2015–16 FC Barcelona season

On 7 June, Barcelona announced the transfer of right-wing Aleix Vidal from fellow La Liga outfit and 2015 UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla. The player will join on a five-year deal with a transfer fee of €18 million plus variables.[1] On 9 June, the club announced that right back Dani Alves is set to stay at the club after signing a contract renewal for two years with an option for another year.[2] On 10 June, Barcelona announced that the presidential elections will take place on 18 July, after Josep Bartomeu resigned as president to qualify for re-election.[3] On 25 June, Barcelona announced La Masia graduate Gerard Deulofeu was transferred to English side Everton for a reported fee of €6 million.[4] The player returned to Merseyside after spending the 2013–14 season on loan there under fellow Spaniard manager Roberto Martínez.

On 3 July, Barcelona announced that La Masia graduate Martín Montoya would join Italian side Internazionale on a season-long loan with an option for a second.[5] On 6 July, Barcelona announced the signing of Turkey national team captain Arda Turan from Atlético Madrid for €34 million. The player will join on 1 January 2016 after the FIFA transfer ban is lifted.[6] On 18 July, Josep Bartomeu was elected president of Barcelona for the next six years with the third most votes in the club's history.[7] On 21 July, Barcelona kicked off the preseason with a 1–2 victory over Major League Soccer champions LA Galaxy in the 2015 International Champions Cup. Goals from Luis Suárez and Sergi Roberto secured the win in front of a crowd of 93,226 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.[8] On 23 July, Barcelona were fined €30,000 by UEFA for fans waving pro-Catalan independence banners at the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final.[9] The club maintains its respect for the sanction, yet does not agree with it and its legal services will consider the possibility of questioning the fine at a later time.[10] On 25 July, Barcelona were defeated by English side Manchester United with a scoreline of 1–3 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The lone goal came from Rafinha in the 89th minute of play.[11] On 28 July, Barcelona were defeated in penalties by Chelsea at FedExField in Landover, Maryland. Goals from Luis Suárez and Sandro were enough to earn the regular time draw, however the team lost in penalties 4–2 to end their United States Summer Tour.[12]

On 2 August, Barcelona finished their pre-season tour with a visit to Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence. The match ended with a 2–1 loss to the Catalans, the lone Barça goal coming from Luis Suárez.[13] Three days later, on 5 August, Barcelona took on Italian club Roma in the 50th edition of the annual Joan Gamper Trophy. The game ended 3–0 to the Catalan club with goals coming from Neymar, Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitić.[14] As a result of winning the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League the previous season, the team was eligible to compete in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup versus 2014–15 UEFA Europa League winner Sevilla. The game took place on 11 August at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia, and ended 5–4 in favour of Barcelona, with a brace from Messi and Pedro scoring the winner in extra time.[15] With the win, Barcelona becomes the club with the most international trophies in Europe with 19 international titles.[16]

On 12 August, UEFA announced Messi, Suárez and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo as the finalists for the 2014–15 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.[17] On 14 August, Barcelona were soundly defeated by Athletic Bilbao 4–0 in the first leg of the 2015 Supercopa de España at the San Mamés Stadium.[18] On 17 August, Barcelona failed to win their second trophy of the season after a 1–1 draw in the second leg of 2015 Supercopa de España. The lone goal from Messi was not enough to overturn a four-goal deficit from the first leg.[19]

On 20 August, Pedro joined Premier League champions Chelsea for €27 million, rising to €30 million on variables, ending his 11-year association with Barcelona.[20] On 23 August, Barcelona kicked off the 2015–16 La Liga season with a 0–1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in Bilbao. This was the third meeting between the two teams in the last nine days that included the two legs of the 2015 Supercopa de España. On 27 August, Barcelona were drawn into Group E of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, Roma and Belarusian champions BATE Borisov. At the same event, Messi was crowned the 2014–15 UEFA Best Player in Europe for the second time in his career.[21] On 29 August, Barcelona played their first match at home against Málaga which ended in a 1–0 victory. Thomas Vermaelen scored the only and his first goal for the club.[22]

