The concept or question of the best football club in the world is one of the topics that spark heated debates and controversies but to come to a conclusion of the best club in the world, rather than talk about huge world star players, hefty transfer fee and past glory, results can only be the correct judge to determine which of the world known clubs is the best club in the world. Putting recent results under the spotlight, and comparing it with other clubs, we can make an attempt with this article, to know more about FC Barcelona, the best football club in the world.
Barcelona is one of the most supported teams in the world, and has the largest social media following in the world among sports teams. Judging from the past decade, Barcelona has won more trophies than any other club in the world. Barcelona’s players have also won a record number of Ballon d’Or awards (11), as well as a record number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards (7).
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Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. Barcelona are the current defending champions of both the domestic Spanish La Liga and the European most prestigious competition – The UEFA Champions League. 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 football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, completing the sextuple and also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
In 2010, the club made history when three players who came through its youth academy (Messi, Iniesta and Xavi) were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football school. Xavi Hernandez presently holds the record as the player who has played the most games for the club, Lionel Messi, who is currently the world best player holds the record for the most goals scored for the club. Barcelona has enjoyed a lot commendation and success since Messi’s rise to fame in 2010.
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In the past decade, Barcelona has of December 2015, won five UEFA Champions League, a record four UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, a shared record five UEFA Super Cup and a record three FIFA Club World Cup trophies. They have also in their top flight history won 23 La Liga trophies, 27 Copa del Rey, 11 Supercopa de España. In 2015, the club became European champions again and won four trophies. The FC Barcelona team, which reached a record six consecutive Champions League semi-finals and won 14 trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by many in the sport to be the greatest and most successful team of all time.
In June 2015, Barcelona became the first European club in history to achieve the continental treble twice. Though, an accumulation of all their trophies still see them financially behind bitter rivals Real Madrid in second place, the club’s worth still stands at a super impressive $3.16 Billion, making them the second richest club in the world and able to afford the highest paid player in the world – Lionel Messi, who is on a weekly salary of £500,000 including tax. Barcelona currently (2016) are poised to lift the La Liga again this season are also currently en route to the UEFA Champions League final, having just knocked out Arsenal out of the competition.