Barcelona are one of the biggest sporting institutions on the planet, with the Liga giants having tasted domestic, continental and global glory on a regular basis down the years.
A standing towards the top of the elite football pyramid has been taken up, with the books at Camp Nou having been graced down the years by iconic figures such as Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi.
Major silverware has often been claimed on an annual basis, with multiple honours secured in many campaigns, but have the Blaugrana ever won the Europa League? GOAL takes a look…
Have Barcelona ever won the Europa League?
The Catalan heavyweights first competed in continental competition back in 1955-56 when taking part in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
That event is considered to have been a forerunner to the UEFA Cup, but it was a tournament run by FIFA and does not sit under the remit of European football’s governing body.
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With that in mind, Barca’s successes in 1958, 1960 and 1966 do not tick a UEFA Cup/Europa League box.
The Blaugrana made their European Cup bow in 1959-60, took part in the Cup Winners’ Cup for the first time in 1963-64 and were involved in the UEFA Cup on a regular basis from 1972-73.
Barca won the Cup Winners’ Cup on three occasions between 1979 and 1989, before landing that trophy again with Brazilian striker Ronaldo leading the way in 1996-97.
They won a maiden European Cup in 1992, with Ronald Koeman netting a famous goal against Sampdoria at Wembley Stadium, and have gone on to claim four Champions League crowns since then – with the most recent of those triumphs coming in 2014-15.
The closest that Barca have come to winning the UEFA Cup is four semi-finals appearances, while they are gracing the revamped Europa League for a first time in 2021-22.
Xavi’s men have made it to the last eight of that competition in the current campaign, with the hope being that history can be made by a side that have rediscovered a lost spark under the management of a former club captain and iconic La Masia academy graduate.
Barcelona’s haul of European trophies:
Competition | Years won |
|---|---|
European Cup/Champions League | 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 |
Cup Winners' Cup | 1979, 1982, 1989, 1997 |
UEFA Super Cup | 1992, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2015 |
Inter-Cities Fair Cup | 1958, 1960, 1966 |
How many teams have won every UEFA club competition?
If Barcelona were to prevail in this season’s Europa League, then they would become the sixth club to capture all three of UEFA’s major trophies.
That is becoming an increasingly difficult record to achieve, with the Cup Winners’ Cup having been removed from the continental schedule in 1999.
The five sides to have savoured Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA Cup/Europa League and European Cup/Champions League triumphs are: Juventus, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Red Devils from Old Trafford were the last team to join that exclusive club when Jose Mourinho guided them to Europa League glory in 2016-17.
Club | First title | Second title | Third title |
|---|---|---|---|
Juventus | 1977 UEFA Cup | 1984 Cup Winners' Cup | 1985 European Cup |
Ajax | 1971 European Cup | 1987 Cup Winners' Cup | 1992 UEFA Cup |
Bayern Munich | 1967 Cup Winners' Cup | 1974 European Cup | 1996 UEFA Cup |
Chelsea | 1971 Cup Winners' Cup | 2012 Champions League | 2013 Europa League |
Manchester United | 1968 European Cup | 1991 Cup Winners' Cup | 2017 Europa League |
While that quintet can be rightly proud of their achievements on the grandest of stages, only one team in history has ever won all six of the confederation tournaments that have fallen under UEFA’s umbrella.
That outfit is Serie A giants Juventus, who opened their account when winning the UEFA Cup in 1977.
From there they claimed the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1984, the European Super Cup in the same year, the European Cup in 1985, allowing them to go on and taste Intercontinental Cup glory, and the Intertoto Cup in 1999.