On 1 September, Barcelona and English side West Ham United agreed on the loan of Alex Song for a second successive season.[23] On 13 September, Barcelona traveled to the Vicente Calderón Stadium to face Atlético Madrid after the FIFA international break. The host took the lead with a goal from Fernando Torres, but goals from Neymar and substitute Messi completed the comeback and notched a 1–2 victory. Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen made his La Liga debut after only appearing in the Champions League and Copa del Rey last season.[24] On 16 September, Barcelona open their European campaign with a 1–1 draw against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, with the goal coming from Luis Suárez in the first half.[25] The match ended on a sour note for the squad after Rafinha left the pitch on a stretcher with a leg injury after a tackle from Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan. The next day, the team released a statement that the player had tear the right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and is likely to miss the rest of the season.[26]

On 20 September, Barcelona defeated Levante at home by a 4–1 scoreline with a brace from Messi to stay undefeated in league.[27] Three days later in Balaídos in Vigo, Barça were soundly defeated 4–1 by Celta de Vigo to suffer their first league defeat and drop out of first place in the table.[28] On 26 September, Barcelona were able to bounce back at home with a 2–1 victory over newly promoted Las Palmas.[29] The match was marred with the costly injury to Messi, who suffered a tear in the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of his left knee. The injury will keep the star player out for approximately 6–8 weeks.[30]

On 29 of September, Barcelona defeated Bayer Leverkusen in come from behind fashion with a 2–1 victory. The visitors took the lead in the 22nd minute with a corner kick goal from defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos. In the 80th minute, Sergi Roberto leveled the score and two minutes later, Suárez completed the comeback to keep Barça at the top of Group E.[31] For the second straight Champions League match, Barça lose a key player to injury. This time, captain Andrés Iniesta went down with a hamstring injury in his right leg that will keep him out 3–4 weeks.[32]

On 3 October, Barcelona was defeated by Sevilla 2–1 away at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium for the club's second loss in last three league games. Neymar scored from a second-half penalty kick[33] as Unai Emery beat Barcelona for first ever time as a manager.[34]

On 21 November, Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 0–4 in the season's first Clásico, played at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Luis Suárez scored a brace while Neymar and Andrés Iniesta also got onin the scoresheet; later, Lionel Messi played his first match as a substitute after recovering from his two-month injury.[35] On 24 November, Barcelona beat Roma 6–1 in the Champions League with Barcelona wins Group E.[36]

On 14 December, in the draw for the round of 16 of Champions League, Barcelona will face Arsenal as the Group E winner.[37] On 20 December, the club won a record third FIFA Club World Cup title after defeating Argentine side River Plate 3–0 in the final.[38] Luis Suárez scored a record five goals in the tournament including two goals in the final and a hat trick in the semi-final. He was awarded the Adidas Golden ball, given to the best player of the tournament.[39]

On 30 December, Barcelona beat Real Betis 4–0, with Suárez netting a second-half double after Lionel Messi, in his 500th game, scored; Betis also scored an own goal.[40] By scoring 180 goals in 2015 in all competitions, Barcelona set the record for most goals scored in a calendar year, breaking Real Madrid's record of 178 goals scored in 2014.[41]

On 11 January 2016, Messi won the FIFA Ballon d'Or for a record fifth time in his career.[42] Luis Enrique's Barcelona has finished an incredibly demanding January with nearly perfect statistics. Just the draw against Espanyol at the Cornellà-El Prat in the first game of the year has held them back in 2016.[43]

