FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona, commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the third-most valuable football club in the world, worth $5.6 billion, and the world’s fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €800.1 million. The official Barcelona anthem is the “Cant del Barça”, written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.

Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League, and also became the first European football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year by also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. In 2011, the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. This Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team 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.