Barcelona Win Their 13th European Handball Title

Barcelona won the 2025/26 EHF Champions League after beating Fuchse Berlin 37-34 in Sunday’s final in Cologne. It was the Catalan club’s 13th European crown, extending its record lead at the top of the competition’s all-time winners list and marking its fourth title in the last six seasons.

The final completed the Champions League final four, and Barcelona arrived in excellent form after a near-perfect campaign. They finished the group stage with 13 wins and only one loss, then swept Nantes in the quarterfinal playoffs, defeated Aalborg 37-32 in Saturday’s semifinal, and controlled the title match from start to finish.

Barcelona led throughout and built a maximum advantage of six goals. They went into halftime ahead 20-16, and although the German side cut the gap to two on several occasions, the Spanish champions never relinquished control.

Pivot Luis Frade led Barcelona with seven goals, while goalkeeper Emil Nielsen was decisive with 14 saves and a 34% save rate. Fuchse Berlin, runner-up in Germany this season, reached its second straight Champions League final and second overall, but lost both. Matthias Gidsel scored eight times for Berlin, which had beaten Magdeburg 40-35 in the semifinal after a tougher quarterfinal against Veszprem.