 football season to win the league for the first time in winning 5-0 against Real Madrid 5-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu en route. He was awarded the European Footballer of the year in 1973, during his first season at Barcelona (his the second Ballon d'Or award after he had won the first when at Ajax during the 1971 season). Cruyff was awarded the prestigious award for the third time (the first time a player has done it three times) during 1974 when he was still at Barcelona.

1.4. 1978–2000: Núñez and stabilization

Since 1978 Josep Luis Nunez was elected as the first the president in the history of FC Barcelona, and, since then, the club's members of Barcelona have been electing the club's president. The selection process for electing the head for FC Barcelona was closely tied to the transition of Spain to democracy in 1974 and the ending to Franco's system of dictatorship. The main goal of the new president was to transform Barcelona into a top club, by ensuring stability in and off the pitch. His presidency would last for 22 years and it profoundly affected Barcelona's image. Barcelona because Nunez adhered an uncompromising policy in regards to pay and discipline. He also let go of players like Diego Maradona, Romario and Ronaldo instead of fulfilling their demands.

The 16th May of 1979 was the day that the club was awarded the initial european Cup winners Cup by defeating Fortuna Dusseldorf 4-3 in Basel in an event that was attended by more than 3000 bluegrana supporters. In the same year Nunez began investing in the youth program of the club by changing the La Masia into an academy dormitory for young players from other countries. Its name was changed to La Masia. hostel was later to become associated with Barcelona's youth team of Barcelona.

On June 22, 1982 Diego Maradona was signed for a record price that was PS5 million , which was paid by Boca Juniors. The subsequent season, with manager Cesar Luis Menotti, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. Maradona's tenure at Barcelona however, was brief and he quickly quit for Napoli. The start of 1984-1985 year, Terry Venables was appointed manager. the team won La Liga with noteworthy displays by German midfielder Bernd Schuster. In the following season, he led the team to the third European Cup final but lost in penalties in the final to Steaua in Bucuresti in a dramatic night during a dramatic evening in Seville.

In the same period tensions began to develop between what was perceived to be dictatorial regime of President Nunez and the support group for nationalists, Boixos Nois. The group, which identified with left-wing separatism, frequently called for that Nunez resign. Nunez and defied the president with banners and chants at games. In the meantime, Barcelona experienced an eruption of skinheads who were often associated with the right-wing-leaning separatism. Skinheads slowly shifted Boixos Nois' philosophy to liberalism to fascism and led to discord within the group as well as the sudden acceptance of the presidency of Nunez. Inspired by British hooligans, members of the Boixos Nois became violent, which led to chaos and arrests.

Following following the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Barcelona signed English leading scorer Gary Lineker, as well as goalie Andoni Zubizarreta however, the team was not able to achieve success as Schuster was dropped from the squad. Terry Venables was subsequently fired at the start of the 1987-88 campaign and was replaced by Luis Aragones. The season concluded with players revolting against Nunez, the president and the president, in a fracas called the Hesperia revolt, and an 1-0 win at the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.

1.4.1. The Dream Team era

It was 1988 when Johan Cruyff returned to the club as manager, and he gathered the team later to be known as"the "Dream team". He incorporated a variety of Spanish players such as Pep Guardiola Jose Mari Bakero, Jon Andoni Goikoetxea, Miguel Angel Nadal and Txiki Begiristain. He also signed international players like Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romario and Hristo Stoichkov.

It was ten years following the introduction of the youth program, La Masia, when the players of the program were able to graduate and begin playing in their very first club. One of the first to graduate who later earned international recognition was the later Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. Under the direction of Cruyff, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 until 1994. They defeated Sampdoria at both the 1989 Final of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup final and in the 1991 European Cup final at Wembley and won with the goal of a free kick from Dutch national Ronald Koeman. They also took home the Copa del Rey in 1990 and in 1992, the European Super Cup in 1992, and the three Supercopa de Espana trophies. With 11 awards, Cruyff became the club's most successful manager in the span of. He was also the club's longest continuous manager, with a tenure of eight years. His fortunes changed as he entered the final two seasons of his tenure the club failed to win any awards and he fell out with the president Josep Luis Nunez which resulted in his defection. The influence of the football philosophy of Cruyff and the style of play that he introduced at the team, the future head coach at Barcelona Pep Guardiola used to say, "Cruyff built the cathedral it's our responsibility to keep it up and running and make it more modern."

In response to the departure of Cruyff, an opposition group independent of the club was formed through Armand Caraben, Joan Laporta and Alfons Godall. The aim that the group had, which was dubbed "L'Elefant Blau was to protest against Laporta's presidency Nunez who they saw as a violation of the club's values. Laporta was to later assume the presidentship of Barcelona in 2003.

Cruyff was briefly was replaced in the interim by Bobby Robson, who was the new manager of the team for just one season between 1996 and 1997. Robson signed Ronaldo to pay an all-time record transfer price from his former club, PSV as well as was able to deliver the cup triple that included winning the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Cup Winners' Trophy in addition to the Supercopa de Espana, with Ronaldo scoring 47 goals in 49 games. Despite his achievements, Robson was only ever thought of as a short-term solution, while the club were waiting to see Louis van Gaal to be available.

As Maradona did, Ronaldo only stayed a short period of time before departing to join Inter Milan in another world record transfer. But, new heroes came to the forefront in the form of Luis Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo and the team also won the Copa del Rey and La Liga double in 1998. In 1999 the club was able to celebrate its centenary and won its first Primera Division title, and Rivaldo was one of the four Barcelona player to receive the European Footballer of the Year. Despite this success in the domestic league however, the club's inability to replicate Real Madrid in the Champions League resulted in van Gaal and Nunez resigning in 2000.

