A study reveals that Barça is the foreign club with the most followers in Brazil. One in four Brazilians follow Barça, a figure that today could be even higher, since the study was carried out in July, just around the time when Neymar signed for the Catalan club . The second club, way behind Barça (24.9%) is Real Madrid (11.8%), followed by Milan (3.7%), Chelsea (2.7%), Manchester United (2.5%), Bayern Munich (2%), Boca Juniors (1.4%) and PSG (1.1%).

Fans of Club Atlético Mineiro, Ronaldinho’s current team, are the ones who most follow Barça: up to 30%. Gremio fans come second, as 29.8% consider themselves Barça followers, followed by Fluminense (29.1%), Cruzeiro (29%), Vasco da Gama (28.7%), Corinthians (27.6%), Santos (26.2%), Palmeiras (24.2%), Botafogo (23.9%), Flamengo (23%), Sao Paulo (22.5%) and International (17.1%).

The Brazilian interest in foreign football has been on the increase in recent years. In 2010, more than half of fans (58.7%) admitted that that they did not follow any other club, although Barça was already the favourite amongst the fans, but with only 13.3%. Today, 45.9%, less than half, admit not being fans of any foreign club, but Barça is still at the top, and has almost doubled its percentage of followers (24.9%).

The study was carried out by Stochos Sports Entertainment and figures were obtained from an analysis of 8,345 qualitative interviews, carried out on people over 16 years old.

Do you know how the press correspondents who follow Barça work? In this Barça TV report we discover how the media and journalists in the Camp Nou actually do their job.

Messi, once again, wins the Golden boot, the team score goal number 5,000 in the league and they complete their 500th match in European competitions. Cesc Fàbregas chats with fans on Facebook, new fields at the Ciutat Esportiva, Barça renew their contract with Unicef until 2016. Check out our interactive summary of November

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The highlights of the final month of the year included Andrés Iniesta renewing his contract, Neymar getting his first hat-trick for Barça, and the first team completing a full calendar year without once slipping from the top spot in la Liga

Interactive summary of the year’s highlights at FC Barcelona in 2013: News, photos, social networks, videos, signings, football, sections, Messi, Neymar...

Special content

The club’s new partner and technology supplier, Intel Corporation, has kicked off a new period of cooperation with FC Barcelona by equipping the Masia with the latest in information technology to help the rising stars in their off-pitch studies.

The sponsorship deal, which was unveiled on 12th December, includes an agreement to carry the Intel logo on the inside of the players’ shirts while equipping the Club with the very latest in information technology to make it one of the most technologically advanced sports clubs in the world.  The influence will be felt all around the Club, starting with the upgrade of the Masia and a complete overhaul of the study room, including the latest Ultrabook 2-in-1.

The classroom was designed by Ricardo Cavolo, a Barça fan from Salamanca.  The artist’s intention is to foster learning and creativity off the pitch in an educational environment that is warm, modern and comfortable.

Helping the youngsters to settle in

The new equipment will be of particular use in language learning, one of the most important factors in helping the stars of the future adapt to life in the Masia.  According to Masia director Carles Folguera: “These new technological tools will improve the learning of the different languages (Catalan, Spanish and English) and that is something that will help people who aren’t from here settle in more quickly and efficiently”.

Intel is also collaborating with the FC Barcelona Foundation over the next couple of months by donating five computers for every match played by the first team plus another computer for every goal scored by the team over that period.  These computers will be shared out among the different charitable projects supported by the Foundation.

[[DES_1]]FC Barcelona now has 50 million fans on Facebook, the biggest social network in the world, and one of the seven different networks in which the club is present. Barça is the worldwide leader in terms of sports teams, with more followers than any other club or franchise on the planet. In the last two years, FC Barcelona’s work has been recognised internationally in the form of such accolades as the Social Star Awards, presented to the most influential organisations and people in each sector.

Since it started in October 2009, the Facebook page has become one of the most important instruments used by the club to keep its fans informed around the world. The regular publication of new content, including posts containing videos and photos, has kept users constantly up to date with what is happening at the club. The foreign countries with the highest number of fans are Indonesia, with 4.7 million, Mexico (3.4), Brazil (2.5), the United States (2.1) and Turkey (1.7), and FC Barcelona now has one of the 30 most popular Facebook pages in the whole world.

Fan every second in 2013

[[DES_2]]In 2013, FC Barcelona consolidated this position by gaining an additional 11 million fans, and the post at the end of the incredible comeback against AC Milan in the Champions League was the most ‘liked’ in the history of the fan-page, with half a million people clicking the button, 3.2 million people making comments and generating 10 million new fans of the page. Other than high numbers, the other important factor is the importance of the service, including the historic opportunity for supporters all around the world to interact in real time with Cesc Fàbregas in a Q&A session.

