Copa del Rey all-time winners: Which team has won the most Spanish cup tournaments?

Ben Miller

Copa del Rey all-time winners: Which team has won the most Spanish cup tournaments? image

Sixteen teams have won the Copa del Rey since Spain's premier domestic cup competition was first held as the Madrid City Council's Cup in 1903.

Current La Liga high-fliers Athletic Bilbao prevailed in the first edition, beating reigning league champions Barcelona in the final.

Bilbao also lifted the trophy the following season when opponents Espanol de Madrid failed to show up for the final, and 11 teams have since joined them in winning the competition on multiple occasions.

Which team has won the Copa del Rey most often? The Sporting News takes a look through the history books.

Copa del Rey all-time winners: Which team has won the most?

Barcelona led the all-time Copa del Rey standings at the start of the 2023/24 competition and it will take at least eight seasons for the team behind them, Athletic Bilbao, to catch up.

Barca's 31 triumphs include a first success in 1910 and a run of four successive victories between 2015 and 2018.

Real Madrid, with 20 titles, are third behind Athletic, who have 23, and Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti spoke about the importance of the competition before his side visited minnows Arandina in the 2023/24 round of 32.

"We're the reigning champions and we took a lot of enjoyment from this competition last year," said the Italian tactician. "We're going to try to win it, as we did last year."

MORE: Are there replays in the FA Cup 2023/24?

Madrid have been catching up with Bilbao, winning on five occasions since The Lions last prevailed in 1984, although 2022/23 was their first for nine seasons.

Atletico Madrid are the only other club in double figures but remain 10 behind their city rivals, having won the cup only once since 1996.

It looks like being a long time until any player overtakes the goals record of competition all-time top scorer Telmo Zarra, whose 81 goals for Bilbao came between 1939 and 1957.

Barcelona record scorer Lionel Messi - now of Inter Miami - is the only active player in the top 10 Copa del Rey all-time scorers, netting 56 times.

Teams with most Copa del Rey trophy wins

Club Wins Years
Barcelona 31 1910, 1912, 1913, 1920, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1942, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
Athletic Bilbao 23 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1944/45, 1949/50, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1969, 1972/73, 1983/84
Real Madrid 20 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1917, 1934, 1936, 1946, 1947, 1961/62, 1969/70, 1973/74, 1974/75, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1988/89, 1992/93, 2010/11, 2013/14, 2022–23
Atletico Madrid 10 1959/60, 1960/61, 1964/65, 1971/72, 1975/76, 1984/85, 1990/91, 1991/92, 1995/96, 2012/13
Valencia 8 1941, 1948/49, 1954, 1966/67, 1978/79, 1998/99, 2007/08, 2018/19
Zaragoza 6 1963/64, 1965/66, 1985/86, 1993/94, 2000/01, 2003/04
Sevilla 5 1935, 1939, 1947/48, 2006/07, 2009/10
Espanyol 4 1929, 1940, 1999/2000, 2005/06
Real Betis 3 1976/77, 2004/05, 2021/22
Real Union 3 1918, 1924, 1927
Real Sociedad 2 1986/87, 2019/20
Deportivo La Coruna 2 1994/95, 2001/02
Arenas 1 1919
Mallorca 1 2002/03
Club Ciclista de San Sebastian 1 1909
Racing Club de Irun 1 1913

How to watch 2023/24 Copa del Rey

The 2023/24 Copa del Rey will be broadcast in the US on ESPN+.

FanCode have the broadcasting rights in India.

Agreements in other countries could be announced during the competition. In the UK, BT Sport - now TNT Sports - announced a deal to show the latter stages during 2022/23.

Region TV Streaming
USA ESPN+
Canada

UK
Australia
India FanCode


Ben Miller

Ben Miller Photo

Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.