Barcelona win record 13th European handball title

Barcelona won the 2025/26 EHF Champions League on Sunday in Cologne, beating Füchse Berlin 37-34 in the final of the competition’s Final Four. It was Barcelona’s 13th European crown, and their fourth in the past six seasons, extending their clear lead as the tournament’s most successful club.

The Catalan side arrived in the final after an almost perfect season. They finished the Champions League group stage with 13 wins and one loss, then swept Nantes in the quarterfinal playoff and defeated Aalborg 37-32 in Saturday’s semifinal. They also wrapped up the Spanish league title with a perfect 30-0 record.

Füchse Berlin, runners-up in Germany, also had a strong European campaign. They advanced from the group stage and survived a difficult quarterfinal against Veszprém before beating Magdeburg 40-35 in the semifinal. It was their second straight appearance in the Champions League final and only their second ever, and they lost both times.

Barcelona led throughout the final, opening a six-goal advantage at one point and going into halftime up 20-16. Berlin cut the deficit to two several times, but Barcelona held on. Portuguese pivot Luis Frade scored seven goals, while goalkeeper Emil Nielsen made 14 saves at a 34 percent rate. Berlin’s Mathias Gidsel, one of Denmark’s biggest stars, scored eight goals in defeat.