El Clásico

El Clásico or el clásico[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [el ˈklasiko]; Catalan: El Clàssic,[2] pronounced [əl ˈklasik]; "The Classic") is the name given in football to any match between fierce rivals FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally it referred only to those competitions held in the Spanish championship, but nowadays the term has been generalized, and tends to include every single match between the two clubs: UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, etc. Other than the UEFA Champions League Final, it is considered one of the biggest club football games in the world, and is among the most viewed annual sporting events.[3][4][5] A fixture known for its intensity, it has featured memorable goal celebrations from both teams, often involving mocking the opposition.[6][7]

El Clásico
Team kits – Real Madrid in white, Barcelona in blue and red
LocaleSpain
TeamsBarcelona
Real Madrid
First meetingFC Barcelona 3–1 Madrid FC
Copa de la Coronación
(13 May 1902)
Latest meetingReal Madrid 2–0 Barcelona
La Liga
(1 March 2020)
StadiumsCamp Nou (Barcelona)
Santiago Bernabéu (Real Madrid)
Statistics
Meetings totalCompetitive matches: 244
Exhibition matches: 33
Total matches: 277
Most winsCompetitive matches: Real Madrid, Barcelona (96)
Exhibition matches: Barcelona (19)
Total matches: Barcelona (115)
Most player appearancesSergio Ramos (44)
Top scorerLionel Messi (26)[note 1]
Largest victoryReal Madrid 11–1 Barcelona
Copa del Rey
(19 June 1943)

The rivalry comes about as Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions, with Real Madrid viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalan nationalism.[8][9] The rivalry is regarded as one of the biggest in world sport.[10][11][12] The two clubs are among the richest and most successful football clubs in the world; in 2014 Forbes ranked Barcelona and Real Madrid the world's two most valuable sports teams.[4] Both clubs have a global fanbase; they are the world's two most followed sports teams on social media.[13][14]

The clubs are tied in head-to-head results in competitive matches with both sides earning 96 wins; Barcelona leads in total matches with 115 wins to Real Madrid's 100 as of the match played on 1 March 2020. Along with Athletic Bilbao, they are the only clubs in La Liga to have never been relegated.

Rivalry

History
Santiago Bernabéu. The home fans are displaying the white of Real Madrid before El Clásico. Spanish flags are also a common sight at Real Madrid games.
Camp Nou. The home fans of FC Barcelona are creating a mosaic of the Catalan flag before El Clasico. The top right corner of the club's crest also features a Catalan flag.

The conflict between Real Madrid and Barcelona has long surpassed the sporting dimension,[15][16] so that elections to the clubs' presidencies are strongly politicized.[17] Phil Ball, the author of Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football, says about the match; "they hate each other with an intensity that can truly shock the outsider".[18]

As early as the 1930s, Barcelona "had developed a reputation as a symbol of Catalan identity, opposed to the centralising tendencies of Madrid".[19][20] In 1936, when Francisco Franco started the Coup d'état against the democratic Second Spanish Republic, the president of Barcelona, Josep Sunyol, member of the Republican Left of Catalonia and Deputy to The Cortes, was arrested and executed without trial by Franco's troops[17] (Sunyol was exercising his political activities, visiting Republican troops north of Madrid).[19]

Barcelona was on top of the list of organizations to be purged by the National faction, just after communists, anarchists, and independentists.[17][21] During the Franco dictatorship, most citizens of Barcelona were in strong opposition to the fascist-like régime. During the dictatorships of Miguel Primo de Rivera and of Francisco Franco, all regional languages and identities in Spain were frowned upon and restrained. In this period, Barcelona gained their motto Més que un club (English: More than a club) because of its alleged connection to Catalan nationalist as well as to progressive beliefs.[22] During Franco's regime, however, Barcelona was granted profit due to its good relationship with the dictator at management level, even giving two awards to him.[23] The links between senior Real Madrid representatives and the Francoist regime were undeniable;[17] for most of the Catalans, Real Madrid was regarded as "the establishment club", despite the fact that presidents of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra, suffered at the hands of Franco's supporters in the Spanish Civil War.[19][24][25]

