Barcelona one win away from breaking Spanish Super Cup curse

Barcelona’s emphatic victory over Athletic Club has done more than just book a place in the Spanish Super Cup final.

As such, it has reopened an intriguing story that has followed the competition ever since the introduction of the new ‘Final Four’ format.

This Sunday, Barça will have the chance to end a trend that has stubbornly refused to change: the reigning La Liga champions have never managed to lift the Super Cup under this system .

Hansi Flick’s side now await their opponent, which will be confirmed later today.

The final could once again bring a Clasico showdown against Real Madrid or a clash with Atletico Madrid.

Since the Super Cup adopted its current format, the league winners have consistently fallen short.

This pattern has held true in every edition played in Saudi Arabia, as well as in the edition staged in Spain during the COVID-affected season.

The most recent example came last year, when Barcelona lifted the trophy despite entering the tournament as league runners-up.

Real Madrid, the reigning champions at the time, reached the final but ultimately fell short.

Barcelona are on course to break the curse. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Looking further back only reinforces the pattern. In 2020, the first edition of the new format, Barcelona arrived as La Liga champions. Yet it was Real Madrid who walked away with the trophy.

The following year, Real Madrid entered as champions but failed to even reach the final, which Athletic Club won against Barcelona .

Atletico Madrid then became the reigning champions for the 2022 edition, the only time they have entered the Super Cup in that role.

Once again, the curse held firm, as Atletico failed to reach the final, and Real Madrid retained the title by beating Athletic Club.

The trend continued relentlessly in 2023 and 2024. After being crowned league champions, Real Madrid lost the 2023 Super Cup final to Barcelona .

Barcelona then repeated the same fate a year later. As champions of the 2022–23 season, they reached the 2024 final but were beaten by Real Madrid in another Clasico.

Now, Barcelona stand at the centre of the story once more. This will be their fourth consecutive Super Cup final.

More importantly, it is a chance to finally shatter a pattern that has defined the competition for half a decade.