Ian Barrufet has another chance to add to the family name in the New Administrative Capital, with FC Barcelona back in the final of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship for the second year running and one victory away from a record seventh title.

There are few handball clubs in the world where the road from the academy to the biggest stages feels as natural as it does at Barcelona. The club has built its modern identity around combining established stars with players shaped within its own system, and Ian Barrufet is one of the latest products of that tradition. He has also inherited a name that needs little introduction in Spanish handball.

David Barrufet, Ian’s father, spent 22 years as Barcelona’s first-team goalkeeper, from 1988 until 2010, becoming one of the defining figures in the club’s history. His son arrived at Barça’s youth ranks in 2016, joining the Infantil B side, and progressed through the academy before making his senior debut in March 2023.

For Barrufet, the path to this stage has included a spell away from Barcelona as well. In the 2024/25 season he joined MT Melsungen on loan, gaining experience in the Bundesliga and competing in the EHF European League Men, before returning to Barça as part of the first-team squad for the 2025/26 season.

Now 22, Ian is preparing for his second consecutive IHF Men’s Club World Championship final, having already lifted the trophy with Barcelona in 2025.

“It has been a lot of desire, a lot of ambition, we want to win,” Barrufet said ahead of Thursday’s final against Veszprem HC, the opponent Barcelona beat in the previous edition to conquer the world title. 

“We came here for that, to try to take another title out of the pocket.”

At the 2025 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, Barrufet finished with 20 goals, matching Daniel Fernandez and trailing only Dika Mem among Barcelona’s scorers.

This year, he has already reached 16 goals and is currently Barcelona’s second-highest scorer in the competition, behind fellow left wing Fernandez.

His development is also a reminder of how Barcelona continue to renew themselves. The club may be home to established names such as Dika Mem, Ludovic Fabregas and Timothey N’Guessan, but alongside them is a generation of players who have been developed within the Barça system.

Barrufet is one of them. So too are players such as Petar and Djordje Cikusa, while Adrian Sola, Oriol San Felipe and Oscar Grau have played meaningful minutes in this edition of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, against Pinheiros or Montada in the Group Phase.

 

For Barrufet, that environment has always felt familiar.

“I’m a guy who has a lot of desire, who wants to work. And I have a lot of ambition, a lot of desire to be there, to work for the team. I’m going to fight to try to help as much as possible,” says the left wing.

That determination has become an important part of his identity. On the court or off it – where he in his last year studying journalism – Barrufet is driven by this.

Asked what question he would ask himself if he were a journalist, Barrufet settled on inquiring about the quality that he feels best represents him.

His answer was simple: “I think that I would be a fighter. Things can go well or badly for me, but I always try to give 100% of myself. And that’s what I always try to do on the pitch.”

It is a quality Barcelona have needed in Egypt, where they have once again produced the tournament’s most prolific attack.

After three matches, Barça have scored 134 goals, an average of 44.6 per game, the highest scoring rate of any team in the competition. Their route to the final has included a 44:33 victory against E.C. Pinheiros, a 39:29 win over Zamalek and a remarkable 51:15 victory against Montada, the biggest win in the club’s history in the competition.

All three wins saw Barcelona win in double digits, and scoring at least 39 goals, showing just how much firepower the team has, regardless of who plays on the court.

 

The attacking numbers are particularly striking given the breadth of Barcelona’s squad. Against Montada, the reigning champions were able to rotate heavily, with major names such as Mem and N’Guessan watching from the stands while several other leading players were rested entirely. Fernández scored nine of Barça’s first 11 goals in that match, while the final margin surpassed Barcelona’s previous record victory at the competition, a 50:18 win over Ministros in 2022.

These results secured Barcelona’s place in the final for the second consecutive year. They will face Veszprém HC in a repeat of the 2025 final, when Barça prevailed 31:30 after extra time.

The stakes are familiar, but the target has changed. Barcelona are no longer trying to reclaim the trophy they won last year, they are trying to extend their record. The Spanish giants have already won the IHF Men’s Club World Championship six times, with titles in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2025. They have appeared in eight finals, winning six and losing two, making them the most successful club in the history of the competition.

Last year’s final against Veszprém also went to overtime, with Barcelona eventually emerging 31:30. This time, the young left wing expects another contest in which the smallest details could decide everything.

“I think that last year we were in a similar state to now. Both teams were doing well. In fact, in the end it was a great game. We got to the overtime and we were lucky that it fell on our side. I think that this year, I’m going to say it in detail as well. And I hope it falls on our side as well,” says the right wing.

For a player who grew up around Barcelona handball and carries the surname of one of the club’s greatest goalkeepers, another Cairo final already represents a remarkable stage in his journey.

But Barrufet is not looking backwards.

“I just want to keep working as I’m doing. And with the confidence that I have in myself and that the team has in me, I’m going to try to be here for many years,” he says.

So far, he has already won a trophy in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League and one IHF Men’s Club World Championship title. He was also part of the Spain team who won the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, becoming more and more accustomed to winning.

But now, it is only about this game against Veszprém and another title.