Football: Barcelona celebrate 120th anniversary

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Spanish football powerhouse Barcelona celebrated their 120th anniversary of foundation on Friday.

"#Barça120 Happy Birthday to youuuuuu, Happy Birthday youuuuuuuuu... Barça fans, enjoy this very special day!" Barcelona said on Twitter.

"It is exactly 120 years since FC Barcelona was founded on 29 November 1899," Barcelona said on their website.

"120 years later, we remain faithful to the values ​​of our founder Joan Gamper. Catalanity, democracy and universality coexist at Barça with maximum sporting ambition and an undeniable global projection. Congratulations, culés!" Barcelona chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu said on Twitter.

Called "Blaugrana" (Blue and Reds), Barcelona won 26 Spanish La Liga titles in 120 years.

Led by Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi, Barça lifted Europe's top-tier UEFA Champions League trophy for five times as their latest Champions League triumph was in 2015.

Since 1957, the team has been playing their home matches at Camp Nou, a sumptuous football venue with a seating capacity of 98,800.

World famous economy magazine Forbes said on its website that the latest La Liga champions had a revenue of €690 million ($824 million).

It stated that the Spanish team's value was €3.6 billion as they are now the second most valuable football club in the globe.

According to Forbes, the world's most valuable football club is Barcelona's arch rivals Real Madrid with a current value of $4.2 billion.