1.5. 2000–2008: Exit Núñez, enter Laporta

Nunez and Van Gaal's departure from the club Nunez along with Van Gaal were hardly noticed by the crowd as compared to Luis Figo, then club vice-captain. Figo was the subject of a popular cult and was believed by Catalans as an individual from their own. Barcelona supporters, however, were furious at his decision to join the arch-rivals Real Madrid, and, in subsequent visits to Camp Nou, Figo was received with a scathing rebuke. On his return with a pig's head as well as a bottle of whiskey was thrown at him by the crowd. The following three years were marked by the side slide into decline and managers come and left. Van Gaal was replaced by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer who, despite a massive spending on players in this summer, was responsible for an indifferent league campaign as well as an early round Champions League exit, and was dismissed at the end of the season. The long-running Barcelona assistant manager Carles Rexach was appointed as his replacement initially as a temporary replacement and was able to guide the club towards the final Champions League spot on the last game of the year, against Valencia with a stunning performance by Rivaldo who completed what is believed to be the most impressive hat-trick in football history by scoring an overhead bicycle kick goal in the closing minutes to ensure the qualification.

Despite better results with respect to La Liga and a good run to semi-finals of the Champions League, Rexach was not considered an ideal long-term solution. In was the summer that Van Gaal returned to the club for a second stint as manager. The result, despite a good Champions League performance, was one of the most disappointing La Liga campaigns in the club's history, and the team was being ranked as low as 15th in February 2003. The result was Van Gaal's resignation, and his replacement for the remainder of the season of Radomir Antic, although an eighth-place finishing was the best the team could achieve. After the season, the contract for a short time was not renewed and the club's the president Joan Gaspart was forced to resign, his post being rendered unsustainable because of a disastrous season as well as the overall decline of the club's performance since he was elected president three years before.

Following the debacle in the Gaspart era The combination of a young President, Joan Laporta, and a new manager who was young who was a the former Dutch as well as AC Milan star Frank Rijkaard which was able to see the club return. The field was filled with there was an influx from international stars, which included Ronaldinho, Deco, Henrik Larsson, Ludovic Giuly, Samuel Eto'o, Rafael Marquez and Edgar Davids, combined with local Spanish players such as Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Victor Valdes and resulted in the club's return to the top of the ladder. Barcelona was crowned champions of La Liga and the Supercopa de Espana in 2004-05 as well as Ronaldinho and Eto'o were named first and third and third, respectively, at the FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

in the the 2005-06 campaign, Barcelona repeated their league and Supercopa triumphs. The most awe-inspiring moment in the season of league came on the Santiago Bernabeu in a 3-0 victory against Real Madrid. It was the second time that Rijkaard has won at the Bernabeu and he became one of the few Barcelona manager to be crowned the winner twice. Ronaldinho's performance was so spectacular that, after scoring his second goal that was Barcelona's third, a few Real Madrid fans gave him an ovation standing up. In the Champions League, Barcelona beat the English club Arsenal at the end of. With a ten-man team in the lead, Arsenal trailed 1-0. Arsenal and with just 15 minutes left, they returned to beat Arsenal 2-1. Substitute Henrik Larsson, in his final game for the club scoring goal goals by Samuel Eto'o as well as his fellow player Juliano Belletti, to give the club its the first European Cup victory in 14 years.

Despite being the most popular team and having a strong start, Barcelona finished the season of 2006-07 without any trophies. The preseason US trip was blamed later for a series that injured key players such as Eto'o's top scorer as well as rising superstar Lionel Messi. There was a flurry of disagreements when Eto'o publicly criticized coach Rijkaard as well as Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho acknowledged that his fitness level had affected his performance. Then, in La Liga, Barcelona were at the top for much of the season. However, inconsistent play in the new year was the reason that Real Madrid overtake them to be champions. Barcelona reached the semi-finals of Copa del Rey, winning the first game in the first leg against Getafe with a score of 5-2 thanks to a goal by Messi that brought comparisons of Diego Maradona's goal of the century and then losing the second game by a score of 4-0. They took part in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side Internacional. In the Champions League, Barcelona were knocked out of the competition in the last 16 by eventual runners-up Liverpool with away goals.

Barcelona finished the 2007-08 season third in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, both times losing to the eventual champions,Manchester United as well as Valencia respectively. Following the loss of 4-1 against Real Madrid, Joan Laporta declared the news that Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola would assume Frank Rijkaard's responsibilities on the 30th of June 2008.

1.6. 2008–2012: Guardiola era

Barcelona B Youth manager Pep Guardiola assumed Frank Rijkaard's job after the close of the season. The new Barcelona B youth manager Pep Guardiola brought to the club the now-famous the tiki-taka style of football the coach had taught him while playing in his time in the Barcelona youngsters. The process led to Guardiola let go of Ronaldinho as well as Deco and began building his Barcelona squad with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Barca defeated Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey Final which saw them win the Copa del Rey Final for the record-breaking 25th time. The historic victory of 2-6 over Real Madrid followed three days after and saw Barcelona were crowned the 2008-09 La Liga champions. Barca ended the season with defeating Manchester United 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and scored goals from Eto'o and Messi and clinched their 3rd Champions League title, and complete the first treble ever achieved by the Spanish team.[91][92][93 The team then went on to win in 2009 the Supercopa de Espana against Athletic Bilbaothe, 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk. They became one of the very first European soccer club that has won both the domestic as well as European Super Cups after an unprecedented triple. On December 9, 2009, Barcelona was the winner of their first ever World Cup in 2009. Club World Cup. Barcelona broke two world records for Spanish football during 2010, when they won their La Liga trophy with 99 points, and also took home the Supercopa de Espana for a ninth time.

