Barcelona is football heaven

La Liga’s biggest two clubs are always unquestionably labelled as the best in the world, largely due to their unrivalled values, which total upwards of $3 billion.

Although, while Real Madrid may hold the title of world’s most valuable football team, Barcelona top the chart for success.

The only club in history to secure a historic treble twice, Barcelona have picked up a total of 85 trophies throughout their 115 year history, including a massive 23 La Liga titles, 27 Copa del Rey victories, 11 Spanish Super Cups, five European Cups, five European Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups. With last season’s treble re-cementing the club’s place as one of history’s greatest teams, it appears likely that they will continue to add to the list over the next few seasons.

Spain remains the go-to place for Brits, with over 12 million travelling to the country each year, and any trip to the country wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Barcelona’s Camp Nou.

Camp Nou is massive

The iconic stadium boasts a massive capacity of more than 99,300, making it the biggest football stadium in Europe, and the second biggest in the world. It is topped only by North Korea’s 150,000 capacity Rungnado May Day Stadium, and I know which one I would much rather visit.

With Lionel Messi continuing to set record after record in the world of football, it would be a dream come true for any football fan to be able to say that they have witnessed a player, who makes a strong case for himself as the greatest of all time, playing right in front of their very eyes. Add Messi’s prolific wingmen to the mix, Neymar and Luis Suarez, and you are almost guaranteed a phenomenal goal-filled experience every time.

You may expect to pay a hefty price to see such a side in action, but Barcelona actually outdoes even some of the Premier League’s smallest sides when it comes to cheap tickets. 2014 saw the clubs cheapest match-day tickets average at a price of just £18.00, compared to an average of £36.00 at Manchester United. With an average attendance of 72,900 in La Liga last season, you are certain to receive an experience that far outweighs its price, and the money that you save on tickets will probably cover a fair bit of the cost of flights too.

Visit the underdogs

Although, while they are certainly the biggest, Barcelona aren’t the only La Liga team based in the city. If you prefer to cheer on the underdog, a visit to Espanyol’s Cornella-El Prat stadium might be for you.

Full name Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona, Espanyol was among a handful of clubs given permission to use the ‘Real’, or ‘royal’, prefix within their name by Spain’s King Alfonso XIII in 1902. While they trail behind their city rivals, Espanyol do possess a rich history of their own, with a number of Copa del Rey trophies and two UEFA Cup runners-up medals in their collection.

Built in 2005, Espanyol’s Estadi Cornella-El Prat is sleek and modern. Average attendances of just 18,700 last season says a lot about the difference in interest between Barcelona’s two clubs, but while Nou Camp is often full of football tourists, at Cornella-El Prat you’re far more likely to be surrounded by genuine fans of the club. It isn’t for everybody, but it provides a completely different alternative to FC Barcelona.

Barcelona is a wonderful city, and if you ever find yourself in the area then you should make sure that you take a break from marvelling at Gaudi’s spectacular creations to admire the city’s equally impressive football creations too.

More information about Spain