On 10 February, Barcelona's Copa del Rey draw with Valencia saw Luis Enrique's side set a new club record for unbeaten games, beating Pep Guardiola's 2011 vintage with their 29th game without a loss.[44] On 17 February, Messi made more history after scoring his 300th and 301st goal in La Liga, becoming the first player ever to do so.[45] In the same match, Luis Suárez made up for a penalty miss with his 24th league goal of the season as Barça beat Sporting de Gijón 3–1.[46] On 23 February, Barcelona defeated Arsenal 0–2 away in London,[47] with Messi scoring twice in a feverishly paced encounter, including the 10,000th goal scored in club history.[48] On 25 February, Barcelona extend their alliance with UNICEF through to 2020; the club will increase its annual donation to the charity from €1.5 million to €2 million.[49]

On 3 March, Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano away 1–5, with Ivan Rakitić and Arda Turan netting one each and Messi scoring a hat-trick.[50] Barça set an all-time record run for 35 games unbeaten in Spanish football, previously held by Real Madrid's 1988–89 side managed by Dutchman Leo Beenhakker.[51] On 8 March, the club announced that the Espai Barça[52] jury unanimously selected the bid by Nikken Sekkei + Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes as the winner of the tender for the design of the new Camp Nou.[53]

On 16 March, Barça defeated Arsenal 3–1 at home (5–1 aggregate) in the round of 16 of the Champions League to gain access to the competition's quarter-finals for the ninth-straight season,[54] and set a new club record for ten consecutive Champions League wins at Camp Nou.[55] On 18 March, in the draw for the quarter-finals of Champions League, Barcelona will face Atlético Madrid.[56] On 24 March, legendary Barcelona player and coach Johan Cruyff died of illness at 68, surrounded by his family in Barcelona;[57] the club mourned him with flags at Camp Nou placed at half-mast.[58]

On 2 April, Real Madrid won the second El Clásico match of the league season with a 1–2 victory away, breaking Barcelona's unbeaten record at 39 matches.[59] Players, directors and supporters remembered Johan Cruyff in the form of a video, a mosaic, a minute's silence and applause before the game.[60] On 5 April, Barcelona defeated Atlético Madrid at home (2–1) in the first leg of their Champions League draw, after Luis Suárez's two goals in the second half reversed Barça's early one-goal deficit.[61]

Barcelona lost 1–0 away at the Anoeta Stadium to Real Sociedad on 9 April in La Liga after a goal from the latter club early on.[62] On 13 April, Atlético defeated Barcelona 2–0 (3–2 on aggregate) in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, eliminating the title holders.[63] On 17 April, Barcelona suffered their third consecutive loss of the competition as they were out-played by Valencia in a 1–2 home defeat,[64] despite Messi's second-half goal, his 450th for the club.[65]

On 20 April, Barcelona shook off their recent poor form to absolutely thump Deportivo de La Coruña in a 0–8 away victory, with Luis Suárez scoring four and creating three assists to keep his side in the title race.[66] They continued this form three days later by beating Sporting de Gijón 6–0, with Suárez again scoring four goals (two from penalties), with Messi and Neymar scoring the other two.[67] On 30 April, Barcelona defeated Real Betis 0–2 through Ivan Rakitić and Suárez goals, keeping Barça top of La Liga.[68]

On 8 May, Barcelona thrashed Espanyol 5–0 in the season's last home match.[69] Everyone inside Camp Nou played their part in the spectacular pre-game mosaic which bore the message "Som-hi tots" ("Let's go everyone") and also in the minute's silence in memory of the recently passed Manel Vich, the voice of Camp Nou for almost 60 years.[70] On 14 May 2016, Barcelona sealed their sixth La Liga title in eight years with an emphatic 0–3 win over Granada. Two strikes from Luis Suárez in the first half and another late in the second helped the Catalans achieve the club's 24th league success, and confirms the Uruguayan's status as the division's top marksman with 40 goals.[71]