After Laporta's departure of his club at the end of June, Sandro Rosell was quickly elected as his replacement as president. The election was held on June 13, where the president received 61.35 percent (57,088 votes, which is a record) of the votes cast. Rosell has signed David Villa from Valencia for EUR40 million, as well as Javier Mascherano from Liverpool for EUR19 million. In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Barcelona players that had completed their training in La Masia, the team's La Masia youth system would be a key part of Spain being world champions. On the 11th of July seven players that came through the academy took part at the final and six were Barcelona players who started the game in the first half, with Iniesta scoring the winner in the match against Netherlands.

In November of 2010, Barcelona defeated their main adversaries Real Madrid 5-0 in El Clasico. In the celebration for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or in December the Barcelona's La Masia became the first youth academy to ever boast three of the three finalists in the Ballon d'Or, with Messi, Iniesta and Xavi being named the top three players of the world in the year 2010. The the 2010-11 campaign, Barcelona retained the La Liga trophy, their third consecutive title and finished with 96 points. In April of 2011 the club made it to finals in the Copa del Rey final but lost 1-1 in the final to Real Madrid at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. It was in the month of May that Barcelona lost to Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League Final 3-1 that was held in Wembley Stadium, an exact replica of the final of 2009, and clinched four times the European Cup. In August of 2011, La Masia graduate Cesc Fabregas was purchased from Arsenal and would assist Barcelona in their defense of the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid. The Supercup win brought to the number of officially awarded awards to 73, which is the same as those titles that were won from Real Madrid.

In the same time, Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup winning the Super Cup by beating Porto by 2-0, thanks to goals scored by Messi as well as Fabregas. The win increased the club's total number of official awards to 74, beating Real Madrid's total number of official awarding trophies. This Super Cup victory also saw Guardiola take home his 12th trophy of the possible 15 during his three years as the manager of the club. He became the record-holder for the most awards won by the manager at Barcelona.

It was in December that Barcelona took home their first Club World Cup for the second time in a row since the tournament's inception, winning the their 2011 Copa Libertadores holders Santos 4-1 at the final with two goals scored by Messi and goals scored by Xavi as well as Fabregas. The result was that the total number of trophy wins during the time of Guardiola was extended further and was able to see Barcelona take home their 13th trophy of 16. Considered by certain people in the game as the best team ever and with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson declaring, "They mesmerise you with their speed and agility" and their five awards during 2011 helped them be awarded their Laureus World Sports Award for the Team of the Year.

In the 2011-12 season, Barcelona lost the semi-finals of the Champions League against Chelsea. Guardiola was on a roll-over contract, and had been subject to criticism regarding his decisions and tactics the club announced that he would quit as manager on the 30th of June and be replaced with assistant Tito Vilanova. Guardiola completed his stint by winning the Copa del Rey final. Barca taking their Copa del Rey final 3-0. This brought the total to 14 awards that Barca were awarded under his guidance.

In the summer of 2012 Tito Vilanova, assistant manager at Barcelona will replace Pep Guardiola in the role of manager. After the appointment of Vilanova, Barcelona began an remarkable run which was able to hold the top position on their league standings for almost the whole season, with only two losses and racking up 100 points. The top scorer for them was Lionel Messi, who scored 46 goals in La Liga, including two three-goals. On the 11th of May, 2013. Barcelona was crowned the Spanish soccer champions again for the second time having four games to play. The final result was that Barcelona finished the season with 15 points ahead of their arch-rivals Real Madrid, despite losing 2-1 against them in the middle of March. They made it to the semi-finals for both Copa del Rey as well as the Champions League, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the respective semi-finals. On the 19th of July the news was made public that Vilanova had resigned as Barcelona manager due to the fact that the cancer of his throat had returned and he was being treated for the third time following the three-month medical absence in December 2012.

1.7. 2014–2020: Bartomeu era

On the 22nd of July, 2013 Gerardo "Tata" Martino was named director of Barcelona in this 2014 season. Barcelona was crowned champions of their 2014 Supercopa de Espana 1-1 with goals from away. On the 23rd of January, 2014 Sandro Rosall quit as President due to the possibility of a claim for misuse of funds due to the sale from Neymar. Josep Maria Bartomeu was his replacement to complete the term.

Barcelona achieved the treble during this year 2014-15 and won La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles, and became the first European team to achieve the treble two times. On May 17 Barcelona won its 23rd La Liga title after defeating Atletico Madrid. The Barcelona team won their 7th La Liga title in the past ten years. On May 30, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final at Camp Nou. On 6 June, Barcelona won the 2015 Champions League Final with a 3-1 win against Juventus Juventus F.C., who was able to complete the treble. It was the club's first in six years. Barcelona's attacking trio comprised of Messi, Suarez and Neymar who was dubbed "MSN" and scored 122 goals across all competitions. This was the most in a single season of an attack trio ever in Spanish football time.

The 11th of August was the day that Barcelona began with the 15-16 season with a world record of five European Super Cup by beating Sevilla 5-4 in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup. The team finished the year by winning 3-0 against Argentine team River Plate in the 2015 Club World Cup final on the 20th of December, to take home the trophy for the record third time. Suarez, Messi and Iniesta the top three players in the tournament. It was the Club World Cup was Barcelona's 20th title in international competition and the only one to be beaten in the case of Egyptian team Al Ahly. With 180 goals scored in the 2015 season across all tournaments, Barcelona set the record for the most goals scored in an entire calendar year. They broke the record set by Real Madrid of 178 goals in the year 2014. On the 10th of February, 2016, the team qualified to play in the 6th Copa del Rey final in the past eight seasons Luis Enrique's Barcelona beat the club's streak of 28 consecutive matches unbeaten in all competitions, set by the Guardiola team during the 2010-11 season. This was followed by an 1-1 draw against Valencia at the end of the first match in the 2015-16 Copa del Rey. After a 5-1 victory in Rayo Vallecano in March 3 which was Barcelona's 35th game unbeaten The club beat the record of Real Madrid's Spanish record of 34 consecutive games without a loss throughout in the season 1988-1989. After Barca was unbeaten in 39 matches and won on the 2nd of April, 2016 after a 2-1 loss against Real Madrid at Camp Nou. On May 14, 2016, Barcelona won their sixth La Liga title in eight seasons. The trio comprising Messi, Suarez and Neymar completed their season scoring 131 times surpassing the record they set the year before for the most goals scored by an offensive trio one season.