The image for both clubs was further affected by the creation of Ultras groups, some of which became hooligans. In 1980, Ultras Sur was founded as a far-right-leaning Real Madrid ultras group, followed in 1981 by the foundation of the initially left-leaning and later on far-right, Barcelona ultras group Boixos Nois. Both groups became known for their violent acts,[17][26][27] and one of the most conflictive factions of Barcelona supporters, the Casuals, became a full-fledged criminal organisation.[28]

For many people, Barcelona is still considered as "the rebellious club", or the alternative pole to "Real Madrid's conservatism".[29][30] According to polls released by CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas), Real Madrid is the favorite team of most of the Spanish residents, while Barcelona stands in the second position. In Catalonia, forces of all the political spectrum are overwhelmingly in favour of Barcelona. Nevertheless, the support of the blaugrana club goes far beyond from that region, earning its best results among young people, sustainers of a federal structure of Spain and citizens with left-wing ideology, in contrast with Real Madrid fans which politically tend to adopt right-wing views.[31][32]

1943 Copa del Generalísimo semi-finals

On 13 June 1943, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 11–1 at home in the second leg of a semi-final of the Copa del Generalísimo, the Copa del Rey having been renamed in honour of General Franco.[33] The first leg, played at Barcelona's Les Corts stadium in Catalonia, had ended with Barcelona winning 3–0. Madrid complained about all the three goals that referee Fombona Fernández had allowed for Barcelona,[34] with the home supporters also whistling Madrid throughout, whom they accused of employing roughhouse tactics, and Fombona for allowing them to. A campaign began in Madrid. Barcelona player Josep Valle recalled: "The press officer at the DND and ABC newspaper wrote all sorts of scurrilous lies, really terrible things, winding up the Madrid fans like never before". Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Eduardo Teus, who admitted that Madrid had "above all played hard", wrote in a newspaper: "the ground itself made Madrid concede two of the three goals, goals that were totally unfair".[35]

Barcelona fans were banned from traveling to Madrid. Real Madrid released a statement after the match which former club president (1985–1995) Ramón Mendoza explained, "The message got through that those fans who wanted to could go to El Club bar on Calle de la Victoria where Madrid's social center was. There, they were given a whistle. Others had whistles handed to them with their tickets." The day of the second leg, the Barcelona team were insulted and stones were thrown at their bus as soon as they left their hotel. Barcelona's striker Mariano Gonzalvo said of the incident, "Five minutes before the game had started, our penalty area was already full of coins." Barcelona goalkeeper Lluis Miró rarely approached his line—when he did, he was armed with stones. As Francisco Calvet told the story, "They were shouting: Reds! Separatists!... a bottle just missed Sospedra that would have killed him if it had hit him. It was all set up."[36]

Real Madrid went 2–0 up within half an hour. The third goal brought with it a sending off for Barcelona's Benito García after he made what Calvet claimed was a "completely normal tackle". Madrid's José Llopis Corona recalled, "At which point, they got a bit demoralized," while Mur countered, "at which point, we thought: 'go on then, score as many as you want'." Madrid scored in minutes 31', 33', 35', 39', 43' and 44', as well as two goals ruled out for offside, made it 8–0. Basilo de la Morena had been caught out by the speed of the goals. In that atmosphere and with a referee who wanted to avoid any complications, it was humanly impossible to play... If the azulgranas had played badly, really badly, the scoreboard would still not have reached that astronomical figure. The point is that they did not play at all." Both clubs were fined 2,500 pesetas by the Royal Spanish Football Federation and, although Barcelona appealed, it made no difference. Piñeyro resigned in protest, complaining of "a campaign that the press has run against Barcelona for a week and which culminated in the shameful day at Chamartín".[37][38]

The match report in the newspaper La Prensa described Barcelona's only goal as a "reminder that there was a team there who knew how to play football and that if they did not do so that afternoon, it was not exactly their fault".[39] Another newspaper called the scoreline "as absurd as it was abnormal".[34] According to football writer Sid Lowe, "There have been relatively few mentions of the game [since] and it is not a result that has been particularly celebrated in Madrid. Indeed, the 11–1 occupies a far more prominent place in Barcelona's history. This was the game that first formed the identification of Madrid as the team of the dictatorship and Barcelona as its victims."[34] Fernando Argila, Barcelona's reserve goalkeeper from the game, said, "There was no rivalry. Not, at least, until that game."[40]

Di Stéfano transfer
Alfredo Di Stéfano's controversial 1953 transfer to Real Madrid instead of Barcelona intensified the rivalry.

