Barcelona once again dreamed of reaching the UEFA Champions League final, but this Tuesday, they had to say goodbye to their hopes of returning to the biggest club tournament’s final. After an intense knockout stage against Inter Milan, Barcelona maintained their painful record of failing to reach the Champions League final without Lionel Messi.

While they have failed to reach the final even with Messi, with him in the squad, Barcelona reached four finals and won all of them. In three of those finals, the legendary No. 10 was decisive: two goals against Manchester United and an assist against Juventus.

In the old format, Barcelona lost two finals (against Benfica and Steaua Bucharest) and won one (against Sampdoria in 1991-92). In the Champions League era, the only final Barcelona lost was against Milan in the 1993-94 season. Now, with Hansi Flick’s project and their brilliant young talents, it’s time for Barcelona to return to the final as soon as possible.

Barcelona Shines Again in Europe
Another notable point is that this was Barcelona’s first Champions League semi-final since Messi’s departure. Although the result was elimination, similar to Messi’s last attempt (against Liverpool), the feeling is entirely different. Flick’s team fought until the last moment and, unlike Ernesto Valverde’s team on that painful night at Anfield, did not collapse.
After years of enduring painful eliminations in the semi-finals (twice), quarter-finals (five times), round of 16 (once), and group stage (twice), Barcelona captured all the attention this time.

Flick Must Change One Statistic
The statistic that challenges Barcelona is their failure to reach the final in the last 14 years. Of their last five semi-finals, they only reached the final once (against Bayern Munich in 2014-15). They failed against Chelsea (2011-12), Bayern (2012-13), Liverpool (2018-19), and Inter Milan (2024-25). They were also stopped in two other stages against Inter (2009-10) and Manchester United (2007-08) on the verge of the final. Hansi Flick and Barcelona’s mission for next season is to try again for the final with the best version of young talents like Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Pau Cubarsi, and others.

Barcelona has failed to reach the final in four of their last five Champions League semi-finals:
Lost 2-3 to Chelsea (aggregate) (2012)
Lost 0-7 to Bayern (2013)
Won 5-3 against Bayern (2015)
Lost 3-4 to Liverpool (2019)
Lost 6-7 to Inter (2025)