On March 8, 2017 Barcelona recorded the most dramatic rebound ever in Champions League history in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg beating Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 (aggregate score 6-5) even though they lost their first match in France by an aggregate score of 4-1. On the 29th of May, 2017 the former Barcelona player Ernesto Valverde was announced as Luis Enrique's next successor. On September 20, 2017 Barcelona issued a statement outlining their position regarding the referendum in the 2017 Catalan referendum declaring, "FC Barcelona, in keeping with the highest respect for its varied group of players will continue to support the wishes of the majority of the Catalan citizens and do it in a calm, civil and uncompromising manner". The game with UD Las Palmas on the day of the referendum was scheduled to be postponed from the Barcelona board due to the heavy violence in Catalonia However, the request (the demand) was denied from La Liga, therefore being kept in a closed-door manner. Directors Jordi Mones, and Carles Vilarrubi, gave in their resignations as a protest against the manner in which the match was played. In the finals of La Liga for the 2017-18 season on May 9, 2018, Barcelona defeated Villarreal 5-1 to establish the longest streak of unbeaten (43 matches) throughout La Liga history. On the 27th of April, 2019 Barcelona claimed the 26th La Liga title. But winning the La Liga title was overshadowed by an unlikely Champions League exit to Liverpool in the semi-finals in which Barca defeating the 2nd leg by a score of 0-4, despite having a 3-0 lead following an at-home win.

On January 13, 2020, following the defeat at Atletico Madrid during the Spanish Supercup, the former Real Betis coach Quique Setien was appointed to replace Ernesto Valverde as the new head coach at Barcelona. Then, Barcelona ended the season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years. On August 17 the club made it clear that Setien was dismissed from his post as manager, with the director of football Eric Abidal being dismissed from his post. A few days later, Ronald Koeman was appointed manager in the new season at Barcelona. There was a growing discontent among the supporters because of the deterioration in finances and a decline on the pitch during the previous season resulted in Josep Maria Bartomeu's retirement as the president of Barcelona on October 2020 to be safe from a vote of no-confidence from the club's membership.

1.8. 2021–present: Return of Laporta and departure of Messi

On the 7th of March in 2021 Joan Laporta was elected the president of Barcelona with 54.28 percent of the votes. Barcelona took home the 31st Copa del Rey, their sole title during the reign of Ronald Koeman, after defeating Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in the final. On August 20, 2021. with the club's debt at 1.35bn euros and a wage bill that accounted for 103% of their total earnings, Barcelona could not comply with the financial Fair Play requirements. This caused the resignation of Lionel Messi, the club's top goalscorer of all time in the history of the club, when La Liga refused to accept the extension of his current contract. The club also imposed restrictions on Barcelona on the market for transfers since the majority of new players came on either loans or free transfers. Also, they had to cut the wages of players to accommodate new players. The poor performance on the field of domestic football as well as Champions League led to Barcelona firing coach Ronald Koeman on 28 October and Xavi taking over his place. Xavi could not stop Barcelona's departure out of Champions League in the group stages, and then they went on to play with the Europa League for the first time in 17 years, during which they lost in the quarterfinals.

2. Support

The name the culer for the Barcelona fan is derived of the Catalan cul (English arse) in reference to the fact that the fans at the stadium that was first built, Camp de la Industria were seated in their culs on top of the stand. In Spain around 25 percent of the population are thought to be Barca supporters, which is second only to Real Madrid, supported by 32 percent of the people. In Europe, Barcelona is the most popular second-choice team. The number of members at the club has increased significantly from 100,000 during the 2003-04 season , to one70,000 by September 2009. with the rapid growth is attributed by the impact of Ronaldinho, as well as then-President Joan Laporta's policy on media which was concentrated on Spanish as well as English internet-based media.

Alongside membership, in 2022 there are 1,264 official recognized fan clubs, also known as penyes across the globe. Fan clubs are able to promote Barcelona within their communities and are rewarded with discounts when they visit Barcelona. As one of the top worldwide supported teams, Barcelona has the second most social media followers in the world , among teams of sports, boasting more than 100 million fans on Facebook in December 2021 just behind Real Madrid with 111 million. The club has seen numerous notable people as supporters such as Pope John Paul II whom was an honored member and former premier in Spain Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

3. Club rivalries

As below mentioned.

3.1. El Clásico

There is usually a fierce rivalry between two of the strongest teams in a league of national significance, and this is the case with La Liga in which the match of Barcelona with Real Madrid is often referred to as "The Classic" ( El Clasico). Since the beginning of national tournaments, the teams were seen as representative of two different regions of Spain: Catalonia and Castile and Castile, as well as their respective cities. The rivalry is a reflection of what is believed to be social and political tensions in the relationship between Catalans as well as Castilians and is interpreted by one writer as a reenactment from that of the Spanish Civil War. Through the years the record for head-to head matches of the clubs is 100 wins for Madrid and 97 wins for Barcelona and 52 draws.