Not just on Facebook, but in the club’s whole 2.0 presence, Barça gained 32 million new fans on social networks last year, which amounts to an incredible one new fan every second.

Most loved in the world

Dídac Lee, the director responsible for New Technologies, said that "being the top sports club in the world by reaching 50 million worldwide fans on Facebook is an honour and at the same time a responsibility to our supporters … We are grateful to them all, it is them who have made this possible … Barça is the most loved club in the world and this is further proof of that.”

It’s worth noting that the United States is one of the best represented countries on FC Barcelona’s Facebook page. Of the 50 million Barça fans on the site, over 2 million of them reside in the United States.

 [ + ] The biggest Facebook shares of 2013

The FC Barcelona Museum expects to welcome its 25,000,000th visitor this Saturday. Inaugurated in 1984, the FC Barcelona Museum President Núñez is close to reaching this historic mark. This Friday the Museum welcomed its 24,998,651st visitor and it’s expected that the institution will see its 25 millionth visitor on Saturday.

FC Barcelona Vice President Jordi Cardoner will congratulate the visitor at the Museum. The lucky visitor will also win a bundle of prizes, including a commemorative shirt, an invitation to watch a Barça game from the presidential box at the Camp Nou, an exclusive tour of the Museum and will be able to meet his or her favourite player during a training session.

It’s worth noting that the Museum had welcomed 20 million visitors by September 9, 2010.

Alex Jiménez and his two suns, Estanis and Dídac, 10 and 7, respectively, could not have imagined such a dream-like morning when they visited the Camp Nou this Saturday. The father and his two sons became the 25 millionth visitors to the FC Barcelona Museum President Núñez, which was inaugurated in 1984. The three visitors were informed at 10.30 in the morning.

The visitors, all of them Club members and from Barcelona, were surprised by the news. They were received by Vice President Jordi Cardoner and Museum Director, Jordi Pena.

The father and his two sons then enjoyed an exclusive tour of the Museum and became some of the first visitors to see Leo Messi’s third Golden Boot trophy, which isn’t open to the public. They also got to visit the Camp Nou where they passed the ball around on the pitch and visited the first team’s dressing room. In addition, Estanis and Dídac were given commemorative kits.

They’ll meet Neymar Jr

They will also get to watch a match at the Camp Nou from the presidential box and they’ll get to meet their favourite player, Neymar Jr, after a training session. Their youngest brother, Damià, who became a Club member a week ago, will also get to meet the Brazilian player.

Alex and his eldest son, Estanis, have been members since 2003, and this isn’t the first time that the Jiménez family have received good news from the Club. When the season ticket waiting list was revised in 2011, they were green-lighted for two tickets.

Cardoner: “This family keeps Barça close”

“In 2003 they were put on the waiting list and a couple of years ago they got two season tickets. They are dedicated members, they are a family that keep Barça close,” said Vice President Jordi Cardoner to Barça TV. He added: “We are unbeatable when it comes to the social aspect of the Club. We have 50 million followers on Facebook and 25 million people have visited our Museum. The most important thing, however, is that the team and the Club function well.”

Last Wednesday night Josep Seguer, a legend at Barcelona and the World of football, passed away. Seguer, a first team player for 14 seasons, playing 470 games and scoring 133 goals, was remembered with an emotional minute's silence before the start of the Barça v Elche game this Sunday. His three children, Josep, Isabel and Montserrat, were invited to the Stadium and watched the game from the Directors Box

During the match, the FC Barcelona players wore black armbands in memory of Josep Seguer.

Remembering Eusebio

President Rosell also wanted to remember the former Portuguese International player, Eusebio, who died on Sunday, aged 71, due to cardiac arrest. On Twitter he posted: "Today at the Camp Nou we'll remember the great Josep Seguer. On the day that another football legend has left us. My sincere condolences on the death of Eusebio da Silva". On Monday, Carles Rexach, former Barça player and advisor to the President, will represent the Club at the funeral of the former Portuguese player.

Today at the Camp Nou we'll remember the great Josep Seguer. On the day that another football legend has left us. My sincere condolences on the death of Eusebio da Silva.

— sandrorosell (@sandrorosell) January 5th, 2014

The news of FC Barcelona’s record of 50 million fans on Facebook has spread around the planet, appearing in some of the biggest media in the world, including such prestigious publications as Forbes.

FC Barcelona has been consolidated as a global phenomenon on social networks. It is the leading sports club or franchise in terms of the number of fans, and on Facebook tops the list ahead of Real Madrid (47 million), Manchester United (38.5) and Chelsea (21).

Ahead of the NBA and UEFA

Barça’s stats are also higher than those for major sports organisations like the NBA (19 million), UEFA (17) and the Premier League (12.5). The FC Barcelona Facebook page is one of the world’s Top 30 sites of any type after gaining more than 11 million fans in 2013.

