Most Appearances Record

Lore & Background

Barcelona played its first friendly match on 8 December 1899 against the English colony in Barcelona in the old velodrome in Bonanova. Initially, Barcelona played against other local clubs in various Catalan tournaments. In 1929, the club became one of the founding members of La Liga, Spain's first national league, and has since achieved the distinction of being one of only three clubs to have never been relegated, along with Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. Barcelona is also the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1955. They hold a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, with matches between the two teams referred to as "El Clásico" (El Clàssic in Catalan). Matches against city rivals Espanyol are known as the "Derbi barceloní".

In Their Own Story

The stadium lights hummed over the empty pitch at night. Xavi stood alone near the center circle, tracing the white lines with his boot. The leather of his boots felt familiar, worn smooth by nearly eight hundred games on these very grasses. He took one last deep breath, the scent of cut grass and history filling his lungs, knowing he was leaving behind a legacy written not in goals, but in the sheer endurance of his presence.

Reader's Guide

Barcelona has amassed various records in regional, domestic and continental tournaments since its founding. During the time the club played in regional competitions until the end of the Catalan championship in 1940, it won a record 23 titles from a possible 38. In 2009, Barcelona achieved an unprecedented sextuple by winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in one calendar year. Additionally, Barça has won the coveted continental treble, consisting of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League in the aforementioned 2009 and again 2015, becoming the first European club to have won the treble twice. Barcelona has signed several high-profile players, setting the world record in transfer fees on three occasions with the purchase of Johan Cruyff from Ajax in 1973, Diego Maradona from Boca Juniors in 1982 and Ronaldo from PSV Eindhoven in 1996. The club's players have received seven FIFA World Player of the Year awards, twelve Ballon d'Or awards, three UEFA Men's Player of the Year awards and eight European Golden Shoe awards.

Did You Know?

• The record for most appearances for FC Barcelona is held by Lionel Messi (778 appearances), followed by Xavi (767 appearances).
• Xavi surpassed Migueli (Miguel Bernardo) for the club appearance record, not Josep Samitier.