In in the 30s Barcelona "had acquired a reputation as a symbol for Catalan identity, which was in contrast to the centralisation tendency that were prevalent in Madrid". In 1936, the year that Francisco Franco started the Coup d'etat against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, part of the Republican Left of Catalonia and the deputy of The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's forces (Sunyol was pursuing his political activities while traveling with Republican troops from north from Madrid). Under the regimes under the dictatorships of Miguel Primo de Rivera and, more specifically, Francisco Franco, the various regional languages and identity in Spain were considered to be a derogatory and controlled. In the end, the majority of people living in Barcelona were in a strong opposition against the fascist-like government. At this time, Barcelona gained their motto Mes that's a club ( English: More than an organization) due to the rumored connection to Catalan nationalists as well as progressive convictions.

There's a debate ongoing about how much Franco's reign (1939-75) had an impact on the activities and the results on the field of Barcelona as well as Real Madrid. The fans of both clubs often overstate the truths of their own narratives. Many historians agree that Franco was not a fan of his preferred team for football, however, his Spanish nationalist views caused him to be associated with the established teams, like Atletico Aviacion and Madrid FC (that was able to regain the Royal name following the collapse of the Republic). However he also wanted to see the newly named CF Barcelona succeed as a "Spanish team" instead of being a Catalan one. In the beginning under Franco's regime, Real Madrid weren't particularly prosperous, winning only 2 Copa del Generalisimo titles as well as the Copa Eva Duarte; Barcelona claimed three league titles as well as three league titles, one Copa del Generalisimo and one Copa Eva Duarte. At the time, Atletico Aviacion were believed to be the team of choice in the league over Real Madrid. The most controversial moments of the time are Real Madrid's 11-1 win at home over Barcelona during the Copa del Generalisimo that saw the Catalan team claimed to have been intimidated, and the controversial move from Alfredo Di Stefano to Real Madrid despite his agreement with Barcelona. The latter transfer was a part of Real Madrid chairman Santiago Bernabeu's "revolution" that brought in a period of unimaginable dominance. Bernabeu was himself an ex-serviceman from his time in the Civil War who fought for Franco's forces was able to put Real Madrid on top not just of Spanish however also European football. He also helped to in the creation of the European Cup, the first real competition for the top clubs in Europe. His plan was realized as Real Madrid not only started winning consecutive league titles, but also won the first five seasons of the European Cup in the 1950s. These games had a significant influence in Spanish football and affected Franco's style of play. According to the historians, during this period, he understood how important Real Madrid for his regime's image abroad and it became his favorite team up to the point of his passing. Fernando Maria Castiella who was Secretary of Foreign Affairs under Franco from 1957 to 1969, stated that "[Real Madridis the most embassy-like one that we've been able to have." Franco died in 1975 after which it was the Spanish democratic transition was swiftly began. Under his administration, Real Madrid had been awarded fourteen league championships, six Copa del Generalisimo titles, 1 Copa Eva Duarte, 6 European Cups, 2 Latin Cups and 1 Intercontinental Cup. The same time, Barcelona had won eight league titles and the 9 Copa del Generalisimo titles, 3 Copa Eva Duarte titles, 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups and two Latin Cups.

The rivalry intensified in the 1950s, when clubs debated their decision to sign Alfredo Di Stefano. Di Stefano had impressed both Barcelona as well as Real Madrid while playing for Los Millionarios in Bogota, Colombia during a strike by players in his home country of Argentina. After Millonarios returned back to Colombia, Barcelona directors visited Buenos Aires and agreed with River Plate, the last FIFA-affiliated team that held Di Stefano's rights for his move to the club in 1954 in exchange for 150 million Italian lira (according according to other sources, 200,000 dollars). This triggered a fight between two Spanish rivals over his rights. FIFA named Armando Munoz Calero, former president of the Spanish Football Federation as mediator. Calero chose to allow Di Stefano play the 1953-54 and 1955-56 seasons in Madrid as well as the 1954-55 and 1956-1957 seasons in Barcelona. The agreement was accepted by both the Football Association and their respective clubs. Even though the Catalans were in agreement, the decision led to a wide range of disagreement among Blaugrana members, and The president had to step down in September 1953. Barcelona gave Madrid their half-share then Di Stefano moved to Los Blancos, signing an agreement for four years. Real was paid 5.5 millions Spanish pesetas to make the move as well as an 1.3 million bonus in exchange for the purchase, a fee per year due to the Millonarios and an annual salary of 16,000 for Di Stefano with a bonus equal to his teammates, which amounts to an overall 40 percent of the annual revenues for this Madrid club.

Di Stefano became integral in the later success of Real Madrid, scoring twice in the first match against Barcelona. Together with Di Stefano, Madrid won the first five times of the European Cup. In the 1960s, this rivalry began to take over the European stage, when Real Madrid and Barcelona met twice in the European Cup, with Madrid winning their fifth consecutive championship during the years 1959-60 and Barcelona triumphing in defeating the trophy in 60-61. In 2002 the European match between the two clubs was called the "Match of the century" in the Spanish media. Madrid's victory was watched by over 500 million viewers. A tense match that is known for its indiscretion and spectacular goals and celebrations of both teams, usually involving mocking opponents The most notable celebrations took place in 2009, when Barcelona captain Carles Puyol smiled at his Catalan armband in front of angry Madrid supporters in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and in 2017 , when Lionel Messi celebrated his 93rd-minute victory to Barcelona in the match against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu by removing the top of his Barcelona shirt and putting it on display to angry Real Madrid fans - with his name and number in front of them.

3.2. El derbi BarcelonĂ­

The Barca's closest adversary has been Espanyol. Blanc-i-blaus as among the teams with Royal patronage established solely by Spanish football fans, in contrast to the international nature of Barca's main board. The initial policy of the organization was opposed to Barcelona, and they perceived FC Barcelona as a team made up of foreigners. The rivalry was bolstered by the fact that Catalonians considered to be an aggressive representation of Madrid. The original site was the prosperous area that is Sarria.