And the official page is not FC Barcelona’s only presence on Facebook. The club also has a Friends of Barça B page and more than 5.3 million fans of its other professional sports teams: FCB Basket (1.2 million), FCB Futsal (1.6), FCB Handball (1.3) and FCB Hockey (1.03).

30 official channels

The club has more than 30 official channels on the main social networks, and its efforts have been recognised internationally by the Social Star Awards that honour organisations and personalities in each sector. Other than such recognition, 2013 has also seen extensions to all of these channels, attracting 32 million new followers. As Dídac Lee, the director responsible for new technologies, says: “the figures for social networks show that Barça is the most club loved club in the world”.

But it is not just Facebook. FCB is also the leader on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Tencent Weibo and Youtube. On Twitter, the biggest microblogging site in the world, FCB has more than 21 million followers. On Instagram and Youtube, it has more than a million followers. On Google+, Barça has almost eight million fans, also more than any other sports club in the world, and is one of the Top 20 most popular pages in the world..

FCB SOCIAL

The first phase of work on remodelling access 14 to the Camp Nou, which from now on will be the main entrance to the stadium, is almost complete.

Once the work is over, on January 30, the Camp Nou will have a new 22 metre wide entrance leading into a large public square. One of the most important benefits is that pedestrians and vehicles will no longer be using the same entrance, thus improving safety of visitors.

There is also a new overhead walkway connecting the Auditori 1899 and the Social Area Social with the Palau Blaugrana Boulevard, the site of the commercial area from which visitors enter the Camp Nou Experience and the new FCBotiga Megastore, the biggest football club store in the world. The whole area has also been adapted for the disabled and people with reduced mobility through the inclusion of an elevator that rises to the upper level.

The new entrance to the stadium is via Carrer Arístides Maillol, where the old ticket offices are to be demolished and replaced with a bar and a connection to the social area, new public toilets and a Travel Agent.

New ticket offices

One of the most important changes will be the new FC Barcelona ticket offices. The twelve old ones, which had become obsolete, are to be completely demolished and replaced with sixteen modern offices, all of which are also adapted for use by the disabled.

The new access 14 and the walkway are to become fully operative on February 15. The six months of work on these major improvements to the experience of visiting the Camp Nou has cost 1.5 million euros.

Leo Messi's third Golden Boot  - which the Barça man won as the leading scorer in European leagues last season - was today presented at the Club's museum.

Messi, who picked up the trophy on November 20 last year, scored 46 goals in La Liga, following on from his trophy winning totals of  2009/10 (34) and 2011/12 (50).

The trophy has been placed in the Museum's Espai Messi, alongside his other two awards and the four FIFA Ballons D'Or he has also won. Two large video screens in the area also show all Messi's goals for Barça until the end of the 2013 season.

The Golden Boot was given an exclusive showing for the 25th million visitor to the museum, Àlex Jiménez and his two children Estanis and Dídac.

L'ENTREGA DE LA BOTA D'OR

The return of Leo Messi after his recent injury layoff had a massive resonance on the global social media. After nearly 2 months out of action, Messi's fans on  Facebook and Twitter were hungry for a sight of their hero and along with the world's print media and the rest of the players' post match reactions, the social media were dominated by the Argentinean's return.

• 291.000 twits an hour: this was the number of tweets generated with the hashtag #Messi, during the Argentinean's time on the pitch

• The Golden Minute on Twitter was at 23.49 when 24,000 tweets with the #hashtag were recorded.

• 110,000 likes: The photo of Messi celebrating the fourth goal of the night on the Club's Instagram account is amongst the most seen of the whole season so far.

• Facebook: More than have a million "likes" on Leo Messi's official Facebook post.

• Instagram: Leo Messi's official Instagram photo celebrating his return with his teammates has already reached nearly 200.000 "likes"

• Shared celebration: the first team players shared teh celebration for Messi's return on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

• Half a million new fans: The various FC Barcelona social media pages increased the number of followers yeaterday by more than half a million fans - enough to fill the Camp Nou five times over.

FCB SOCIAL

Futbol Club Barcelona (FCB) wishes to express its indignation at the report released this Friday by the Fiscal de l’Audiència Nacional (National Public Prosecutor’s Office) concerning the signing of Neymar da Silva Santos Junior.

It seems strange indeed that the prosecutor’s office, having asked for the players’ contracts and the annual accounts of the Club, it should now decide to instigate further action without showing any interest in the defendants.

It is also hard to understand why the prosecutor has called on entities such as FIFA or Santos FC  to present documents, which FC Barcelona is willing and able to provide, as they did on December 26last year.