The rivalry was intensified during the 1950s when the clubs disputed the signing of Alfredo Di Stéfano. Di Stéfano had impressed both Barcelona and Real Madrid while playing for Los Millionarios in Bogotá, Colombia, during a players' strike in his native Argentina.[41] Both Real Madrid and Barcelona attempted to sign him and, due to confusion that emerged from Di Stéfano moving to Millonarios from River Plate following the strike, both clubs claimed to own his registration.[41] After intervention from FIFA representative Muñoz Calero, it was decided that both Barcelona and Real Madrid had to share the player in alternate seasons. Barcelona's humiliated president was forced to resign by the Barcelona board, with the interim board cancelling Di Stéfano's contract.[41] This ended the long struggle for Di Stéfano, as he moved definitively to Real Madrid.[41]

Di Stéfano became integral in the subsequent success achieved by Real Madrid, scoring twice in his first game against Barcelona. With him, Madrid won the initial five European Champions Cup competitions.[42] The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the European Cup, Real Madrid winning in 1960 and Barcelona winning in 1961.

Luís Figo transfer
Luís Figo's transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000 resulted in a hate campaign by some of his former club's fans.

In 2000, Real Madrid's then-presidential candidate, Florentino Pérez, offered Barcelona's vice-captain Luís Figo $2.4 million to sign an agreement binding him to Madrid if he won the elections. If the player broke the deal, he would have to pay Pérez $30 million in compensation. When his agent confirmed the deal, Figo denied everything, insisting, "I'll stay at Barcelona whether Pérez wins or loses." He accused the presidential candidate of "lying" and "fantasizing". He told Barcelona teammates Luis Enrique and Pep Guardiola he was not leaving and they conveyed the message to the Barcelona squad.[43]

On 9 July, Sport ran an interview in which he said, "I want to send a message of calm to Barcelona's fans, for whom I always have and always will feel great affection. I want to assure them that Luís Figo will, with absolute certainty, be at the Camp Nou on the 24th to start the new season... I’ve not signed a pre-contract with a presidential candidate at Real Madrid. No. I'm not so mad as to do a thing like that."[43]

The only way Barcelona could prevent Figo's transfer to Real Madrid was to pay the penalty clause, $30 million. That would have effectively meant paying the fifth highest transfer fee in history to sign their own player. Barcelona's new president, Joan Gaspart, called the media and told them, "Today, Figo gave me the impression that he wanted to do two things: get richer and stay at Barça." Only one of them happened. The following day, 24 July, Figo was presented in Madrid and handed his new shirt by Alfredo Di Stéfano. His buyout clause was set at $180 million. Gaspart later admitted, "Figo's move destroyed us."[44]

On his return to Barcelona in a Real Madrid shirt, banners with "Judas", "Scum" and "Mercenary" were hung around the stadium. Thousands of fake 10,000 peseta notes had been printed and emblazoned with his image, were among the missiles of oranges, bottles, cigarette lighters, even a couple of mobile phones were thrown at him.[45] In his third season with Real Madrid, the 2002 Clásico at Camp Nou produced one of the defining images of the rivalry. Figo was mercilessly taunted throughout; missiles of coins, a knife, a whisky bottle, were raining down from the stands, mostly from areas populated by the Boixos Nois where he had been taking a corner. Among the debris was a pig's head.[46][47]

Recent issues
In 2005, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona in 1983, to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.

During the last three decades, the rivalry has been augmented by the modern Spanish tradition of the Pasillo, where one team is given the guard of honor by the other team, once the former clinches the La Liga trophy before El Clásico takes place. This has happened in three occasions. First, during El Clásico that took place on 30 April 1988, where Real Madrid won the championship on the previous round. Then, three years later, when Barcelona won the championship two rounds before El Clásico on 8 June 1991.[48] The last pasillo, and most recent, took place on 7 May 2008, and this time Real Madrid had won the championship.[49] In May 2018, Real Madrid refused to perform Pasillo to Barcelona even though the latter had already wrapped up the championship a round prior to their meeting.[50]

The two teams met again in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2002, with Real Madrid winning 2–0 in Barcelona and a 1–1 draw in Madrid, resulting in a 3–1 aggregate win for Madrid. The match was dubbed by Spanish media as the "Match of the Century".[51]