Historically, Espanyol was seen by the majority of Barcelona's residents as a club that promoted an attitude of conformity to the central government which was in sharp contrast to Barca's more radical spirit. In the 60s and 70s when FC Barcelona acted as an integrative force for Catalonia's recent residents from less affluent regions of Spain looking for an improved life, Espanyol drew their support mostly from the sectors that were closely associated with those who were a part of the regime like policemen as well as military officers civil servants, police officers, and fascists.

in 1918 Espanyol began a protest against independence, which by the time was an important question. In the following years an Espanyol supporters' group would join the Falangists during the Spanish Civil War, siding with the fascists. Despite these different ideologies and political views, it is true that the derbi has always been more important to Espanyol supporters more than Barcelona ones because of the differences in goals. The contest has become more political since Espanyol changed its name and its anthem in Spanish into Catalan.

Although it is the most watched locally-based derby ever played in La Liga, it is also one of the most imbalanced and unbalanced, with Barcelona dominating the field. dominating. In the premier division league list, Espanyol has only managed to finish above Barca at three times in the span of over 87 seasons (1928-2022) as well as the sole Catalan-only Copa del Rey final was claimed in the favor of Barca in the year 1957.. Espanyol can take comfort in having the biggest margin of victory with a 6-0 victory in 1951. Barcelona's most significant victory was 5-0 seven times (in 1933 in 1947, 1947, 1964, 1995, 1992, in 2017 and 2016). Espanyol won 2-1 against Barca during the 2008-09 campaign as one of the teams to lose to Barcelona in Camp Nou in their treble-winning season.

3.3. Rivalry with AC Milan

One of Barcelona's main rivals on the field of European football comes from Italian team AC Milan. AC Milan is the team against whom Barcelona had the greatest number of games (19) It has also been the 2nd most-watched matches during European competitions, in a tie with Real Madrid-Juventus. Both are following Real Madrid-Bayern München (24). The two clubs that have the best success rates across Europe, Milan has won seven European Cups to Barca's five and both clubs have both won the record number of European Super Cups. Barcelona as well as Milan have also won continental titles, making them the third and second top teams the world of football, having won two titles, each, and both a step behind Barcelona's 26, which Real Madrid has won.

Barcelona is the leader in head-to-head records with seven wins and five losses. The first meeting between the two clubs occurred during the 1959-60 European Cup. They fought during the 16th round and Barca defeated Barcelona with 7-1 aggregate (0-2 at home in Milan while 5-1 was scored in Barcelona). Although Milan did not knock Barcelona from this European Cup, they beat Johan Cruyff's Dream Team 4-0 in the 1994 Champions League final, even though they were the underdogs. However, in 2013, Barcelona made a "historic" return from a 0-2 opening leg loss in the round 16 . 2013 Champions League, winning 4-1 in the Camp Nou.

4. Ownership and finances

Alongside Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna, Barcelona is a registered association. In contrast to the case of a restricted company that is limited to a few shareholders, it isn't possible to buy shares in the club, only membership. Members of Barcelona known as Socis comprise an assembly of delegates , which is the top over the club's governing body. In 2021, Barcelona had 144,000 members called socis.

In the year 2010, Forbes assessed Barcelona's worth at about EUR752 millions (US$1 billion) and ranked them fourth following Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal Based on data of the season 2008/09. As per Deloitte, Barcelona reported a revenue of EUR366 million during the same time frame, which was just behind Real Madrid, who generated EUR401 million in revenues. As of 2013, Forbes magazine listed Barcelona as the third-highest valued football team around the globe, just behind Real Madrid and Manchester United with a valuation in the region of $2.6 billion. The year 2014 was the time when Forbes classified them as the second highest-valued sports team in the world, valued at $3.2 billion. Deloitte assessed them as the fourth most prosperous football club in terms of revenues, having an annual revenue that was EUR484.6 million. In 2017 Forbes listed them as the fourth-highest valued soccer team around the globe, with an estimated team worth in the region of $3.64 billion. In the year 2018 Barcelona was the first sports team to exceed $1 billion in revenue per year. In November 2018, Barcelona became the first sport team to have a first-team average over PS10m ($13.8m) each year. But, the years of extravagant spending under the direction by Josep Maria Bartomeu (president between 2014 to 2020) and other reasons including the COVID-19 epidemic caused the club's total debt increase to around $1.4 billion by 2021, most of it in the short-term.

5. Records

In the month of March, 2021 Lionel Messi surpasses Xavi's record with 767 games played by Barcelona. Currently, he has 778 appearances across all competitions. He's also having the record of the highest number of appearances at La Liga matches for Barcelona by 521.

The Barcelona's all-time top goalscorer in officially-run competitions was Lionel Messi with 672 goals over Paulino Alcantara's 369 goals scored in March 2014, which stood for 87 consecutive years. At the end of December in 2020 Messi was also able to surpass Pele's score of 643 points scored for Santos and became the top official scorer for one club. Messi is the top goalscorer with Barcelona during European as well as international tournaments and is the league's record scorer, scoring 474 goals in La Liga. Other players also have scored over 100 league goals in Barcelona: Cesar Rodriguez (190), Luis Suarez (147), Laszlo Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (108). Josep Samitier is Barcelona's top scoring player at the Copa del Rey scoring 64 goals.

Laszlo Kubala holds Laszlo Kubala holds the La Liga record for most goals scored in a single game and scored seven goals against Sporting Gijon in 1952. Lionel Messi co-holds the Champions League record with five goals scored against Bayer Leverkusen in the year 2012. Eulogio Martinez was the top scorer for Barca in a cup match, with 7 goals in a game during a match with Atletico Madrid back in the year 1957..

