The streets of Barcelona were painted in blaugrana as fans turned out in force to celebrate the titles won by Hansi Flick’s team this season: La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. Both were secured against eternal rivals Real Madrid, adding extra merit and satisfaction to the feat. Overwhelming joy swept through the crowd as an estimated 750,000 people, according to the city council, poured onto the streets on a sunny Monday afternoon to celebrate with their idols—a historic second consecutive league title and a present and future full of promise.
This Barcelona side may not possess the strongest squad of recent years, and only time will tell if they can fulfill the promise of bringing home the coveted Champions League. But what this group of young players has again demonstrated is a very special emotional connection with the “gent blaugrana.” Entire families, groups of friends, and tourists mingled along the sidewalks to welcome the players, who—despite the fatigue from the previous night’s celebrations—rose to the occasion.
Joan García, experiencing his first title parade, was already eager for more. “It’s incredible. We have plenty of energy left. I’m sure this won’t be the last one,” he said. Pau Cubarsí echoed that sentiment: “The people are with us. We are a team that is very eager to do great things for this club.”
Frenkie de Jong, one of the team’s heavyweights, also highlighted this bond, which stems from the fact that the squad is largely made up of players trained at La Masia. “It’s very special to share this with the people. The connection is really good. We have many homegrown players who grew up here. Young players who give everything for the team. This team has a lot of hunger. There are many things we want to win, especially the Champions League, which is still pending, and we will give everything to achieve it,” he said. “We want more. If this is already mind-blowing, I can’t imagine what it would be like with the Champions League,” added Dani Olmo.
Lamine Yamal, who grew into the celebrations, declared his love for the supporters. “They are always with us on the important days and the less important ones. This is the club of our lives. We have to value every title and every year we win because it’s not easy. We’ve had very bad years, but now we are enjoying a lot. You think it’s Monday, people have work, but they are always here with us. A Champions League parade? For sure.”
Robert Lewandowski, possibly experiencing his last parade with Barça, and his compatriot Wojciech Szczęsny, vape in hand, were the main entertainers, indulging in ice cream, pizza, and hamburgers. Lamine, Alejandro Balde, and others focused on dancing (they love choreographies), and the number 10 was seen with a Palestinian flag and was thrown a shirt that read “Thank God I’m not a Madridista,” which he didn’t hesitate to show off. All the players wore a shirt with the slogan: “A way of being, a way of winning.”
Real Madrid was present in spirit. On such days, it’s impossible for the eternal rival not to appear. Among the most chanted songs by Barça fans were: “Cono, quédate” (“Cone, stay”) and the classics “Madrid, salute the champion” and “Bounce, bounce, bounce Madridista, he who doesn’t bounce.” There were also beach balls and fans who brought cones, though the Mossos tried to prevent them from complicating the organizational aspects of a day when the city was brought to a standstill by this parade of happiness and culé glory.