While El Clásico is regarded as one of the fiercest rivalries in world football, there have been rare moments when fans have shown praise for a player on the opposing team. In 1980, Laurie Cunningham was the first Real Madrid player to receive applause from Barcelona fans at Camp Nou; after excelling during the match, and with Madrid winning 2–0, Cunningham left the field to a standing ovation from the locals.[52][53] On 26 June 1983, during the second leg of the Copa de la Liga final at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, having dribbled past the Real Madrid goalkeeper, Barcelona star Diego Maradona ran towards an empty goal before stopping just as the Madrid defender came sliding in an attempt to block the shot and crashed into the post, before Maradona slotted the ball into the net.[52] The manner of Maradona's goal led to many Madrid fans inside the stadium start applauding.[52][54] In November 2005, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player to receive a standing ovation from Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu.[52] After dribbling through the Madrid defence twice to score two goals in a 3–0 win, Madrid fans paid homage to his performance with applause.[55][56] On 21 November 2015, Andrés Iniesta became the third Barcelona player to receive applause from Real Madrid fans while he was substituted during a 4–0 away win, with Iniesta scoring Barça's third. He was already a popular figure throughout Spain for scoring the nation's World Cup winning goal in 2010.[57]

Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra in a 2011 Clásico

A 2007 survey by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas showed that 32% of the Spanish population supported Real Madrid, while 25% supported Barcelona. In third place came Valencia, with 5%.[58] According to an Ikerfel poll in 2011, Barcelona is the most popular team in Spain with 44% of preferences, while Real Madrid is second with 37%. Atlético Madrid, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao complete the top five.[59]

Both clubs have a global fanbase: they are the world's two most followed sports teams on social media—on Facebook, as of July 2018, Real Madrid has 107 million fans, Barcelona has 103 million fans, on Instagram, Real Madrid has 60 million followers, Barcelona has 57 million followers.[13][60]

The rivalry intensified in 2011 where, due to the final of the Copa Del Rey and the meeting of the two in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona and Real Madrid were scheduled to meet each other four times in 18 days. Several accusations of unsportsmanlike behaviour from both teams and a war of words erupted throughout the fixtures which included four red cards. Spain national team coach Vicente del Bosque stated that he was "concerned" that due to the rising hatred between the two clubs, that this could cause friction in the Spain team.[61]

In recent years, the rivalry has been "encapsulated" by the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.[62] Following the star signings of Neymar and Luis Suárez to Barcelona, and Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to Madrid, the rivalry was expanded to a battle of the clubs' attacking trios, BBC (Bale, Benzema, Cristiano) against MSN (Messi, Suárez, Neymar).[63] Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, and in the week prior to the first meeting of the teams in the 2018–19 La Liga, Messi sustained an arm injury ruling him out of the match. It would be the first time since 2007 that the Clásico had featured neither player, with some in the media describing it as the 'end of an era’.[64][65][66] Iniesta's long spell at Barcelona had also ended after playing in 38 clashes from November 2004 to May 2018.[67] Barcelona won the match 5–1.[68]

A fixture known for its intensity and indiscipline, it has also featured memorable goal celebrations from both teams, often involving mocking the opposition.[6] In October 1999, Real Madrid forward Raúl silenced 100,000 Barcelona fans at the Camp Nou when he scored before he celebrated by putting a finger to his lips as if telling the crowd to be quiet.[6][69] In 2009 Barcelona captain Carles Puyol kissed his Catalan armband in front of Madrid fans at the Bernabéu.[6] Cristiano Ronaldo twice gestured to the hostile crowd to “calm down” after scoring against Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 2012 and 2016.[6] In April 2017, Messi celebrated his 93rd-minute winner for Barcelona against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu by taking off his Barcelona shirt and holding it up to incensed Real Madrid fans – with his name and number facing them.[6]

Statistics

On 2 March 2019, Barcelona overtook Real Madrid in El Clásico victories in competitive matches after winning an away game 1–0.[70][71]

As of 1 March 2020
Matches Wins Draws
RMA BAR
La Liga 180737235
Copa del Rey 3512158
Copa de la Liga 6024
Supercopa de España 14842
Copa de la Coronación[lower-alpha 1] 1010
UEFA Champions League 8323
All competitions 244969652
Exhibition game 3341910
All matches 27710011562
  1. Although not recognized by the current Royal Spanish Football Federation as an official match, it is still considered a competitive match between Barcelona and Real Madrid by statistics sources[72] and the media.[73]

Head-to-head ranking in La Liga (1929–2019)
P. 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
7 7 7
8 8
9 9 9 9 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

• Total: Real Madrid with 44 higher finishes, Barcelona with 44 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2018–19 season).

