FC Barcelona: Players, History, Rivalries, and Achievements

FC Barcelona is one of the most precious gifts the beautiful game of football has been blessed with in Spain. The football club, based in the Catalan province, came into existence, thanks to the visionary idea of Joan Gamper. During the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War, a businessman turned football pioneer decided to build a football club on a fine morning. In 1899, the famous club of Barcelona, often referred to as Barca, was formed. Three years later, their fiercest rival Real Madrid was founded in the capital of the country with the blessings of the king himself.

The Spanish outfit also goes by the name of Blaugranas as the club jersey dons shades of blackish-blue and garnet stripes. They boast one of the biggest football stadiums in the world named Camp Nou. Since its inception, Barcelona has been striding towards success, which saw them lift their maiden trophy in the form of Copa Macaya, the Catalan Championship.

They are the second most successful team in the history of La Liga, the Spanish top football league, having won the prestigious football competition 27 times so far. Throughout their journey, the club has been a footballing spectacle for the young fans, which has helped them amass millions of football fans around the globe.

We’ll now discuss the rich history, top players, and achievements of Barcelona. Later on, we’ll delve into the future goals of the Spanish club.

FC Barcelona Football Club Key Facts

Founded	November 29, 1899
Current Owner/President	Joan Laporta
Country	Spain
City	Barcelona
Nickname	Barca or Blaugrana
Stadium	Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys
Capacity	54367
Head Coach	Hansi Flick
Sponsors	BioTechUSA, HMD, Aramark, ZIC, Fever, Iluminacion, Disano, Figueras, Seating, XBET, CUPRA, HPE, and EBC Financial Group
League	La Liga
Squad Size	26 Players

FC Barcelona Value & Sponsors

According to Forbes, FC Barcelona’s market value in 2024 is $5.6 billion or £5.2 billion, with a revenue of $840 million, and an operating income -$145 million.

Sponsors of Club

Clubs have many sponsors right now like BioTechUSA, HMD, Aramark, ZIC, Fever, Iluminacion, Disano, Figueras, Seating, XBET, CUPRA, HPE, and EBC Financial Group.

Sponsors of Kits

Nike has been the official kit partner of FC Barcelona.

FC Barcelona History

A Spanish businessman named Joan Gamper built Barcelona in 1899, with the help of ten more influential people of Catalunya. The club’s first trophy was the Catalan Championship in 1902, which was a local football tournament at the time. Meanwhile, their golden era took place during the 1920s when they dominated Copa del Rey and Campionat de Catalunya, with the help of the great scoring form of striker Paulinho Alcantara.

However, the club was oppressed by the Francoist regime between 1930 and 1950 when Gamper was forced to commit suicide and another director of Barcelona, Joseph Sunyol, was executed due to his left-wing involvement. Barcelona Club and their fans endured all these dark days, which were later rewarded with dazzling success on the world stage. Under the watch of Guardiola, Barcelona became the first team to achieve sextuple in 2009, which is regarded as the greatest success of a club in a calendar year. The Blaugranas also won five UEFA Champions League titles and three FIFA World Cups.

Barcelona Club de Futbol ranks among the five most successful teams in club football, which clearly speaks volumes about the legacy of the club. The football team has many nicknames such as Barca, Culers, Blaugranas, Catalunyans, etc. This famous football club is based in Barcelona, the capital of the province of Catalan, natively called Catalunya. Barcelona started its footballing journey on a solid note by winning the Catalan Championship in 1902, a joy that was short-lived following a loss against Bizcaya in the final of Copa del Rey in the same year.

Barca became champions in the inaugural season of La Liga in 1929, and since then, they have won the title 17 times so far. The club has been the home of some of football’s greats such as Lionel Messi, Johan Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Andres Iniesta, Neymar, etc. Pep Guardiola, the current Manchester City coach, produced one of the most successful managerial stints, if not the most, in the history of club football, with the company of the attacking trio, consisting of Messi, Suarez and Neymar at Barcelona. Between 2008 and 2015, the Spanish side ruled the world of club football, winning every possible trophy that came their way.

List of FC Barcelona Club Anthem and Chants

FC Barcelona Club Anthem

The official anthem of FC Barcelona is “Cant del Barca” which was written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espina to celebrate the club’s 75th anniversary. “Cant del Barca” music was composed by Manuel Valls. The official anthem goes like:

“Tol el camp, es un clam, som la gent blaugrana. Tant se val d’on venim, si del sud o del nord, ara estem d’acord, estem d;acord, una bandera ens agermana. Blaugrana al vent, un crit valent, tenim un nom, el sap tothom: Barca, Barca, Barca!”

“Jugadors, Seguidors, tots units fem forca. Son molts anys plens d’afanys, son molts gols que hem cridat, i s’ha demostrat, s;ha demostrat, que mai ningu no ens podra torcer. Blaugrana al vent, un crit valent, tenim un nom, el sap tothom: Barc, Barca, Barca!”

FC Barcelona Club Chants

There are plenty of chants that are famously used by FC Barcelona’s fans during their games like “Ole-le, Ola-la, ser del Barca es el millor que hi ha!,” “Blaugrana al vent, un crit valent, tenim un nom, el sap tothom: Barc, Barca, Barca!,” “Boti, Boti, Boti! Madridista qui no boti eh, eh!”

FC Barcelona Rivalries

El Clasico

One of the most fierce rivalries in the football world is El Clasico, which is played between two of the strongest as well as greatest clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Over the years, this fierce rivalry has given fans many memorable games and moments. The head to head record between the two clubs is 102 wins for Real Madrid and 100 wins for FC Barcelona while 52 contests ended as a draw.

