This season was the first without captain Sergio Busquets, who left the club after 18 years (15 years as a first team player since the 2007–08 season) as a free agent in the summer and the first full season in 15 years without Gerard Piqué, who retired before the winter World Cup.[1][2] It was also the first season since 2011–12 without the left-back Jordi Alba, who reached an agreement with the club to terminate his contract one year before its expiration.[3][4]
The season was one of ups and downs, with the team ending their Champions League group stage as the Group H winners, securing its advance to the knockout stage for the first time in three years after they had failed to advance in the previous two seasons.[5][6] In the knockout stage, they defeated Napoli 4–2 on aggregate in the round of 16,[7] with their Champions League journey ending in the quarter-finals where they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain in part due to a Ronald Araújo red card in the second leg of tie, which tipped the scales in Paris' favor despite Barcelona's first leg win.[8][9]
Elsewhere, Barcelona finished as runners-up in the Supercopa de España,[10] and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey in extra-time by the eventual winners Athletic Bilbao.[11] In the league, they failed to defend last season's title, ending the season in the second place, with the only saving grace being the qualification for next season's Supercopa de España.[12]
It was Xavi's third, second full, and last season as the head coach of the team,[13] with Hansi Flick confirmed to take over the position starting next season.[14] Statistics-wise, the team scored 110 goals in all competitions, with Robert Lewandowski scoring the most (26 goals in all competitions).[15]
^For El Clásico match disputed on 28 October 2023, the emblem of the British band The Rolling Stones replaced the Spotify logo to celebrate the release of the "Hackney Diamonds" new album.[16] On 21 April 2024, coinciding with the league's El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu, the Spotify logo was replaced by that of the Colombian singer Karol G.[17]
^The away kit is predominantly white, inspired by a kit worn by Johan Cruyff in the 1970s. The crest is that used in 1978.[19]
^The third kit is intended as a visual metaphor of the "Barça DNA". Using traditional Barça away aqua blue, a weave pattern in blaugrana evokes DNA. Barça DNA is the history, playing style, and development of young talent at the club.[20]
On 8 June, Barcelona announced that the pre-season will start with the players medical examinations on 10 July.[25][26]
On 26 June, Barcelona announced the signing of İlkay Gündoğan, on a two-year deal until 2025.[27] On 30 June, Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement to sever ties with Samuel Umtiti.[28] On 5 July, the club announced the signing of Iñigo Martínez, on a two-year deal until 2025.[29] On 19 July, the club announced the signing of Oriol Romeu, on a three-year contract until 2026.[30]
On 22 July, the club announced that their match against Juventus on the same date would be cancelled due to a viral gastroenteritis outbreak among a significant part of the Barcelona squad.[31]
On 26 July, Barcelona started their pre-season with a 5–3 loss against Arsenal. [32]
On 9 August, the club announced the departure of Franck Kessié to Saudi club Al-Ahli for 12.5 million €. He played 43 matches for the club and scored three goals.[38]
On 13 August, Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Getafe CF at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez. In an extremely physical match, both teams were reduced to ten men when Raphinha and Jamie Mata were sent off in the 42nd and 57th minutes respectively. The match ended with late drama when Barcelona were denied a penalty for a foul on Ronald Araujo right at the end.[39]
On 20 August, Barcelona got their first win of the season, winning 2–0 against Cádiz, with the goals coming from Pedri and Ferran Torres.[40][41]
On 3 September, the team got a hard-fought 2–1 away win against Osasuna, with Jules Koundé and Robert Lewandowski scoring the goals. New signings João Félix, João Cancelo and Iñigo Martínez made their debuts during the match.[52][53]Gavi made his 100th appearance for Barcelona, thus becoming the youngest Barça player ever to become a centenarian, reaching the figure at the age of 19 years and 27 days.[54][55]
On 5 September, the nominees for the Golden Boy award were announced. Three Barcelona players were nominated: Pedri, Gavi and Alejandro Balde.[56]
On the next day, the nominees for the 2023 Ballon d'Or were announced. Robert Lewandowski and İlkay Gündoğan were nominated for the Ballon d'Or award. Barcelona had the most players nominated for the Kopa Trophy than any other club, with Alejandro Balde and holders of the award Pedri and Gavi representing the club. While Marc-André ter Stegen was nominated for the Yashin Trophy.[57]
On 16 September, Barcelona got a comfortable 5–0 win against Real Betis. Both João Félix and João Cancelo scored their first goals for the club, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha both scored a goal each, and the other goal was scored by Ferran Torres, who converted a free-kick in the 62nd minute, scoring the club's first free-kick goal in over two years, since Lionel Messi scored a free-kick in a league win against Valencia back in May of 2021. [58][59]
On 19 September, the team started their Champions League campaign with a dominant 5–0 against Royal Antwerp.
