FC Barcelona. Do they need an introduction? I doubt. Do they need a glorified introduction? Maybe. But there is none forthcoming.
I will die on the hill that Pep Guardiola and his robots at Barcelona destroyed football. The stupid ability possessed by the Greatest Player of All Time masked over the putrid ball hogging nonsense that continues to plague football leagues.
A far cry from the football of the times of Ronaldinho; and before him Rivaldo and Ronaldo. The latter only stayed for one incredible season, but they all offered countless highlights in the iconic Blue and Red stripes. Luis Enrique had the MSN triumvirate that played exhilarating football and formed the greatest trio the sport has seen. 363 goals in 3 seasons, 3 players.
And then, they would destroy the football transfer market. Neymar left for his release clause of 222 million Euros, more than double the existing World Record for a Transfer. Yes PSG started it with this, but irresponsible investment in Griezmann, Dembele & Coutinho - Liverpool still have some money left even after this summer you see - inflated an already pricey market.
They've 'activated many economic levers' since, I do not want to go more into things I don't understand. They've not registered and in some cases not paid their players. It was hilarious that they could not afford to keep Lionel Messi at the club.
However, after a few duds they finally seem to have found the heir to his throne. Lamine Yamal is the number one thing going around in football today. With coach Hansi Flick and Robert Lewandowski in their ranks, they have two of the architects of the greatest Champions League win of all time. That included an 8-2 defeat of a Barcelona side with Messi in it. In Pedri, they can rightfully claim to have one of the World's best midfield players and on the whole are a very dangerous side.
Overall Record : W4 D6 L4
Key Statistics
Chelsea have 4 home wins to Barcelona's 3
Barcelona have won at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have 4 away draws.
Barcelona have scored 22 goals to Chelsea's 19.
It was in the 2000 Champions League Quarter Finals when Chelsea faced Barcelona for the first time. We were at home first and incredibly raced into a 3-0 lead at half time, all the goals coming within an 8 minute spell. Luis Figo would get one back but 3-1 was a great result to take anywhere.
Rivaldo and Figo again would put the hosts 2-0 up in the first half, but Tore Andre Flo gave Chelsea hope. The match would go to extra time, where a Babayaro red card meant Rivaldo would add another from the spot and Kluivert sealing the seal 5-1. Memorable tie this.
5 years later, this rivalry blew up as we met in the Round of 16. It was all about one man at first, Jose Mourinho. Chelsea were leading away at the Camp Nou but a controversial second yellow for Didier Drogba led to the hosts winning the first leg 2-1. The 2nd leg is football lore.
Eidur Gudjohnsen would put Chelsea a goal up in 8 minutes and by the 19th it was 3-0, not dissimilar to our first meeting at the Bridge. Barcelona had the enigma that is Ronaldinho, and he had made it 3-2 at the interval. His second goal that night is one of the great Champions League goals. No back lift, toe poked into the corner with power and precision. Our Captain, Leader & Legend (in the making at the time) would score the game winner as tensions boiled over. Mourinho was banned and famously hid in a laundry basket to enter the stadium for the next round.
On this day: 2005 - John Terry scored THIS goal for #Chelsea (vs Barcelona). #cfcHeritage pic.twitter.com/C3HRbTyAwQ
— Chad ⭐⭐ (@ChelseaChadder) March 8, 2025
As fate would have it, we would meet in the Round of 16 again the following year, and in addition to Ronaldinho, a certain Lionel Messi would feature against us for the first time. We were at home in the first leg and lost left back Asier Del Horno to a red card. Two shabby own goals and a late Eto winner meant this remains the only tie between the teams to end in an away win. Ronaldinho would put the hosts up in the return leg for Lampard to earn us a draw but the result was never in doubt. This time they progressed.
The gods contrived to put us in the same Group when the Champions League returned. An amazing turn and finish from the indomitable Didier Drogba gave us a 1-0 home win. Drogba would score a late equalizer at the Nou Camp in the reverse fixture, but the goal of the tie came from Frank Lampard. From an impossible angle, almost on the touchline, the Englishman had found a way to chip Victor Valdes. Mourinho had said it, we only lost to them when we went down to 10 men.
Three years would pass. A fumbling Luis Felipe Scolari had tried and failed at Chelsea and Uncle Roman had called upon his good friend Guus Hiddink to steer the ship. A barren 0-0 draw would follow, the only such result between the clubs. We had not taken a few chances, but we still had to play them at the Bridge.
But then this man happened.
If it was not for him, Guardiola would not have won 6 trophies in that year. Maybe football would be different.
Another 3 years would pass before our next battle. The completely unfancied Roberto Di Matteo would take on Guardiola's machine. A familiar face would ensure a familiar result. 1-0 at the Bridge, Didier Drogba who else? The return leg was chaos. Massive prick Sergio Busquets found a way to score and the heartbreaker from our last meeting put them 2-0 up. In between this John Terry had a brain fade, getting sent off for an unnecessary tackle on Alexis Sanchez.