El derbi Barceloni

Barcelona’s local rival has always been Espanyol, who shares the same city as them. Barcelona’s majority of citizens have always seen Espanyol Club cultivate compliance with the central authority which contrasts with Barca’s revolutionary spirit.

Rivalry with AC Milan

AC Milan has been the only club outside Spanish football to have played the most games against FC Barcelona in European football. The two teams have met 19 times with Barca winning eight games, losing five, and drawing six of them. It is the third most-played game in the European club competitions (19) behind Real Madrid-Juventus (21) and Real Madrid-Bayern Munich (26).

FC Barcelona Honors

Barcelona has a great record in the Spanish top flight as they have won the competition 27 times to date. After losing the title for two consecutive seasons, the Blaugranas reclaimed the title last season. There has been mostly a two-way title race since 2007 between Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the latter has come out victorious most of the time. However, Barca is currently leading the table with 33 points while the defending champions are trailing by 6 points and are in the 2nd position in the 2024-25 season.

Besides La Liga, Barcelona has been impressive in other football competitions as well. They have won five UEFA Champions League titles, 31 Copa del Rey trophies, and five UEFA Super Cups.

FC Barcelona has won numerous amount of awards, achievements, and accolades over the years through the dominating performance of the club and its players in domestic as well as continental competitions. Below is the list of all the titles and competitions FC Barcelona have won in their history:

List of FC Barcelona records and Trophies

Type	Competition	No. of Titles	Seasons
Domestic	La Liga	27	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, 2022–23
Domestic	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
Domestic	Supercopa de España	14	1983, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2022–23
Domestic	Copa Eva Duarte	3	1948, 1952, 1953
Domestic	Copa de la Liga	2	1983, 1986
Continental	UEFA Champions League	5	1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
Continental	UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup	4	1978–79, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1996–97
Continental	UEFA Super Cup	5	1992, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2015
Continental	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	3	1955–58, 1958–60, 1965–66
Continental	Latin Cup	2	1949, 1952
Worldwide	FIFA Club World Cup	3	2009, 2011, 2015
Regional	Catalan football championship	23	1901–02, 1902–03, 1904–05, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1910–11, 1912–13, 1915–16, 1918–19, 1919–20, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1937–38
Regional	Copa Catalunya	8	1990–91, 1992–93, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2013–14
Regional	Supercopa de Catalunya	2	2014, 2018

FC Barcelona Squad Numbers and Players List – Current

Barcelona boasts an academy full of talented players. The club has an academy named La Masia which produces a bunch of top footballing talents every year. Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol – these players are all La Masia products.

Current top players – Barcelona always possesses a formidable squad, and the current squad is no different from its predecessors. The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Joao Felix, and Ferran Torres are the ones who light up the scoresheet for Barca, while recently recruited Ilkay Gundogan brings experience in the middle of the park with the help of young talents like Pedri and Gavi. Despite a few setbacks, it’s fair to say that Barcelona has a strong squad this season.

Past top players – Over the years, Barcelona have been blessed with a bunch of talented footballers who have not only entertained their fans at Camp Nou with their enchanting performances but also have brought glory to the club. The most important names in the history of Barcelona are Lionel Messi, Carles Puyol, Johan Cruyff, David Villa, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, etc.

Barcelona’s 2024-2025 Squad

Barcelona has not been very active this year regarding new signings, despite monitoring a series of talented players. However, their current manager Xavi still has a lot of big names at his disposal this year.

NUMBER	PLAYER NAME	POSISTION
1	Marc-Andre ter Stegen	Goal Keeper
13	Inaki Pena	Goal Keeper
25	Wojciech Szczesny	Goal Keeper
26	Ander Astralaga	Goal Keeper
4	Ronald Araujo	Centre Back
2	Pau Cubarsi	Centre Back
15	Andreas Christensen	Centre Back
24	Eric Garciz	Centre Back
5	Inigo Martinez	Centre Back
36	Sergi Dominguez	Centre Back
3	Alejandro Balde	Left Back
35	Gerard Martin	Left Back
23	Jules Kounde	Right Back
32	Hector Fort	Right Back
17	Marc Casado	Defensive Midfielder
28	Marc Bernal	Defensive Midfielder
6	Gavi	Central Midfield
8	Pedri	Central Midfield
21	Frenkie de Jong	Central Midfield
16	Fermin Lopez	Central Midfield
20	Dani Olmo	Attacking Midfield
14	Pablo Torre	Central Midfield
11	Raphinha	Left Winger
10	Ansu Fati	Left Winger
19	Lamine Yamal	Right Winger
7	Ferran Torres	Right Winger
9	Robert Lewandoswki	Centre Forward
18	Pau Victor	Centre Forward

Future Goals

Barcelona has achieved every title out there in football history. What they will be aiming for in the future is to maintain the glorious days of the club which has faced several barriers since the breakup of the MSN trio (Messi, Suarez, and Neymar). The Catalan club has not been able to make a mark in European football recently.

They have signed a goalscoring beast in the form of Robert Lewandowski to bring goals in the important matches. With the rise of talented young stars like Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, and Baldev, the club would look to turn back the clock shortly. Barcelona’s most certain future goal will be to be on top of European football once again.

FAQs

Also Read:

• Pablo Gavi: Life, Clubs, Family, Career and Stats
• Pedri: Life, Clubs, Career and Stats
• Robert Lewandowski: Life, Clubs, Career and Stats