Hat-tricks

As of 18 December 2019, 23 different players have scored a hat-trick in El Clásico matches. 15 of the 28 hat-tricks came from FC Barcelona players. However, 4 of them came in friendly matches.

# Player For Score Date Competition Stadium
1. Jim Carlier Barcelona 7–0 (H) 1 November 1913 Exhibition game Camp de la Indústria
2. Santiago Bernabéu Real Madrid 4–1 (H) 2 April 1916 1916 Copa del Rey Estadio de O'Donnell
3. Luis Belaunde Real Madrid 6–6 (N) 13 April 1916 1916 Copa del Rey Campo de O'Donnell (Atlético Madrid)
4. Paulino Alcántara Barcelona 6–6 (N) 13 April 1916 1916 Copa del Rey Campo de O'Donnell (Atlético Madrid)
5. Santiago Bernabéu Real Madrid 6–6 (N) 13 April 1916 1916 Copa del Rey Campo de O'Donnell (Atlético Madrid)
6. Francesc Vinyals Barcelona 3–1 (H) 1 November 1917 Exhibition game Camp de la Indústria
7. Paulino Alcántara Barcelona 7–1 (H) 18 February 1920 Exhibition game Camp de la Indústria
8. Josep Samitier Barcelona 1–5 (A) 18 April 1926 1926 Copa del Rey Estadio Chamartín
9. Jaime Lazcano Real Madrid 5–1 (H) 30 March 1930 1929–30 La Liga Estadio Chamartín
10. Jaime Lazcano Real Madrid 8–2 (H) 3 February 1935 1934–35 La Liga Estadio Chamartín
11. Ildefonso Sañudo4 Real Madrid 8–2 (H) 3 February 1935 1934–35 La Liga Estadio Chamartín
12. Martí Ventolrà4 Barcelona 5–0 (H) 21 April 1935 1934–35 La Liga Camp de Les Corts
13. Pruden Real Madrid 11–1 (H) 13 June 1943 1943 Copa del Generalísimo Estadio Chamartín
14. Sabino Barinaga4 Real Madrid 11–1 (H) 13 June 1943 1943 Copa del Generalísimo Estadio Chamartín
15. Mariano Martín Barcelona 4–0 (H) 26 December 1943 Exhibition game Camp de Les Corts
16. Jesús Narro Real Madrid 4–1 (H) 14 January 1951 1950–51 La Liga Estadio Chamartín
17. César Rodríguez Barcelona 4–2 (H) 2 March 1952 1951–52 La Liga Camp de Les Corts
18. Eulogio Martínez4 Barcelona 6–1 (H) 19 May 1957 1957 Copa del Generalísimo Camp de Les Corts
19. Evaristo Barcelona 4–0 (H) 26 October 1958 1958–59 La Liga Camp Nou
20. Ferenc Puskás Real Madrid 1–5 (A) 27 January 1963 1962–63 La Liga Camp Nou
21. Ferenc Puskás Real Madrid 4–0 (H) 30 March 1964 1963–64 La Liga Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
22. Amancio Real Madrid 4–1 (H) 8 November 1964 1964–65 La Liga Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
23. Gary Lineker Barcelona 3–2 (H) 31 January 1987 1986–87 La Liga Camp Nou
24. Romário Barcelona 5–0 (H) 8 January 1994 1993–94 La Liga Camp Nou
25. Iván Zamorano Real Madrid 5–0 (H) 7 January 1995 1994–95 La Liga Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
26. Lionel Messi Barcelona 3–3 (H) 10 March 2007 2006–07 La Liga Camp Nou
27. Lionel Messi Barcelona 3–4 (A) 23 March 2014 2013–14 La Liga Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
28. Luis Suárez Barcelona 5–1 (H) 28 October 2018 2018–19 La Liga Camp Nou

Note

4 = 4 goals scored; (H) = Home, (A) = Away, (N) = Neutral location; Home team score listed first