I had given up after Iniesta scored. I went to bed. When my phone notification rang informing me the second half had begun, I decided to support my team no matter what. And then Ramires comes up with the most sumptuous of chipped goals. That was enough, but could we hold on? In the next 45 minutes I had aged a few years. Lionel Messi had yet to score against us and Didier Drogba handled in the box giving the little genius a chance to mend that statistic. He couldn't.
Then it happened. A hoick from Ashley Cole somehow found Fernando Torres, all alone, in the Barcelona half. The much maligned Spaniard would elegantly round the keeper from a safe distance and roll the ball into an empty net, in a moment immortalized by Gary Neville trying to commentate despite going weak in his knees. Beyond All Odds indeed.
Six years would pass before we would meet this time under Conte, again in the Round of 16. Willian would put us ahead so we could dream, but Petr Cech was not our keeper anymore. Messi would equalize and a 1-1 home draw did not seem enough. Messi would score early and add another in the second half, expertly putting the ball between Courtois's legs. Ousmane Dembele had scored his first goal for Barcelona in between as Ernesto Valverde's side progressed comfortably.
They played for both
A fair few names have had success at both Chelsea and Barcelona. After seven years at the Camp Nou, Albert Ferrer would be the first player to play for both clubs in 1998. Ferrer would spend 5 years at the club before hanging up his boots in 2003, just when Roman Abramovich began to change the club.
While Chelsea would be accused of inflating the transfer market and having players on expensive wages flop under Abramovich, we had done this once before. Dutch center back Winston Bogarde decided to move on from the Spanish La Liga in 2000 and Chelsea offered him a quite ridiculous 40,000 GBP a week.
Bogarde refused to leave the club and stayed the full length of his contract, playing 11 times in total and only one time from 2001 till the contract expired in 2004. A truly awful signing. The same transfer window in 2000 also saw us sign Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The latter won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first year, but his strike partner Gudjohnsen left behind some indelible moments in Chelsea Blue.
The Bicycle kick against Leeds is one of the cleanest connections you will see. When Mourinho got in Drogba, Gudjohnsen dropped deep and was key in our title wins under the Portuguese maestro. Gudjohnsen would leave in 2006 and join Barcelona. He would feature on and off, and was a part of the 2008-09 Treble winners. Samuel Eto'o was a key cog in that side, and he would spend a year under Mourinho at the Bridge in the future.
Emmanuelle Petit and Boudewijn Zenden were Chelsea players when I started to watch football, both trading Catalunya for London in 2001. Then, there is this guy.
Already a Chelsea favorite for scoring the winner in a Champions League final against Arsenal, Juliano Belletti was never first choice at right back but he did not mind. 5 goals in 3 years may not be much, but 3 of them are right out of that top drawer, one winning our Goal of the Season since it was against Spurs.
Belletti is now coach of Barcelona B after a successful season coaching their Under-19s. Not that surprising since Barcelona Sporting Director Deco was also a player at the Camp Nou at the same time. The Portuguese had a glittering career, and had 2 years at the Bridge. The second was when Chelsea did the Double of Premier League and FA Cup for the first time under Ancelotti.
Jose Mourinho returned and in 2014 Chelsea pulled off a masterstroke by getting Cesc Fabregas to sign. Cesc was in the middle of a midfield jungle where he was often asked to play a false 9 or up front due to the 'style' and Mourinho freed him. Playing deeper, like he did when at Arsenal, he was key in our 2015 Premier League win. Truly one of the most gifted passers in football and well on the way to becoming a top tier manager at Como. Intelligence beyond belief.
But, Pedro Rodriguez has the resume of dreams. The only player to score in every competition he featured (6 in 2009-10), Pedro joined a year after Cesc with 5 La Ligas and 3 Champions Leagues under his belt for Barcelona (Cesc never won the Champions League). While the 2015-16 year was a joke, Pedro would slowly find favor at Chelsea. In Conte's 3-5-2, he scored 9 times as we won the League in 2017. Under Sarri, he would score key goals including in the Europa League final as we trounced Arsenal 4-1. Pedro would leave for Roma in 2020, but a year later joined Sarri at rivals Lazio. Incredibly, at age 38, he was their top scorer this season just ended with 14 goals.
We've struck up a good working relationship with Barcelona of late, a few players moving in either direction. Marc Guiu seems like a steal, if Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was a disaster. Marcos Alonso and Andreas Christensen both moved to Spain after storied Chelsea careers. Christensen had come up from the Chelsea youth and left on a free. Joao Felix has more appearances for Barcelona than Chelsea. From the La Masia academy is the Number 1 Left Back in football today, Marc Cucurella. Big Names, Big History.
We return to the Premier League next time.