On 23 September, Barcelona completed an epic comeback defeating Celta Vigo 3–2, after they were trailing 0–2 until the 81st minute, when Robert Lewandowski scored his first goal of the match and just four minutes later he scored his second, João Cancelo scored the last goal of the match in the 89th minute to complete the dramatic comeback. It's the first time in club's history in the league that the team has been able to overcome a two-goal deficit after the 80th minute.[60][61]
On 26 September, Barcelona were held to a 2–2 draw away at Mallorca. Raphinha scored one goal and Fermín López scored his first goal for the club.[62][63]
On 29 September, Barcelona ended the month with a 1–0 win against Sevilla thanks to an own goal scored by Sevilla's defender Sergio Ramos.[64]
On 8 October, Barcelona were held to a 2–2 draw against Granada away.[69]Sergi Roberto and Lamine Yamal scored a goal each, and with his goal Lamine Yamal became the youngest La Liga goalscorer ever aged 16 years and 87 days, breaking the record held by Malaga's Fabrice Olinga, who scored against Celta Vigo in 2012 aged 16 years and 98 days.[70][71]
After the international break, Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 1–0 on 22 October, thanks to a goal from teenage debutant Marc Guiu who scored his first goal for the club just 23 seconds after coming on as a substitute, and became the youngest Barcelona player to debut with a goal in La Liga in the 21st century at just 17 years and 291 days.[72][73][74]
On 28 October, Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season after they were defeated 2–1 by Real Madrid in the first El Clásico of the season. In this match, İlkay Gündoğan scored his first goal for the club.[77]
November
On 4 November, Barcelona got a narrow 1–0 away win against Real Sociedad thanks to a last minute header from Ronald Araújo.[78]
On 7 November, Barcelona suffered a narrow 1–0 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Under controversial circumstances, three penalties for the team were denied by Video Assistant Referee (VAR), of which two were handballs inside the box which were not called and the third was a foul on João Félix inside the penalty area which was also not given even after VAR checked the incident.[79]
On 12 November, the team defeated Deportivo Alavés 2–1 thanks to a Robert Lewandowski brace in the second half.[80][81]
On 25 November, Barcelona were held to a 1–1 draw against Rayo Vallecano, with the only goal for the Blaugrana being an own goal by Rayo Vallecano's defender Florian Lejeune.[82]
Barcelona concluded the month with a decisive 2-1 win against Porto on 28 November.[83][84] The win secured Barcelona's advance to the knockout stage for the first time in three years after they had failed to advance in the previous two seasons;[85] the win also confirmed the team as the group winners. [86]
December
On 3 December, Barcelona got ahard-fought 1–0 win over Atlético Madrid, with João Félix scoring his first goal against his previous club.[87]
On 10 December, Barcelona suffered their second league defeat of the season, losing 4–2 to Girona, with Robert Lewandowski and İlkay Gündoğan scoring the only goals for the team.[88][89]
Three days later, Barcelona suffered a 3–2 loss against Antwerp in the last matchday of the group stage. Barcelona and Porto finished the group with 12 points each, however Barcelona finished first in the group because of their better head-to-head record against Porto. Ferran Torres and Marc Guiu got on the scoresheet for the team.[90][91]
On 16 December, Barcelona drew 1–1 against Valencia, with João Félix scoring the only goal for the Catalans.[92]
Barcelona got a hard-fought 3–2 victory over Almería in their last competitive match of the year on 20 December, thanks to a brace from Sergi Roberto and a goal from Raphinha.[93][94]
Barcelona concluded the year with a 3–2 defeat in a friendly against Mexican side Club América on 21 December.[95]
January
On 4 January, Barcelona started the new year with a comeback win, defeating Las Palmas 2–1 after going 1–0 down in the 12th minute. Ferran Torres scored the equaliser in the 55th minute, while İlkay Gündoğan scored the winning goal in the 93rd minute with a penalty kick.[96][97] New signing Vitor Roque made his debut with the team.[98]
On 7 January, Barcelona defeated Barbastro 3–2 and advanced to the Copa del Rey round of 16 thanks to goals from López, Raphinha and Lewandowski.[99]
