they retained the La Liga trophy with 99

FC Barcelona B youth manager Pep Guardiola took over Frank Rijkaard's duties at the conclusion of the season.[54] Guardiola brought with him the now famous tiki-taka style of play he had been taught during his time in the Barcelona youth teams. In the process Guardiola sold Ronaldinho and Deco, and started building the Barcelona team around Xavi, Iniesta and Messi.


Lionel Messi, four-time FIFA/Ballon d'Or winner, in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and FC Barcelona's top goalscorer in official competitions with 318 goals[55]
Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey Final, winning the competition for a record-breaking 25th time. A historic 2–6 victory against Real Madrid followed three days later and ensured that Barcelona became La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season. Barça finished the season by beating the previous year's Champions League winners Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to win their third Champions League title and completed the first ever treble won by a Spanish side.[56][57][58] The team went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao[59] and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk,[60] becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup,[61] and became the first football club ever to accomplish the sextuple.[62] Barcelona accomplished two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and won the Spanish Super Cup trophy for a ninth time.[63][64]
After Laporta's departure from the club in June 2010, Sandro Rosell was soon elected as the new president. The elections were held on 13 June, where he got 61.35% (57,088 votes, a record) of total votes.[65] Rosell signed David Villa from Valencia for €40 million.[66] and Javier Mascherano from Liverpool for €19 million.[67] In November 2010, Barcelona defeated their main rival, Real Madrid 5–0 in El Clásico. In the 2010–11 season, Barcelona retained the La Liga trophy, their third title in succession, finishing with 96 points.[68] In April 2011, the club reached the Copa del Rey final, losing 1–0 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla in Valencia.[69] In May, Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League Final 3–1 held at Wembley Stadium, a repeat of the 2009 final, winning their fourth European Cup.[70] In August 2011, the La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas was bought from Arsenal and who would help Barcelona defend the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid. The Supercup victory brought the total amount of official trophies to 73, matching the number of titles won by Real Madrid.[71]
Later the same month, Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup after defeating Porto 2–0 thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fábregas. This extended the club's overall amount of official trophies to 74, surpassing Real Madrid's total amount of official trophies.[72] The UEFA Super Cup victory also marked another impressive achievement as Josep Guardiola won his 12th trophy out of 15 possible in only three years at the helm of the club, becoming the all-time record holder of most titles won as a coach at FC Barcelona.[73]

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After the disappointment of the Gaspart era,

Johan Cruyff won four consecutive La Liga titles as manager of Barcelona.
Dream Team

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The departures of Núñez and van Gaal were nothing compared to that of Luís Figo. As well as club vice-captain, Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. Barça fans were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid, and during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou, he was given an extremely hostile reception. Upon his first return a piglet's head and a full bottle of whiskey were thrown at him from the crowd.[46] President Núñez was replaced by Joan Gaspart in 2000, and the three years he was in charge saw the club decline and managers came and went; van Gaal served a second term. Gaspart did not inspire confidence off the field either and in 2003, he and van Gaal resigned.[47]
After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the club bounced back with the combination of a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former Dutch player Frank Rijkaard. On the field, an influx of international players combined with home-grown Spanish players led to the club's return to success. Barça won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and the team's midfielder, Ronaldinho, won the FIFA World Player of the Year award.[48]
In the 2005–06 season, Barcelona repeated their league and Supercup successes.[49] In the Champions League, Barça beat English club Arsenal 2–1 in the final. Trailing 1–0 to a 10-man Arsenal and with less than 15 minutes left, they came back to win 2–1 for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years.[50]
Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the 2006–07 season without trophies apart from the 2006 Supercopa de España victory against local rivals RCD Espanyol. They took part in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side Internacional.[51] A pre-season U.S. tour and open feud between the player Samuel Eto'o and Rijkaard was later blamed for the lack of trophies.[52][53] In La Liga, Barça were in first place for much of the season, but their inconsistency in the new year caused them to be overtaken by Real Madrid on 12 May 2007; Barça tied Madrid on points but lost the title on head-to-head superiority. In the Champions League, Barça narrowly managed to advance from Group A by winning 2–0 over SV Werder Bremen, but they were eliminated in the round of 16 by 2005 winners Liverpool F.C. on away goals.
The 2007–08 season ended without any titles, as Barça finished third in La Liga and were defeated in the Champions League semi-finals 1–0 by eventual winners Manchester United.
Guardiola era (2008–2012)

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