![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjE3ABhbEdbJR_A7g6GZY7wyVBZ7-Ne5QnY39Uoga269SdMDTcyT6HY2q4Q94fz-iVWjkvHFkLy4kEBVvN56tfTBBZbyZnRBqkhkKx5DJ-YS-X5hBRtAfmNAEbUibpIvCPB3NOefUJrH9/s400/FC-Barcelona.png)
On 13 May, Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 at the Mestalla to win the Copa del Rey for a record 25th time. Just days later, as Real Madrid lost to Villarreal, the domestic double was confirmed for Barcelona and the club was crowned La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season.
With a largely homegrown squad in which seven players of the starting 11 were products of their youth system, Barça defeated the defending champions Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on 27 May 2009, to earn their third UEFA Champions League title and achieve The Treble, having already won the La Liga and Copa del Rey in the same seasonThis was the first time a Spanish team had won the three competitions in the same season.The following summer, the club broke their transfer record by paying €46 million (+ Samuel Eto'o) for Zlatan Ibrahimović.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiciDxA2fRpnbjf0s9E1tg2w38UfjJAjRtzjJC84314QBKnINHwVSzcAAvVVFLXxcLcLV1pIn2R1UIomDkGHupz6Hp8O3gmXXO5nhbxjSIfXffTPEIe2FDlWwe44XJ4JY8zw5lztHXsCTUx/s400/10hj08wrl9.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55Supb-d89ilHjpdKsYMylhZKPOuf_kKHMRmjvfVew7D8b59M5lsUx9pmGioznhdW06UWN2e8Kbw5jjqD8J3G60L-EF39Bbv-dxdYQygtOagf2jK9cu9js-1vsi7Ke51K_pGu9hnVhni3/s400/elclasico.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsP_wVgVVG19J6dumALtNpHz8DG0ZdVrPv2swGB7jbXgrvfEiQOyPdIWf26xsCMc2u861FkIpkdWFxHu6YAmknseYHH5uTb-LCkRCOEs0vG9Z5nGfEdUJdjH54trEPWM-MVKnvgM1VFFa/s400/barsamadrid.jpg)
STADIUM "CAMP NOU"
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT97QuQxxgqBgXkZa5Bhqa8dOsluyr5l_VFxQG1QvGd24jazXzZrzQCx6c6DIZ7ImCXJqA-oErYxIPDlqazNEUv3fCtNmi2Uk-sXdB9Bb-ZzllHHfg3CsmcDXM5c3Js78TzorGdCmavCn/s400/barcelona-fc.jpg)
The club's stadium is the Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 98,772 seats. Barcelona enjoys a high rate of popularity; about 25.7% of Spanish population support the club, while according to a recent survey Barcelona is the most popular football club in Europe with around 44.2 million fans.
Players
Lionel Andres Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi ( born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for La Liga's Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Messi is considered to be one of the best football players of his generation, having received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to football legend Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke the La Liga record for the youngest footballer to play a league game, and also the youngest to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and UEFA Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in 2006–07: he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble winning campaign.
Messi was the top scorer with six goals, including two in the final game of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006 he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.
Xavier Hernandez -Xavi
Xavier Hernández i Creus born 25 January 1980 in Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain), commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered among the finest playmakers in world football, Xavi was named the official Man of the Match of the 2009 Champions League Final as he helped Barcelona defeat Manchester United to win their third European Cup. He was named Best Player by UEFA at Euro 2008 and was one of the five finalists for the 2007-08 FIFA World Player of the Year. In all he has been capped 80 times for the Spanish national team and has played for his country in the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.