Records

Biggest wins (5+ goals)
10 Real Madrid 11–1 Barcelona 19 June 1943 Copa del Rey
6 Real Madrid 8–2 Barcelona 3 February 1935 La Liga
5 Barcelona 7–2 Real Madrid 24 September 1950
Barcelona 6–1 Real Madrid 19 May 1957 Copa del Rey
Real Madrid 6–1 Barcelona 18 September 1949 La Liga
Barcelona 5–0 Real Madrid 21 April 1935
Barcelona 5–0 Real Madrid 25 March 1945
Real Madrid 5–0 Barcelona 5 October 1953
Real Madrid 0–5 Barcelona 17 February 1974
Barcelona 5–0 Real Madrid 8 January 1994
Real Madrid 5–0 Barcelona 7 January 1995
Barcelona 5–0 Real Madrid 29 November 2010

Longest runs

Most consecutive wins
Games Club Period
7Real Madrid22 February 1962 – 28 February 1965
5Barcelona13 December 2008 – 29 November 2010

Most consecutive draws
Games Period
311 September 1991 – 7 March 1992
31 May 2002 – 20 April 2003

Most consecutive matches without a draw
Games Period
1625 January 1948 – 21 November 1954
1523 November 1960 – 19 March 1967
124 December 1977 – 26 March 1983
1119 May 1957 – 27 April 1960
95 March 1933 – 28 January 1940

Longest undefeated runs
Games Club Period
8Real Madrid3 March 2001 – 6 December 2003
7Real Madrid31 January 1932 – 3 February 1935
7Real Madrid22 April 1962 – 18 February 1965
7Barcelona27 April 2011 – 25 January 2012
7Barcelona23 December 2017 – 18 December 2019

Longest undefeated runs in the league
Games Club Period
7 (5 Wins)Real Madrid31 January 1932 – 3 February 1935
7 (5 Wins)Barcelona13 December 2008 – 10 December 2011
7 (4 Wins)Barcelona3 December 2016 – 18 December 2019
6 (6 Wins)Real Madrid30 September 1962 – 28 February 1965
6 (4 Wins)Barcelona11 May 1997 – 13 October 1999
6 (3 Wins)Barcelona28 November 1971 – 17 February 1974
5 (4 Wins)Barcelona30 March 1947 – 15 January 1949
5 (3 Wins)Barcelona11 May 1975 – 30 January 1977

Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal
Games Club Period
5Barcelona3 April 1972 – 17 February 1974
3Real Madrid29 June 1974 – 11 May 1975
3Barcelona29 November 2009 – 29 November 2010
3Barcelona27 February 2019 – 18 December 2019

Most consecutive games scoring
Games Club Period
24Barcelona27 April 2011 – 13 August 2017
21Barcelona30 November 1980 – 31 January 1987
18Real Madrid3 May 2011 – 22 March 2015
13Real Madrid1 December 1946 – 23 November 1952
13Real Madrid15 February 1959 – 21 January 1962
13Real Madrid22 April 1962 – 9 April 1968
12Real Madrid5 December 1990 – 16 December 1993
10Barcelona11 September 1991 – 7 May 1994
10Barcelona30 January 1997 – 13 October 1999

Goalscoring
Lionel Messi is the all-time top scorer in El Clásico history with 26 goals.

Top goalscorers
  • Players in bold are still active for Real or Barcelona.
PlayerClubLa LigaCopaSuper CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
Lionel Messi Barcelona 18 — 6 — 2 26[note 1]
Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid 14 2 — — 2 18
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 9 5 4 — — 18
Raúl Real Madrid 11 — 3 — 1 15
César Barcelona 12 2 — — — 14
Francisco Gento Real Madrid 10 2 — — 2 14
Ferenc Puskás Real Madrid 9 2 — — 3 14
Santillana Real Madrid 9 2 — 1 — 12
Luis Suárez Barcelona 9 2 — — — 11
Hugo Sánchez Real Madrid 8 — 2 — — 10
Juanito Real Madrid 8 — — 2 — 10
Josep Samitier Barça / Real 4 6 — — — 10
Karim Benzema Real Madrid 6 1 2 — — 9
Estanislao Basora Barcelona 8 1 — — — 9
Jaime Lazcano Real Madrid 8 — — — — 8
Iván Zamorano Real Madrid 4 2 2 — — 8
Eulogio Martínez Barcelona 2 5 — — 1 8
Luis Suárez Barcelona 2 4 — — 2 8
Santiago Bernabéu Real Madrid — 8 — — — 8

