FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona, Spanish professional football (soccer) club located in Barcelona. FC Barcelona is renowned for its historically skillful and attractive brand of attacking football that places an emphasis on flowing, open play. The club was associated with pioneering the tiki-taka style of gameplay, emphasizing short passes and maintaining possession. Located in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, the club has a youth academy, La Masia (Catalan: “The Farmhouse”), that has produced such world class players as Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fàbregas, Lamine Yamal, and Pau Cubarsí. The team is part of a wider sports and social club with thousands of members and has a global fan base in the millions.

Origins

FC Barcelona was formed in 1899 by businessman Joan Gamper, who advertised for players in a local Barcelona sports magazine. The club’s first trophy was the Copa Macaya (Catalan championship) in 1902, and in 1910 Barça won the Copa del Rey (“King’s Cup”)—Spain’s leading national football cup competition—for the first time.

Achievements

La Liga, the top Spanish football league, was formed in 1929, and Barcelona captured the title in the league’s inaugural season. The club has won La Liga 28 times and has never been relegated to a lower division. Abroad, Barcelona has won the European Cup Winners’ Cup four times (1979, 1982, 1989, and 1997), the European Cup/Champions League five times (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015), and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Super Cup three times (1992, 1997, and 2009). It is the most successful team in Copa del Rey tournaments, winning the championship 32 times. In 2008–09 it won the La Liga championship, the Copa del Rey, and the continental championship (Champions League) to become the first Spanish side to capture this “treble,” a feat it repeated in 2014–15. Barcelona has also won the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Club World Cup—an international tournament featuring champion clubs from each continent—three times (2009, 2011, and 2015).

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Britannica Quiz

Great Moments in Sports Quiz

Stadiums

Barcelona played its home matches from 1922 to 1957 at Camp de Les Corts stadium. When the increasingly popular club outgrew that facility, a giant new stadium, Camp Nou, was built in the western part of the city and opened in 1957. A stadium-record 120,000 fans watched the 1986 European Cup quarterfinal between Barcelona and Juventus.

Famous players

Barcelona has been home to some of the world’s greatest footballers. In addition to a long history of signing some of the football world’s biggest names—including Johan Cruyff in the 1970s, Diego Maradona in the 1980s, Luis Figo and Rivaldo in the 1990s, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o in the 2000s, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the 2010s, and Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski in the 2020s—Barcelona has developed a number of its own stars, such as Xavi and Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (a football prodigy who, at age 24, became the club’s all-time leading goal scorer). Many of the club’s players have also contributed to the Spanish national team’s greatest successes, including the 2008, 2012, and 2024 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup final, for example, seven of Spain’s 11 starters were from Barça.

Defining eras

• The Johan Cruyff era (1973–78): Cruyff’s impact on Barcelona was immediate and monumental. In 1973, the year Cruyff arrived, Barça won the club’s first La Liga title in 13 years. His presence also sparked a shift in the club’s style of play. He laid the seeds for “total football,” a style that emphasizes fluid movement and creative attacking, which later inspired the club’s tiki-taka style of play.
• The “dream team” era (1988–96): Cruyff once again led Barcelona to great success, this time as its manager. He implemented a style of attacking play and possession rooted in total football and built a dream team around such players as Josep “Pep” Guardiola, Ronald Koeman, Hristo Stoichkov, and Romário. The dream team went on to win four consecutive La Liga titles (1991–94) and its first European Cup in 1992.
• The Ronaldinho era (2003–08): This era was characterized by flair, creativity, and trickery (such as the audacious elastico dribble and signature no-look passes) pioneered by Ronaldinho. With fans of rival clubs, including Real Madrid, often applauding Ronaldinho’s performances, he steered the club to consecutive La Liga titles (2004–05 and 2005–06) and a Champions League trophy in 2006.
• The Messi-Guardiola era (2008–2012): This era is often regarded as Barcelona’s peak. Revolving around Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta and under Guardiola as manager, the team pioneered the tiki-taka style of play and dominated European club football. In four seasons the club won 14 trophies, including three consecutive La Liga titles, two Champions League trophies, and a treble, winning three major trophies in one season in 2008–09.
• The “MSN” era (2014–17): The attacking trio of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar (known as “MSN”) gave Barcelona arguably its most formidable frontline ever. MSN accounted for 302 goals in 151 games, helping Barcelona win two La Liga titles, the 2015 Champions League, and a historic treble.

Rivalries

Barcelona’s local adversary is RCD Espanyol, but its biggest rival is Real Madrid. Games between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico (Spanish: “The Classic”) and attract wide interest throughout Spain, in large part because the two sides symbolize for many the ongoing political and cultural difficulties between Catalonian (Barcelona) and Castilian (Real Madrid) Spain.