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As one of Europe's most famous and successful clubs, Barcelona have a deep and illustrious history in the UEFA Champions League competition.
However, their success has largely been tied to club icon and all-time great Lionel Messi, who played a key role in delivering three of their five European titles.
Most of Barcelona's success in European competition has come in the modern age of football, and the club still has a lot of work to do to challenge Clasico rivals Real Madrid when it comes to continental heroics. In fact, it may surprise fans to know that they have not won a European title since well before the notorious departure of Messi.
The Sporting News brings you an overview of Barcelona's Champions League success as the club hopes to add to its trophy case amidst a semifinal battle in the 2024/25 campaign.
MORE: All the latest soccer news | Barcelona news
When did Barcelona last win the Champions League title?
Barcelona's most recent Champions League title came in 2015. In that season, Lionel Messi claimed his fourth and final winner's medal in the tournament, as his formidable attacking teammates Neymar and Luis Suarez were on target in a final victory over Juventus.
Since that season, Barcelona have not been back on the podium, as they have failed to even reach the final. Their best finish was the 2018/19 season, when they were infamously eliminated in the semifinals by eventual winners Liverpool on one of the competition's most famous turnarounds.
How many Champions League titles have Barcelona won?
In total, Barcelona have won five Champions League titles in club history.
The total leaves Barcelona fifth amongst clubs in all-time total titles, behind Real Madrid (15), AC Milan (seven), Liverpool (six), and Bayern Munich (six).
Four of those five Champions League successes came with Lionel Messi in the squad, while the outlier was the club's first European crown in the 1991/92 season.
1991/92 Champions League
- Final: Barcelona 1-0 Sampdoria (a.e.t.)
- Location: Wembley Stadium (London, England)
- Goal scorers: Ronald Koeman (112')
- Other notable results:
- Kaiserslautern 3-1 Barcelona (Second round)
- Barcelona 3-2 Sparta Prague
- Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Barcelona
- Barcelona 2-1 Benfica (Group stage)
Barcelona's first European title came in the 1991/92 season, when the European Cup was formatted quite differently. There were two preliminary rounds to navigate, with Barcelona barely escaping the second against German club Kaiserslautern. A 2-0 first-leg advantage was erased on the road in the second leg, before a 90th-minute goal from Jose Maria Bakero kept the dream alive, sending it to extra-time before Barcelona advanced to the group stage on penalties.
From there, Barcelona topped the four-team group to advance to the final against Sampdoria at Wembley, and the rest is history. After a 90-minute scoreless draw, Ronald Koeman's extra-time winner secured the Cup.
2005/06 Champions League
- Final: Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal
- Location: Stade de France (Saint-Denis, France)
- Goal scorers: Samuel Eto'o (76'), Juliano Belletti (80')
- Knockout stage aggregate scores:
- Barcelona 3-2 Chelsea (Round of 16)
- Barcelona 2-0 Benfica (Quarterfinals)
- Barcelona 1-0 AC Milan (Semifinals)
- Group stage opponents: Werder Bremen, Udinense, Panathinaikos
A Ronaldinho-led Barcelona side won the 2005/06 Champions League for the club's second-ever European title. After topping a simple group with five wins and a draw, Barcelona got past Chelsea in the Round of 16 thanks to a 2-1 away win at Stamford Bridge before dispatching Benfica and AC Milan in defensive fashion. The 1-0 semifinal aggregate win was especially emphatic as they kept the competition's Golden Boot winner Andriy Shevchenko off the scoresheet across both legs.
In the final, Arsenal had goalkeeper Jens Lehmann sent off early on but led through a Sol Campbell header. Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti scored four minutes apart to turn it around with 10 minutes remaining. A young Lionel Messi won his first UCL title, contributing a goal and two assists in the group stage. A thigh injury kept him out of the business end of the competition.
2008/09 Champions League
- Final: Barcelona 2-0 Man United
- Location: Stadio Olimpico (Rome, Italy)
- Goal scorers: Samuel Eto'o (10'), Lionel Messi (70')
- Knockout stage aggregate scores:
- Barcelona 6-3 Lyon (Round of 16)
- Barcelona 5-1 Bayern Munich (Quarterfinals)
- Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea (Semifinals)
- Group stage opponents: Sporting CP, Shakhtar Donetsk, Basel
Lionel Messi would burst onto the European scene in the 2008/09 competition, officially winning his second Champions League title but his first true crown as a regular contributor for the club. He did so in emphatic fashion, winning the competition's Golden Boot with nine goals, including a header in the final against Manchester United.
A 4-1-1 record in the group stage saw Barcelona top the standings by one point over Sporting CP, and they trounced Lyon and Bayern Munich to reach the final four. In the semifinals against Chelsea, a 1-1 draw in the second leg at Stamford Bridge saw them qualify for the final on away goals, with Andres Iniesta scoring a thrilling last-gasp decider at Stamford Bridge.
2010/11 Champions League
- Final: Barcelona 3-1 Man United
- Location: Wembley Stadium (London, England)
- Goal scorers: Pedro (27'), Lionel Messi (54'), David Villa (69')
- Knockout stage aggregate scores:
- Barcelona 4-3 Arsenal (Round of 16)
- Barcelona 6-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Quarterfinals)
- Barcelona 3-1 Real Madrid (Semifinals)
- Group stage opponents: Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan, Panathinaikos
Two years after defeating Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in Italy, Lionel Messi vanquished the English giants again, this time with a dazzling 3-1 victory in a Wembley final. Wayne Rooney's goal brought it level at the break, but Messi and David Villa found the net in a decisive second half.
The victory came on the heels of a pair of knockout stage triumphs. First, Barcelona required a second-leg comeback against Arsenal in the quarterfinals, where a 2-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium was nullified by a 3-1 home win, in which Messi scored a brace. They then toppled Clasico rivals Real Madrid in the semifinals as a first leg brace for Messi was enough to see them through.
2014/15 Champions League
- Final: Barcelona 3-1 Juventus
- Location: Olympiastadion (Berlin, Germany)
- Goal scorers: Ivan Rakitic (4'), Luis Suarez (68'), Neymar (90+7')
- Knockout stage aggregate scores:
- Barcelona 3-1 Man City (Round of 16)
- Barcelona 5-1 Paris Saint-Germain (Quarterfinals)
- Barcelona 5-3 Bayern Munich (Semifinals)
- Group stage opponents: PSG, Ajax, APOEL
Lionel Messi's fourth and final Champions League title came in 2015, when he would finish level with teammate Neymar for the competition's Golden Boot on 10 goals. The European crown that season capped off a utterly magnificent season in which he scored 58 goals, plus another 31 assists across all competitions, one of the most memorable individual seasons in modern football history.
Messi's eight group stage goals saw him soar to the top of the leaderboard, before turning creator and assisting four goals in the knockout stages, including the all-important go-ahead strike by Luis Suarez in the 68th minute of the final. The win validated the famous Messi-Neymar-Suarez front line for Barcelona, which would go down in history as one of Europe's all-time most fearsome strike trios.
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