On 21 May, Barcelona and Nike extended their current sponsorship deal.[72] On 22 May, Barcelona recorded a 2–0 extra time victory over Sevilla for their second domestic title of the season and 28th Copa del Rey of all-time.[73] On 27 May, Barcelona and Sergio Busquets are set to renew his contract for five seasons, through to 30 June 2021.[74]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 26 MF Sergi Samper 27 MF Juan Cámara 28 MF Gerard Gumbau 33 FW Aitor Cantalapiedra 34 MF Wilfrid Kaptoum 36 FW Dani Romera 37 MF Carles Aleñá

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
19	MF		Ibrahim Afellay	29	EU	Olympiacos	Loan return	Summer	2015	Free
17	MF		Alex Song	27	EU	West Ham United	Loan return	Summer	2017	Free
22	DF		Aleix Vidal	25	EU	Sevilla	Transfer	Summer	2020	€18M+4M variables	FCBarcelona.com
7	MF		Arda Turan	28	Non-EU	Atlético Madrid	Transfer	Summer	2020	€34M+7M variables	FCBarcelona.com
–	MF		Denis Suárez	21	EU	Sevilla	Loan return	Summer	2015	Free
–	FW		Cristian Tello	24	EU	Porto	Loan return	Winter	2016	Free
–	DF		Martín Montoya	24	EU	Internazionale	Loan return	Winter	2016	Free

Total spending: €52 million

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
6	MF		Xavi	35	EU	Al-Sadd	End of contract	Summer	Free	FCBarcelona.com
–	FW		Gerard Deulofeu	21	EU	Everton	Transfer	Summer	€6M	FCBarcelona.com
2	DF		Martín Montoya	24	EU	Internazionale	Loan	Summer	€1M	FCBarcelona.com
19	FW		Ibrahim Afellay	29	EU	Stoke City	End of contract	Summer	Free	Stoke City FC
7	FW		Pedro	28	EU	Chelsea	Transfer	Summer	€27M+3M variables	FCBarcelona.com
30	MF		Alen Halilović	19	EU	Sporting Gijón	Loan	Summer	Free	FCBarcelona.com
–	MF		Denis Suárez	21	EU	Villarreal	Transfer	Summer	€4M	FCBarcelona.com
17	MF		Alex Song	27	EU	West Ham United	Loan	Summer	N/A	FCB, WHU
27	FW		Adama Traoré	19	EU	Aston Villa	Transfer	Summer	€10M+€2M variables	FCBarcelona.com
–	FW		Cristian Tello	24	EU	Fiorentina	Loan	Winter	N/A	FCBarcelona.com