Barcelona goalkeepers have claimed an unprecedented amount of Zamora trophy (20) in all, with Antoni Ramallets and Victor Valdes winning the record-breaking number of each. Valdes had a ratio of 0.832 goals-conceded-per-game, a La Liga record, and he also holds the record for longest period without conceding a goal (896 minutes) in all competitions for Barcelona. Claudio Bravo has the record for having the most not to lose a game for the first time in La Liga history, at 754 minutes.

Barcelona's manager with the longest tenure was Jack Greenwell, with nine years of service in two stints (1917-1924) in addition to (1931-1933) as well as Pep Guardiola is the manager with the most success at Barcelona (14 awards in four years). Most successful Barcelona athlete has been Lionel Messi with 35 trophies which is more than Andres Iniesta with 32 awards.

The Barcelona's Camp Nou is the biggest soccer stadium within Europe. The highest attendance at the club's home was 120,000 at the European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on the 3rd of March in 1986. The modernization of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of seats that are all-seated ensures that the record won't be broken in the near future since the current capacity for the Stadium is 99,354.

El Barca de les Cinc Copes is the first team in Spanish football to win five awards in one period (1951-1952). Barcelona has the distinction of being only one team that has played in each year of European competitions since their inception from 1955, including the noncompetitions like the UEFA competitions like the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The 18th December 2009 was the day that Barcelona became the first club to win the Inter- along with being the sole Spanish club to complete the continental treble, Barcelona became the first ever European football team to have won six awards in one calendar year (a sextuple). In January of 2018, Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for EUR120 million, the most expensive transfer fee ever paid by a club in its history. In August 2017, Barcelona player Neymar transferred to title="Paris Saint-Germain F.C. ">Paris Saint-Germain to receive a world record transfer cost that is EUR222 million.

In 2016 the Barcelona's La Masia was placed second according to CIES. International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) as having the top elite players in the academy industry around the world.

6. Kits and crest

The original emblem of the club was a diamond-shaped quartered crest , topped with the Crown of Aragon and the bat of King James as well as surrounded by two branches, one from laurel trees and the other of a palm. The club also shared the Barcelona coat of arms in a sign of its connection to the city and determination to be recognized as one. It was in the year 1910 that Barcelona had an open competition among its members to come up with the new crest. Winner was Carles Comamala, who at that time played for the club. Comamala's suggestions would become the crest that the club wears now with a few minor modifications. The crest is comprised in the St George Cross in the upper left corner, with the Catalan flag on the right and the club colours on the bottom.

Blue and garnet shades of the shirt were first seen in a game in the match against Hispania during the year 1900. There are a variety of theories proposed regarding this blue-and-gray pattern that is on the Barcelona shirt. One theory is that the son of president Arthur Witty believed that the design was conceived by his father, as the colors were similar to those of the colors of the Merchant Taylor's School team. Another explanation, as suggested by the author Toni Strubell, is that the colors come of the Robespierre's First Republic. In Catalonia the general perception is that the colors were picked by Joan Gamper. They are the colours of the team he played for, FC Basel.

Since 1998, the club has had a kit deal with Nike. The contract was renewed until 2028 , for an unprecedented EUR155 million annually. The contract contains the clause that sanctions penalties or termination of the agreement at any time should Barcelona do not qualify for the European competitions or is disqualified to La Liga.

6.1. Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt main sponsor Shirt sub sponsor(s)
1899–1982 None None None
1982–1992 Meyba
1992–1998 Kappa
1998–2004 Nike
2004–2006 TV3 (left sleeve)
2006–2011 UNICEF
2011–2013 Qatar Foundation TV3 (left sleeve) & UNICEF (back shirt)
2013–2014 Qatar Airways
(€30m/year) 
UNICEF (back shirt)
2014–2017 Beko (left sleeve) & UNICEF (back shirt)
2017–2021 Rakuten
(€55m/year) 
2021–2022 UNICEF (back shirt)
2022– Spotify UNHCR (back shirt)
 

7. Stadium

Barcelona began playing in The Camp de la Industria. The capacity was around 6000, and officials from the club found the facilities insufficient for a club that was growing in number of members.

The year 1922 saw the total number of supporters had reached 20,000, and through loaning cash to the team, Barca was able to construct the bigger Camp de Les Corts, with an initial capacity of 20,000 people. Following the Spanish Civil War the club began to attract more members as well as a greater number of fans at games. This resulted in several expansion projects such as The grandstand was built in 1944 and Southern stand after 1946 and then the Northern stand was built in the year 1950. Following the previous upgrade, Les Corts could hold up to 60,000 fans.

When the construction was completed, there was no possibility of the expansion of Les Corts. Two consecutive La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 as well as the arrival in the form of Laszlo Kubala on June 30, 1950 who would be able to score more than 256 goals in 196 matches attracted more fans to the matches. The club started to formulate plans for a stadium. The construction of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, in front of the 60, 000 Barca supporters. First the foundation stone for the futuristic stadium was laid under the direction of the Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of the Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years to complete and finished on September 24, 1957, with a price of 288 millions pesetas which was 336% more than the budget.

In the year 1980, when the stadium required a revamp to be able to meet UEFA standards the club raised funds by offering fans the chance to write their name on the bricks in exchange for only a small amount. This was a popular idea with fans and thousands were willing to pay the cost. In the end, the idea became the center of debate when the media outlets in Madrid discovered that one stone was inscribed by the surname of the long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporters Santiago Bernabeu. To prepare to host the 1992 Summer Olympics two tiers of seating were built over the roofline that was previously in place. The stadium has a capacity of 99,354 which makes it the biggest venue in Europe.

The month of December, 2021 an unprecedented 88% of club's members voted in favour of Espai Barca plan to improve the club's sports facilities. It was the first referendum conducted online within FC Barcelona history. The project was originally planned to be completed by 2021, the project is now planned to be completed in 2025, and with estimated EUR1.5 billion in net funding.

