List of Copa del Rey finals

List of Copa del Rey finals
The 2013–14 Copa del Rey trophy, won by Real Madrid
Founded1903; 121 years ago (1903)
RegionSpain
Number of teams126
Current championsAthletic Bilbao
(24th title)
Most successful team(s)Barcelona
(31 titles)
2023–24 Copa del Rey

The Copa del Rey is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish football, organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, held annually since 1903. The competition is open to Primera and Segunda División teams, plus some qualifiers from lower levels.[1]

Since the first final between Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, 122 single-match finals have taken place (the 1904 final was not held, whereas in 1910 and 1913 two parallel tournaments and finals were played due to disagreements between the FECF and the UECF, both considered official; in 2023, the RFEF retrospectively announced that they recognized the 1937 Copa de la España Libre as an official tournament won by Levante FC,[2][3] distinct from the Copa del Rey.[4] Four finals were replayed after the first games ended in a draw,[5] with 26 others going to extra time and seven of those requiring a penalty shoot-out to decide a winner.

As of 2024, 36 different teams have competed in the final, with 15 of them winning the tournament at least once. On 18 occasions, the winning team also won La Liga (which began in 1929) in the same season, thus making a domestic double. Barcelona are the only team to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League in the same year, having done so twice in 2009 and 2015.[6][7] The competition was not held in 1938 due to the impact of the Spanish Civil War.[8]

Barcelona hold the record for the most wins and most finals appearances, with 31 from 42 total appearances. Real Madrid hold the record for the most finals lost (20). Of the teams who have participated in more than one final, Español de Madrid and Celta Vigo share the worst win–loss record with three defeats and no victories each. Of the victorious teams, Arenas have the lowest percentage of success, winning one out of four finals (25%). Athletic Bilbao are the reigning champions, having won their 24th title in 2024.

Lionel Messi holds the records for most goals scored in finals (9), most finals scored in by a player (7), most assists provided in finals (6), most appearances in finals (10, along with Sergio Busquets) and most man of the match awards won in finals (3).[9] Messi and Busquets, along with Barcelona teammate Gerard Piqué and Agustín Gaínza of Athletic Bilbao, share the most Copa del Rey trophies won by a player, with 7. Telmo Zarra holds records for consecutive finals scored in (finding the net on each occasion between 1942 and 1945) and the most goals scored in a final (four, in 1950).[10]

  1. ^ "Copa Del Rey History, Record, Players and Teams". Sportzcraazy. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. ^ "La RFEF reconoce al Levante como campeón de la Copa de la República de 1937; y al Deportivo, del Concurso de España 1912" [The RFEF recognizes Levante as the 1937 Republic Cup champion; and Deportivo, from the 1912 Spanish Contest]. rfef.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  3. ^ La Federación reconoce la Copa del Levante de 1937 y la del Deportivo de 1912, [The Federation recognizes Levante's 1937 Cup and Deportivo's 1912 Cup], Noel Rodilla, Marca, 25 March 2023 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference winners-rfef was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cash, Meredith. "Where are they now? The starters from Lionel Messi's 2009 FC Barcelona squad that dominated Europe en route to 6 trophies". Insider. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  7. ^ Gatorade. "5 reasons why Barcelona won the treble in 2015". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Gone but not forgotten: football in the Spanish Civil War".
  9. ^ "Messi breaks Copa del Rey final scoring record with brace vs Athletic". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Telmo Zarraonandia | Player: Striker |". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 21 September 2022.