The FC Barcelona maintains its absolute dominance in its favorite competition. The Catalans have once again reached the semifinals of the King's Cup after decisively beating Valencia at Mestalla (0-5), re-establishing themselves in this stage after last season when Athletic Club eliminated them in the quarter-finals with a victory in extra time (4-2), achieving a historic milestone.
Indeed, the Catalans have managed to reach the top four teams of the competition in 15 of the last 19 seasons. Since the 2006/07 season, the Catalans have reached the brink of the final on 15 occasions, only failing in the 2009/10 (Round of 16 against Sevilla) and in the 2019/20 (Quarter-finals), 2021/22 (Round of 16) and 2023/24 (Quarter-finals) against Athletic Club.
Barça, the King of the Cup
During this period, the Catalans have reached the final on 10 occasions and have lifted the trophy 7 times, four of them consecutively (08/09, 11/12, 14/15, 15/16, 16/17, 17/18, 20/21), being the highest winners of the tournament by a wide margin over their pursuers: Real Madrid (3), Sevilla (2), Valencia (2), Atlético de Madrid, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, and Athletic Club.
| CHAMPIONS | SEASONS |
|---|---|
| FC Barcelona | 08/09, 11/12, 14/15,15/16,16/17,17/18, 20/21 |
| Real Madrid | 10/11, 13/14, 22/23 |
| Sevilla | 06/07, 09/10 |
| Valencia | 07/08, 18/19 |
| Atlético de Madrid | 12/13 |
| Real Betis | 21/22 |
| Real Sociedad | 19/20 |
| Athletic Club | 23/24 |
The only defeats for the Catalans in the title match occurred in the 2010/11 (0-1) and 2013/14 (1-2) seasons against Real Madrid and in the 2018/2019 against Valencia. Meanwhile, to be crowned champions, they had to defeat Athletic Club (08/09, 1-4; 11/12, 3-0; 14/15, 1-3; 20/21, 0-4), Sevilla (15/16 2-0; 17/18, 0-5) and Alavés (16/17, 3-1).
| SEASON | MATCH | RESULT |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-2009 | Athletic Club-FC Barcelona | 1-4 |
| 2010-2011 | FC Barcelona-Real Madrid | 0-1 |
| 2011-2012 | FC Barcelona-Athletic Club | 3-0 |
| 2013-2014 | FC Barcelona-Real Madrid | 1-2 |
| 2014-2015 | Athletic Club-FC Barcelona | 1-3 |
| 2015-2016 | FC Barcelona-Sevilla | 2-0 |
| 2016-2017 | FC Barcelona-Alavés | 3-1 |
| 2017-2018 | Sevilla-FC Barcelona | 0-5 |
| 2018-2019 | FC Barcelona-Valencia | 1-2 |
| 2020-2021 | Athletic Club-FC Barcelona | 0-4 |
To put the brutality of this statistic into perspective, Real Madrid has only reached 6 semifinals and has lifted the title 3 times during the same period, thus confirming the overwhelming superiority of Barça in a competition that this year aims to be once again colored in blue and garnet, which would be the thirty-second trophy for the Catalans.