The prosecutor’s decision casts doubts on what was an impeccable operation and one which has allowed FC Barcelona, for 57 million Euros, to obtain the services of a much sought after player. It is also wrong that new actions are being taken for actions which will lengthen a process we have always considered baseless and unnecessary.

The signing of  Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior involved complex and difficult negotiation. We are aware of this and have expressed this every time we have been referred to the confidential character of some of the agreements in the contract. Our rivals were prepared to do the same operation, with much more money, but due to the ability and skill of its negotiating team, FC Barcelona were able to get in first.

The complexity of the contract, which the prosecutor calls “contract simulation”, has never been in itself illegal and we believe that the prosecutor’s belief that it is, is a mistake.

Given the seriousness of this situation and although we believe in the good working of justice, we intend to act decisively to defend the honour of FCB and its President.

FC Barcelona have today formally presented to Central Court number 5 in Madrid, a legal affidavit demanding the action presented by a Club member referring to the transfer of Neymar da Silva Santos Junior be thrown out of court.

The affidavit presented asks for the lawsuit to be dismissed as there is no illegal action in the events originally described in it.

The Club provides a detailed argument as to why the lawsuit should be dismissed: Firstly because of the real motivation of the plaintiff, which is to use the legal system to attempt to discredit the Club and its President.

Secondly, the affidavit explains that the payment of 40 million Euros to N&N Consultoria Esportiva and Empresarial Ltd as part of the payment for the player is included in the 57,1 million Euro total, which the Club has indicated from the first moment.

Thirdly, the Club refutes the arguments of the Finance Ministry of January 10, 2014, because on the one hand no contract simulation or mutation existed between the agreements made between the player and the N&N company in November 2011 and that signed on June 3 2014 in order to definitely sign the player for the Club. On the other hand, the amounts involved in the signing of the player are clearly reflected in the audited annual accounts of  2011/2012 and 2012/2013.

Finally, the Club’s affidavit asks for the action to be thrown out, as it is not pertinent, necessary or corresponding to the appropriate procedural occasion.

[[DES_1]]

For the third year in a row, FC Barcelona is helping to promote Catalonia in China by means of a competition being run in association with Tencent Sport, Catalunya Turisme and Qatar Airways. The prize for the ‘Barcelona Action’ winners will be a trip around Catalonia, including the chance to watch a game at the Camp Nou.

The 2014 competition started last week and is divided into different phases. In the first, entrants have to publish content about Barça on the Tencent Weibo social network, where FC Barcelona has an official page with more than 2 million followers. After that, the Chinese fans have to answer a quiz that tests their knowledge of Barça and Catalonia and publish a video telling their own Barça history. On March 6, the winners will be announced.

In the two first editions, seven Chinese Barça fans enjoyed coming to Catalonia and seeing a match at the Camp Nou. This time, the four winners will be in the country from March 22 to 27, and will be here to see their favourite team take on Celta Vigo.

The two previous editions of the competition run by the Catalan tourist board, Catalunya Turisme, received more than 10,000 messages from FC Barcelona supporters in China, who used photos and videos to explain their lives in relation to the football club. The competition website received an astonishing 2.5 million visits. Stories emerged such as the one about the schoolteacher who taught her pupils the names of the FCB players and the Barça anthem and fans whose homes were full of FC Barcelona memorabilia.

FCB COMPETITION IN CHINA

Press conference following the extraordinary meeting of the FC Barcelona board, concerning the development plans at the Camp Nou.

In the press conference to announce the proposals for the new stadium, Club President Sandro Rosell  was asked about recent reports in El Mundo alleging the total cost of the Neymar transfer was 95 million Euros, rather than the 57 the Club has declared. Rosell declared:  “I want to state again that the transfer cost 57 million and that’s it. With all respect to the judge, I’m asking him to accept the legal action and call me to declare immediately so I can tell him what I know. There is nothing to cover up, it was all perfectly above board and completely legal”.

The President made it clear that the Club was subject to confidentiality clauses which meant he couldn’t reveal all the economic details of the operation: “any confidentiality clauses involving this Club, are there because the other part demand it, I respect the contracts we sign and that’s why I would love the judge to call me to declare so I can explain the contractual questions. Barça is 1000% transparent with what it explains”.

Faus explains there was no bad intent between him and Messi

Economic Vice-President  Javier Faus also spoke at the press conference about  the declarations between himself and Messi earlier this season concerning the Argentinean’s contract:  “it’s something which is happily resolved now, as Leo has said on a number of occasions. There was no bad intent meant on either side”.

Faus spoke of Messi’s contract improvement and claimed: “he’s the best in the world and he’s been that for the last five years, whatever the awards say. He’ll continue playing for Barça . I would second the President’s words – he’s the best player in the world and he deserves the best economic treatment”.