On 11 January, Barcelona advanced to the 2024 Supercopa de España final after they defeated Osasuna 2–0 in the semi-final thanks to goals from Lewandowski and Yamal.[100][101] With his appearance and goal in the 93rd minute, Yamal became the youngest player to take part in the competition and the youngest scorer at the age of 16 years and 182 days, beating the previous record for the 21st century set by Ansu Fati at the age of 17 years and 70 days.[102]
On 14 January, Barcelona suffered a 4–1 defeat against Real Madrid in the Supercopa final with Lewandowski scoring the only goal for the team.[103][104]
On 18 January, the team advanced to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after they defeated Unionistas 3–1, with the goals coming from Torres, Koundé and Balde.[105] Frenkie de Jong made his 200th appearance for Barcelona.[106]
Barcelona returned to league action on 21 January, winning 4–2 against Real Betis. Ferran Torres marked his 100th appearance for the club with a hat-trick, with the other goal coming from João Félix.[107]
On 24 January, Barcelona were eliminated from the Copa del Rey after they suffered a 4–2 away defeat against Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals. Lewandowski and Yamal scored the only goals for the team.[108][109]
On 27 January, Barcelona suffered a dramatic 5–3 defeat against Villarreal in controversial circumstances after they had a penalty overturned by VAR.[110][111][112][113]
Barcelona finished the month with a 1–0 win over Osasuna on 31 January. In this match, new signing Vitor Roque scored his for goal for the club a minute after coming on as a substitute.[114]
February
On 3 February, Barcelona got a 3–1 away win over Deportivo Alavés thanks to goals from Lewandowski, Gündoğan and Vitor Roque.[115]
On 11 February, the team got held to a 3–3 draw against Granada, with Yamal scoring a brace and Lewandowski scoring once.[116]
On 17 February, Barcelona got a dramatic 2–1 away win against Celta Vigo thanks to a Lewandowski brace, who scored the winning goal in the 97th minute with a penalty kick. With this brace, Lewandowski reached 50 goals with Barcelona, achieving this milestone in 79 matches.[117][118][119]
On 21 February, Barcelona drew 1–1 away against Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Lewandowski scored the team's only goal.[120]
Barcelona ended the month with a comfortable 4–0 win against Getafe on 24 February, with the goals coming from Raphinha, Félix, De Jong and Fermín.[121][122] De Jong's goal scored in the 61st minute was Barcelona's 11,000th goal in the club's history in competitive matches.[123]
March
On 3 March, Barcelona drew 0–0 against Athletic Bilbao in a match that saw both Frenkie de Jong and Pedri suffer injuries.[124][125]
On 12 March, Barcelona advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the 2019–20 season after defeating Napoli 3–1 on the night and 4–2 on aggregate,[129] with the goals coming from Fermín, Cancelo and Lewandowski.[130][131] Barcelona became the first team in Champions League history to start two players aged 17 or under in a Champions League knockout match by starting both Yamal and Champions League debutant Pau Cubarsí, the latter of whom became the youngest player to make his debut as a starter in the Champions League knockout stage at 17 years and 50 days and was also named Man of the match.[132][133]
On 17 March, Barcelona defeated Atlético Madrid 3–0 thanks to goals from Félix, Lewandowski and Fermín and climbed to second place in the league standings.[134][135]
After the international break, the team got a 1–0 win against Las Palmas on 30 March, with the goal coming from Raphinha.[136][137]
April
On 10 April, Barcelona got a dramatic and hard-fought 3–2 away win against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final thanks to a brace from Raphinha, with the winning goal coming from Andreas Christensen who scored on his 28th birthday.[138][139][140]
Three days later, the team got a 1–0 away win over Cádiz.[141]
On 16 April, Barcelona's Champions League journey ended after they suffered a 4–1 defeat in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Paris Saint-Germain (6–4 on aggregate). Despite Barcelona's promising start thanks to a Raphinha goal, the pivotal moment of Araujo's red card in the 29th minute altered the trajectory of the match and ultimately swung the momentum decisively in PSG's favour.[9]
On 21 April, Barcelona suffered a 3–2 defeat against Real Madrid in a hard-fought match.[142][143] It was marked by a controversial VAR decision when in the 26th minute Yamal guided the ball towards the goal and Real Madrid's goalkeeper Lunin cleared the ball from an inside goal perspective. Four minutes later, after being checked by the VAR, the result was deemed inconclusive because of the lack of the goal-line technology in La Liga and therefore the goal was not allowed.[144][145][146]
