Chelsea will rekindle a longstanding Champions League rivalry with Barcelona when the Spanish giants visit Stamford Bridge on Tuesday 25 November.
The Blues faced Barca in our maiden Champions League adventure, back in 1999/00, and have since met in six separate campaigns, mostly in titanic knockout ties.
It promises to be a special evening at the Bridge in our home fixture against a Pot 1 side, and here we get to know the Catalans better ahead of our latest encounter…
Factfile
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**Full name:** Futbol Club Barcelona
**Country:** Spain
**City:** Barcelona
**Formation:** 1899
**Major honours:** 25 La Liga titles (most recently 2025), five European Cup/Champions League wins (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015), four Cup Winners’ Cup wins (most recently 1997), 32 Copa del Rey wins (most recently 2025)
**Head coach:** Hansi Flick
**2024/25 league finish:** 1st
**Stadium:** Nou Camp
**Colours:** Blue and red
**Nickname:**_Barca, Blaugrana
_**Rivals:** Real Madrid, Espanyol
Champions League history
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Barcelona lost the European Cup finals of 1961 and 1986, but triumphed in the final edition of the tournament before it was rebranded as the Champions League in 1992. Ronald Koeman’s free-kick was enough to overcome Sampdoria at Wembley.
Then, during a period when they were regarded by many as one of if not the greatest club team of all time, Barca lifted the trophy four times in ten seasons between 2006 and 2015. They beat Arsenal, Manchester United twice and Juventus in the finals.
Since that last victory in Paris, Barcelona have reached the semi-finals twice, but also exited in the group stage twice.
2024/25 season
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One of those semi-finals was last season when Barca were beaten 7-6 on aggregate by Inter Milan in a thrilling two-legged affair in which both games finished 3-3 after 90 minutes. They had better fortune in the domestic competitions, winning La Liga by four points ahead of Real Madrid, and beating their great rivals 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final. Jules Kounde netted an extra-time winner in that one.
Due to delays in construction and obtaining licenses and permits, Barcelona only returned to Camp Nou for the first time this season at the weekend, when a partially reopened stadium saw 45,157 fans watch the 4-0 victory over Athletic Club.
Barca had been playing at the old Olympic Stadium, so a similar number of fans have been able to still attend the matches, and being away from Camp Nou has not overly impacted results.
Hansi Flick's side are only one point below Real Madrid in the La Liga table, with ten wins and a draw from their 13 league matches so far, and like Chelsea, have recorded two victories and a draw in their four Champions League clashes, meaning the 11th-placed Catalans are only above us on goal difference.
A couple of late goals saw Sevilla win 4-1 in early October while the only other two loses, both finishing 2-1, came at the hands of the last two Champions League winners: Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
Current squad
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Former Blue Andreas Christensen joined in 2022 and has since made 82 appearances, while Marcus Rashford has impressed since joining on loan from Manchester United.
They have plenty of young Spanish talent in midfield including Gavi, Pedri, Fermin Lopez and Marc Casado. Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Raphinha complete a star-studded attack.
This will be the first time in the Champions League we have played a Barcelona side not containing either Lionel Messi or Xavi. Messi left for PSG in 2021 with 672 goals to his name.
Barcelona have benefitted from the services of many other of the world’s greatest players, including Brazilian trio Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Johan Cruyff was one of their first superstars and help revolutionise the club both on the field and off it, while Carlos Puyol, Andres Iniesta and David Villa were central to Spain’s 2010 World Cup triumph.
Previous Champions League meetings
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**1999/00 quarter-final**
Chelsea 3-1 Barcelona
Barcelona 5-1 Chelsea AET (Barcelona won 6-4 on aggregate)
**2004/05 Round of 16**
Barcelona 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea 4-2 Barcelona (Chelsea won 5-4 on aggregate)
**2005/06 Round of 16**
Chelsea 1-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea (Barcelona won 3-2 on aggregate)
**2006/07 group stage**
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea
**2008/09 semi-final**
Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea
Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (Barcelona won on away goals)
**2011/12 semi-final**
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea (Chelsea won 3-2 on aggregate)
**2017/18 Round of 16**
Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona
Barcelona 3-0 Chelsea (Barcelona won 4-1 on aggregate)