Here you will find everything you need to know about the 2026 Spanish Super Cup, in which Barcelona is favorite against Real Madrid, Atlético and Athletic
He Barcelona the defense of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday when he faces Athletic Club in Saudi Arabia. Then, on Thursday, a semifinal will be played between Madrid teams, with the Real Madrid of Xabi Alonso facing the Atlético de Madrid.
So which team is in the best shape to lift the cup? And does another Classic final await us?
Alex Kirkland and Sam Marsden break down all the action, and remember you can watch every game LIVE on ESPN+ (US only).
Where is the Spanish Super Cup played and why?
The Super Cup used to be a secondary tournament: a two-legged preseason friendly that no one cared much about. Now, not only is it a lucrative four-team event in January under the Saudi Arabian sun, but it is also a key indicator of where the Spanish season is heading as we approach the final stretch of the campaign.
For many years, the Super Cup trophy was contested by the winners of LaLiga and the Copa del Rey from the previous season, playing home and away matches. It traveled abroad for the first time, to Tangier in Morocco, in 2018, before the agreement with the Saudis, initially for three editions, later extended for another seven until 2029, a year later. At the same time as the move to the Middle East, the tournament was expanded to a week-long “final four” format, with the league’s top two finishers and the Copa del Rey finalists two meeting each other in semi-finals and a final, and moved from pre-season to January.
The deal, which was reached under Luis Rubiales’ presidency of the RFEF and negotiated by Gerard Piqué’s company Kosmos, proved hugely lucrative for the Spanish football federation, worth around €40 million per season. The main attraction for the Saudis, of course, is the possibility of hosting a competitive Classic. Penalty clauses are even included in the contract if Real Madrid or Barcelona do not qualify.
The tournament has been played twice in Jeddah and three times in Riyadh – restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the 2021 edition was held in Spain – and returns this week to the Alinma Stadium in Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City. The current president of the RFEF, Rafael Louzan, has suggested that there are no plans to reconsider the situation in the short term.
“The last time this tournament was played before going to Saudi, it generated €1 million,” he said in October. “This edition will generate 51 million euros, directly for Spanish football.” — Kirkland
1:26
What Athletic Club does Joan García expect?
Barcelona faces the Basque team this Wednesday, starting at 2 pm ET on ESPN Deportes.
Which teams participate in the Spanish Super Cup and how did they qualify?
The four Spanish teams with the most historical success, both in LaLiga and the Copa del Rey, complete the lineup in Saudi Arabia this month. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Club will compete for the chance to lift the Super Cup trophy in Jeddah on Sunday.
The four places are awarded to the winners and runners-up of LaLiga and the Cup. If there is a match, the team that finishes third in the league, and potentially also fourth, qualifies. This last scenario has occurred this year. Barça qualify as winners of LaLiga and the Cup, Real Madrid as runners-up in both competitions, and Atlético (third) and Athletic (fourth) earn a significant sum of money thanks to their positions in the league.
Barça and Real Madrid are the only teams to have participated in every edition since the four-team format was adopted in 2020, competing in all seven editions. Atlético and Athletic are also regulars, both returning for the fourth time this year. Athletic is the only team, apart from the two greats of the Classic, that has won the Super Cup in its current format, after beating Barça in the 2021 final (which was played in Seville during the pandemic). Real Madrid has won it three times; the current champion, Barça, has won it twice.
The semi-finals promise to be exciting. Barca face Athletic on Wednesday as they seek what would be their fourth trophy since Hansi Flick took over 18 months ago. This match serves as the perfect appetizer for Thursday’s Madrid derby, in which Alonso’s Real Madrid will seek revenge for the 5-2 defeat inflicted on them by Atlético in LaLiga last September. — Marsden
0:44
Joan García: I am still a very young goalkeeper who has a lot to improve
The Barcelona goalkeeper spoke about his great performance against Espanyol and what’s coming for the team.
Will we see another Clásico in the final of the Spanish Super Cup?
Let’s review the finals since the “final four” format was introduced: we have had Real Madrid against Atlético de Madrid (2020), Athletic Club against Barcelona (2021), Real Madrid against Athletic Club (2022), Real Madrid against Barcelona (2023), Real Madrid against Barcelona (2024) and Real Madrid against Barcelona (2025). So the trend is quite clear: in the last three seasons, the RFEF and the Saudis have had their competitive Clásico. Will they also have it in 2026?
Barcelona will be the big favorite to beat Athletic in the first semi-final on Wednesday. Barça won 4-0 when they met in LaLiga in November, and Athletic are having a poor season, with 12 defeats in the 26 games they have played in all competitions, coming into this tournament with a 1-1 draw against Osasuna on Saturday.
Barça hasn’t been playing particularly well — they had goalkeeper Joan García to thank for a 2-0 win against Espanyol in the Catalan derby on the same day — but they have also won their last nine games. With key Athletic players like Nico Williams underperforming – the winger has only three goals this season, the last coming in November – it is difficult to imagine an Athletic victory, although the Williams brothers do have the speed to trouble Flick’s famous advanced defensive line.