There are other facilities too that include:

  • Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper (FC Barcelona's training ground)
  • Masia-Centre de Formacio Oriol Tort (Residence of young players)
  • Estadi Johan Cruyff (Home of the reserve team and women's team)
  • Palau Blaugrana (FC Barcelona indoor sports arena)
  • Palau Blaugrana 2 (Secondary indoor arena of FC Barcelona)
  • Palau de Gel (FC Barcelona ice rink)

8. Honours

  •   Record
  • S Shared record

In 2015, Barcelona received the Nine Values Cup, an award of the international children's social programme Football for Friendship.

Type Competition Titles Seasons
Domestic La Liga 26 1929, 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
Copa del Rey 31 1910, 1912, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1942, 1951, 1952, 1952–53, 1957, 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
Supercopa de España 13 1983, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018
Copa Eva Duarte 3 1948, 1952, 1953
Copa de la Liga 2 1983, 1986
Continental UEFA Champions League 5 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 4 1978–79, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1996–97
UEFA Super Cup 5S 1992, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2015
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 3 1955–58, 1958–60, 1965–66
Worldwide FIFA Club World Cup 3 2009, 2011, 2015

9. Players

Spanish teams are limited to three players without EU citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. Also, players from the ACP countries that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement are not counted against non-EU quotas due to the Kolpak ruling.

Further information: 2021–22 FC Barcelona season § Squad information

9.1. Current squad

As of 4 July 2022

 
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  GER Marc-André ter Stegen
2 DF  USA Sergiño Dest
3 DF  ESP Gerard Piqué (vice-captain)
4 DF  URU Ronald Araújo
5 MF  ESP Sergio Busquets (captain)
6 MF  ESP Riqui Puig
9 FW  NED Memphis Depay
10 FW  ESP Ansu Fati
12 FW  DEN Martin Braithwaite
13 GK  BRA Neto
14 MF  ESP Nico González
15 DF  FRA Clément Lenglet
16 MF  ESP Pedri
18 DF  ESP Jordi Alba (4th captain)
 
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW  ESP Ferran Torres
20 MF  ESP Sergi Roberto (3rd captain)
21 MF  NED Frenkie de Jong
22 DF  ESP Óscar Mingueza
23 DF  FRA Samuel Umtiti
24 DF  ESP Eric García
25 FW  GAB Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
GK  ESP Iñaki Peña
DF  DEN Andreas Christensen
MF  ESP Álex Collado
MF  CIV Franck Kessié
MF  BIH Miralem Pjanić
FW  ALB Rey Manaj
FW  POR Francisco Trincão
 

9.2. Other players under contract

 
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  SEN Moussa Wagué
 

9.3. Out On Loan

 
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW  FRA Antoine Griezmann (at Atlético Madrid until 30 June 2023)
 

10. Personnel

As below mentioned.

10.1. Current technical staff

Last updated: 10 November 2021

Position Staff
Head coach  Xavi
Assistant coaches  Òscar Hernández
 Sergio Alegre
Goalkeeping coach  José Ramón de la Fuente
Fitness coach  Iván Torres
Analysts  Sergio Garcia
 Toni Lobo
 David Prats
Physiotherapists  Juanjo Brau
 Xavi Linde
 Xavi López
 Xavier Elain
 Jordi Mesalles
 Sebas Salas
 Daniel Benito
Club Doctors  Ricard Pruna
 Xavier Yanguas
 Daniel Florit
Delegate  Carles Naval

10.2. Football Sport Management

Last updated: 28 June 2022

Position Staff
Director of Football  Mateu Alemany
International Department Director  Jordi Cruyff
Director of Spain Scouting
Youth Football Scouting Director
 José Mari Bakero
Barcelona B Coach  Vacant
Director of Youth Football  José Ramón Alexanko
Football Strategy Director  Paco Seirul·lo
Youth Football Coordinators  Albert Capellas
 Zigor Alesanco
 Toni Hernández
Juvenil A coach  Óscar López
Juvenil B coach  Ibán Cuadrado
Head of FUTBOL 11  Sergi Milà
Head of FUTBOL 7  Marc Serra
Goalkeeping Coordinator from Cadet A to Prebenjamín  Jesús Unzué

11. Management

Board of Directors
Office Name
President Joan Laporta
First Vice President
Director Responsible for Sporting Area
Director of the Barça Foundation
Rafael Yuste
Vice President
Director Responsible for Economic Area
Eduard Romeu
Institutional Vice President Elena Fort
Vice President
Director Responsible for Social Area
Antonio Escudero
Vice President
Director Responsible for Marketing Area
Juli Guiu
Treasurer Ferran Olivé
Secretary
Director Responsible for Basketball
Josep Cubells
Director Assistant to the Delegate Counsellor Josep Maria Albert
Director Responsible for Rink Hockey Xavier Barbany
Director Responsible for Security Alfons Castro
Director Responsible for 'Espai Barça' Jordi Llauradó
Director Responsible for Social Area Josep Ignasi Macià
Director Responsible for Futsal Aureli Mas
Director Responsible for Women's Football Xavier Puig
Director Responsible for Handball Joan Solé
Director Responsible for Youth Football Joan Soler
Board members Miquel Camps
Àngel Riudalbas

Last updated: 17 March 2022

12. Filmography

 

Year Title Direction
1974 Barça, 75 años de historia del Fútbol Club Barcelona Jordi Feliú
1998–1999 Aquest any, cent![274] Antoni Bassas
2014 Història del FC Barcelona[275] Santiago Gargallo
2018 Gamper, l'inventor del Barça[276] Jordi Ferrerons
2019 La Sagi, una pionera del Barça[277] Francesc Escribano i Josep Serra Mateu