Total income: €48 million

Total expenditure: €4 million

Last updated on 22 May 2016.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		La Liga		Champions League		Copa del Rey		Supercopa		UEFA Super Cup		FIFA Club World Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK		Marc-André ter Stegen	26	0	6+1	0	10	0	7	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
13	GK		Claudio Bravo	35	0	32	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
25	GK		Jordi Masip	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF		Douglas	3	0	0+1	0	0	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF		Gerard Piqué	46	5	30	2	7	1	5	2	1	0	1	0	2	0
6	DF		Dani Alves	48	1	24+5	0	8	0	6	1	2	0	1	0	2	0
14	DF		Javier Mascherano	51	0	31+1	0	7+1	0	6	0	2	0	1	0	2	0
15	DF		Marc Bartra	22	2	4+9	2	2	0	3+2	0	1	0	0+1	0	0	0
18	DF		Jordi Alba	45	1	29+2	0	8+1	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	0
20	DF		Sergi Roberto	49	1	21+10	0	4+4	1	4+2	0	1	0	0+1	0	1+1	0
21	DF		Adriano	19	1	4+4	0	2+1	1	3+3	0	1	0	0	0	0+1	0
22	DF		Aleix Vidal	14	0	6+3	0	0	0	3+2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	DF		Thomas Vermaelen	20	1	6+4	1	3	0	5	0	1	0	0	0	0+1	0
24	DF		Jérémy Mathieu	34	0	12+9	0	3	0	6+1	0	1	0	1	0	0+1	0
Midfielders
4	MF		Ivan Rakitić	57	9	30+6	7	9+1	2	5+1	0	1+1	0	1	0	2	0
5	MF		Sergio Busquets	53	0	34+1	0	9	0	4+1	0	1	0	1	0	2	0
7	MF		Arda Turan	25	2	9+9	2	0+3	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF		Andrés Iniesta	44	1	25+3	1	7	0	4	0	1+1	0	1	0	2	0
12	MF		Rafinha	11	2	3+3	1	0+2	0	0+1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0
26	MF		Sergi Samper	7	0	0+1	0	1+1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
28	MF		Gerard Gumbau	8	0	0+3	0	0+3	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	MF		Wilfrid Kaptoum	3	1	0	0	1	0	1+1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
9	FW		Luis Suárez	53	59	35	40	9	8	4	5	2	0	1	1	2	5
10	FW		Lionel Messi	49	41	31+2	26	7	6	5	5	2	1	1	2	1	1
11	FW		Neymar	49	31	34	24	9	3	5	4	0	0	0	0	1	0
17	FW		Munir El Haddadi	25	8	8+7	3	2+2	0	3+1	5	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
19	FW		Sandro Ramírez	25	3	10+4	0	2+1	0	5	3	0+2	0	0	0	0+1	0
27	FW		Juan Cámara	2	0	0	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	FW		Aitor	2	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have left the club
7	FW		Pedro	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0+1	1	0	0

No.	Pos.	Nation	Name	La Liga	Champions League	Copa del Rey	UEFA Super Cup	Supercopa de España	Club World Cup	Total
9	FW		Suárez	40	8	5	1	0	5	59
10	FW		Messi	26	6	5	2	1	1	41
11	FW		Neymar Jr	24	3	4	0	0	0	31
4	MF		I. Rakitić	7	2	0	0	0	0	9
17	FW		Munir	3	0	5	0	0	0	8
3	DF		Piqué	2	1	2	0	0	0	5
19	FW		Sandro	0	0	3	0	0	0	3
7	MF		A. Turan	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
15	DF		Bartra	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
12	MF		Rafinha	1	1	0	1	0	0	2
6	DF		Alves	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
8	MF		Iniesta	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
18	DF		Alba	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
20	MF		S. Roberto	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
21	DF		Adriano	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
23	DF		Vermaelen	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
34	MF		Kaptoum	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
7	FW		Pedro	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
#	Own goals			3	0	0	0	0	0	3
TOTAL				112	22	27	5	1	6	173

Last updated: 23 May 2016[75]

Includes all competitive matches. Players listed below made at least one appearance for Barcelona first squad during the season.

N	P	Nat.	Name	La Liga			Champions League			Copa del Rey			UEFA Super Cup			Supercopa de España			FIFA Club World Cup			Total			Notes
3	MF		Piqué	12			3			2								1				17		1
4	MF		I. Rakitić	3			1												1			5
5	MF		Sergio	6			2						1									9
6	DF		Dani Alves	6			3			2			1			1						13
7	MF		Arda Turan	5			2			1												8
8	MF		A. Iniesta	2			1			3						1						7
9	FW		Suárez	6			2			2						1						11
10	FW		Messi	3			1			1												5
11	FW		Neymar	6			2			2									1			11
14	MF		Mascherano	9		1	2			2		1				1						14		2
15	DF		Bartra	1			1															2
17	FW		Munir							1												1
18	DF		Jordi Alba	2			1			1									1			5
20	MF		S.Roberto	1															1			2
22	DF		Aleix Vidal	1																		1
23	DF		Vermaelen	2																		2
24	DF		Mathieu	2									1									3
26	MF		Samper							1												1
28	MF		Gumbau				2			1												3
–	FW		Pedro										1			2						3

Last updated: 23 May 2016
Source: ESPNFC.com, FCBarcelona.com
Only competitive matches
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.