On 25 April, the club commemorated the 10th anniversary of the death of Barça's former coach Tito Vilanova by releasing a 2020 Barça Studios documentary about the coach titled "102x102 TITO on YouTube" on the club's official channel. He is remembered as the only Barcelona coach to reach 100 points in a league season and his name lives on at the club with the main training pitch named after him at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.[147]
Barcelona ended the month with a 4–2 comeback victory against Valencia on 27 April, with Fermín scoring a goal and Lewandowski scoring a second half hat-trick which included a free kick goal in the last minute of the match.[148][149]
May
On 4 May, Barcelona suffered a 4–2 defeat against Girona.[150]
On 13 May, the team got a 2–0 win against Real Sociedad thanks to goals from Yamal and Raphinha, which took the team back to second place in the league table.[151][152]
Three days later, Barcelona got a 2–0 away win against Almería thanks to a brace from Fermín López who reached ten goals with the club.[153]
On 19 May, Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano 3–0 in their last home match of the season thanks to a brace from Pedri and a goal from Lewandowski.[154][155] With this win, the team secured second place in the league and qualified for the next season's Supercopa de España.[12] It was a match of milestones as Araújo made his 150th appearance for the club, with both Gündoğan and Yamal playing their 50th match for the club, making Yamal the youngest player in the club's history to reach 50 appearances at the age of 16 years, 10 months and six days, beating the previous record held by Bojan Krkić who made his 50th appearance at the age of 18 years and three days in August 2008.[156]
On 26 May, Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2–1 in their last match of the season thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Fermín López.[157][158] It was Xavi's last match as the head coach of the club after it was announced two days earlier that he would not continue as the manager next season, reversing the club's last month decision to continue with Xavi as the head coach.[13][159]
On 29 May, Barcelona announced that current manager Xavi will step down as manager and the German manager Hansi Flick would become the team's head coach starting next season with a contract until 30 June 2026.[14]
^Fermín wore number 32 in La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España matches played from 13 August until 27 January. Number 32 was used in Champions League matches until 16 April.[160]
Source: LaLiga EA Sports Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Fair-play points (Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played)[191] (C) Champions Notes:
^Since the winners of the 2023–24 Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao, qualified for European competition based on league position, the Europa League berth awarded to the Copa del Rey winners was passed to the sixth-placed team, and the Conference League berth awarded to the sixth-placed team was passed to the seventh-placed team.
Results summary
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
38
26
7
5
79
44
+35
85
15
1
3
43
21
+22
11
6
2
36
23
+13
Results by round
Round
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
Ground
A
H
A
A
H
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
A
Result
D
W
W
W
W
W
D
W
D
W
L
W
W
D
W
L
D
W
W
W
W
L
W
D
W
W
D
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
W
W
W
W
Position
11
6
4
3
2
1
3
2
3
3
4
3
3
4
3
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
Updated to match(es) played on 28 May 2024. Source: La Liga A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Matches
The league fixtures were announced on 22 June 2023.[192]
As a result of finishing top of the group, Barcelona were seeded for the round of 16 draw which took place on 18 December 2023, and would play the second leg at home. They were drawn against Italian side Napoli, who finished second in Group C.[201]
The draw for the remaining knockout rounds of the competition was held on 15 March 2024 in Nyon.[202][203] Barcelona were drawn to face Ligue 1championsParis Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, with the second leg being played at home. Paris Saint-Germain finished second in Group F and progressed past Real Sociedad 4–1 on aggregate in the round of 16.[204]
^Fermín wore number 32 in La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España matches played from 13 August until 27 January. Number 32 was used in Champions League matches until 16 April.[210]
