2015 Sextuple Record

Lore & Background

The season produced a domestic double of La Liga and Copa del Rey wins, with Barça coming out on top in a closely fought title race and defeating newly crowned Europa League winners Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final after extra time. However, Barça failed to clinch its second sextuple after 2009 by losing the Supercopa de España to Copa del Rey runners-up Athletic Bilbao (0–4 away, 1–1 home). Barcelona did manage to finish the year with five trophies, repeating 2011, by clinching the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup titles. Barcelona was also aiming and considered a favourite to repeat as Champions League winners to become the first team in the modern era to do so, but they were knocked out by Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals (2–1 home, 0–2 away) in a strange repeat of their meeting at the same stage two years prior.

Reader's Guide

The season was the first since 1997–98 without former captain Xavi, who departed to Al Sadd SC. Key events included the transfer of Aleix Vidal from Sevilla, the loan of Martín Montoya to Internazionale, the signing of Arda Turan from Atlético Madrid (joining on 1 January 2016 after the FIFA transfer ban was lifted), and the departure of Pedro to Chelsea. Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup 5–4 against Sevilla on 11 August and the FIFA Club World Cup on 20 December. The team was eliminated from the Champions League by Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Did You Know?

• Lionel Messi was crowned the 2014–15 UEFA Best Player in Europe for the second time on 27 August 2015.
• Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 0–4 in the first Clásico of the season on 21 November 2015.
• The club won a record third FIFA Club World Cup title on 20 December 2015.