Thursday’s Madrid derby in the other semi-final is much more difficult to predict. Atlético de Madrid thrashed Real Madrid 5-2 when they met at the Metropolitano in September, in what was Real Madrid’s worst performance of the season, and a serious blow to coach Alonso’s tenure. But fast forward to the present, and Real Madrid played one of their best games in weeks on Sunday, beating Real Betis 5-1 even without their injured star, Kylian Mbappé.
Atlético could only draw 1-1 against Real Sociedad on the same day, and a slump before Christmas saw them lose two consecutive games against Barça and Athletic, just when they seemed to be preparing to fight for the title. Has Alonso learned from the mistakes of the embarrassing derby in September? It seems likely; He is an intelligent and tactically flexible coach, whose future on the Madrid bench could be at stake in this semi-final after an unconvincing first half of the season. Much will depend on Mbappé’s fitness following his knee sprain, with Alonso being worryingly evasive about the striker’s availability for this tournament over the weekend. However, without Kylian Mbappé, young Gonzalo García stepped up and scored a hat-trick against Real Betis.
To answer the question: yes, I think we will probably have a Clásico final. But I wouldn’t rule out a Barcelona against Atlético either. –Kirkland
1:01
Barcelona trains without Lamine Yamal
Barcelona faces the Basque team this Wednesday, starting at 2 pm ET on ESPN Deportes.
What have been the five best games since the Spanish Super Cup adopted its new format?
5. Final of 2020: Real Madrid 0-0 Atlético (4-1 on penalties)
Among the 0-0 draws, this was one of the best, although it was one moment in particular that remained etched in the memory of the first final with the four-team format. With Atleti striker Alvaro Morata alone against the goalkeeper in extra time, Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde blatantly brought him down. He was sent off, but Atlético could not score from the resulting foul and Madrid ended up winning in the penalty shootout. Sublime until that last inning, Valverde was later named player of the match.
Even Atlético coach Diego Simeone found it difficult to criticize the Uruguayan international after the match. “I think it makes sense to give him the award because he won the game with that inning,” he said. “I told him [cuando fue expulsado] that anyone would have done the same thing in his place.”
4. 2020 Semi-Final: Barcelona 2-3 Atlético
The RFEF could not have wished for a more dramatic start to the competition than this thrilling five-goal match that led to the dismissal of Ernesto Valverde, now Athletic coach, as Barça coach. Goals from Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, at that time wearing the Barça shirt, had neutralized Koke’s initial goal, but a penalty from Morata in the 81st minute and Ángel Correa’s winning goal in the 86th minute sealed an unexpected comeback for Atlético and marked the end of Valverde’s time in charge of the Catalan team.
3. 2025 Final: Real Madrid 2-5 Barcelona
Last year’s final bordered on the ridiculous at times, from Mbappé’s early goal that gave Madrid the lead, to Barça’s response with four goals before half-time, and Wojciech Szczesny’s expulsion in the 56th minute. It was one of the four Clásico defeats that Barça inflicted on Madrid last season and came at a key moment in Flick’s tenure, when the team began to get going in the second half of the game. season. Even after Szczęsny’s moment of madness, which was punished by a Rodrygo goal, Barça was able to control the match with 10 players to claim its 15th Super Cup title and win the first of three trophies in Flick’s impressive debut season as coach.
2. 2021 Final: Barça 2-3 AtAthletic Club (after extra time)
Where to start with this match? Barcelona blowing a 2-1 lead in the final minutes? Athletic starring in the biggest surprise in a Super Cup final since the change to the four-team format? Asier Villalibre’s equalizing goal in the last minute? Iñaki Williams’ brilliant winning goal? Messi losing his nerve at the end and getting sent off? In fact, the image that will last is probably that of Villalibre, with his beard, playing the trumpet during the celebrations on the field after the game. Athletic, as they demonstrated in 2024 with their barge ride along the Nervión estuary after winning the Copa del Rey, knows how to enjoy success.
1. 2024 semi-final: Real Madrid 5-3 Atlético (after extra time)
Real Madrid’s campaign in the 2024 Super Cup was incredible. Vinícius Júnior’s hat-trick in the first half caught everyone’s attention in the final, where they beat Barça 4-1 in Riyadh, but before that there had been an almost incredible semi-final against Atlético, with eight goals, seven different scorers (including Antonio Rüdiger, who scored in both goals) and three comebacks. Atlético won 1-0; Madrid 2-1; Atlético 3-2; and then, in the 85th minute, Dani Carvajal took the game to extra time. There, with penalties looming, Joselu, aided by Atlético defender Stefan Savic, and Brahim Díaz scored to seal a 5-3 victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, which left both teams exhausted.
“We don’t enjoy games like this,” Ancelotti said. “The wear and tear has been tremendous.”
Spanish Super Cup bets (via DraftKings)
To qualify:
Barcelona: -425
Real Madrid: -130
Atlético de Madrid: +105
Athletic Club: +310