Consecutive goalscoring
Player Club Consecutive matches Total goals in the run Start End
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 6 7 2011–12 Copa del Rey (1st leg) 2012–13 La Liga (7th round)
Iván Zamorano Real Madrid 5 5 1992–93 La Liga (20th Round) 1993 Supercopa de España (2nd leg)
Simón Lecue Real Madrid 4 5 1935–36 La Liga (7th Round) 1939–40 La Liga (9th Round)
Ronaldinho Barcelona 4 5 2004–05 La Liga (12th Round) 2005–06 La Liga (31st Round)
Giovanni Barcelona 4 4 1997 Supercopa de España (1st leg) 1997–98 La Liga (28th Round)

Most hat-tricks
  • Five players have been able to score more than one hat trick: Jaime Lazcano, Santiago Bernabéu, Paulino Alcántara, Lionel Messi and Ferenc Puskás have all scored two hat-tricks in El Clásico history (2).

Most assists

Most appearances
  • Players in bold are still active for Real Madrid or Barcelona.[75]
Apps Player Club
44 Sergio Ramos Real Madrid
43 Lionel Messi Barcelona
42 Manuel Sanchís Real Madrid
Francisco Gento Real Madrid
Xavi Barcelona
38 Andrés Iniesta Barcelona
Sergio Busquets Barcelona
37 Fernando Hierro Real Madrid
Raúl Real Madrid
Iker Casillas Real Madrid
36 Gerard Piqué[76] Barcelona
35 Santillana Real Madrid

Players who played for both clubs
Javier Saviola was the most recent player to transfer between the two rivals, in 2007.
Barcelona then Real Madrid
Real Madrid then Barcelona
From Barcelona to Real Madrid17
From Barcelona to another club before Real Madrid 6
Total 23
From Real Madrid to Barcelona 6
From Real Madrid to another club before Barcelona 10
Total 16
Total Switches 39

Honours

The rivalry reflected in El Clásico matches comes about as Barcelona and Real Madrid are the most successful football clubs in Spain. As seen below, Barcelona leads Real Madrid 96–93 in terms of official overall trophies.[85] While the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is recognised as the predecessor to the UEFA Cup, it was not organised by UEFA. Consequently, UEFA does not consider clubs' records in the Fairs Cup to be part of their European record.[86] However, FIFA does view the competition as a major honour.[87]

Barcelona Competition Real Madrid
Domestic
26La Liga33
30Copa del Rey19
13Supercopa de España11
3Copa Eva Duarte (defunct)1
2Copa de la Liga (defunct)1
74Aggregate65
European and Worldwide
5UEFA Champions League13
4UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (defunct)—
—UEFA Europa League2
5UEFA Super Cup4
2Latin Cup (defunct)2
3Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (defunct)—
—Intercontinental Cup (defunct)3
3FIFA Club World Cup4
22Aggregate28
96Total Aggregate93

Note: FIFA recognized the winner of the Intercontinental Cup as a World Champion.

Note: The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup is not recognized in the UEFA records and statistics, but FIFA does view the competition as a major honour.

See also
  • Madrid Derby
  • Derbi barceloní
  • Major football rivalries
  • National and regional identity in Spain
  • Nationalism and sport
  • Sports rivalry

Notes
  1. Does not include a goal scored in the 2017 International Champions Cup.
  2. Moved to the capital of Spain for studying purposes and joined Real Madrid.[77]
  3. Only played for Real Madrid between 1906-1908 on loan from Barcelona, as he went to live to the capital of Spain for working purposes but was under the discipline of the Blaugranas.[78]
  4. Only played one game for Real Madrid in 1908 on loan from Barcelona, a common practice at the time in when it was allowed to call up players from other teams. After that match, he continued to play for Barcelona.[79]
  5. Never played any official match for Barcelona or Real Madrid but signed with both teams.[82]
  6. Never played an official match for Barcelona.[83]
  7. Only played one match for Barcelona in the 1909 Copa del Rey on loan from Real Madrid, a common practice at the time in when it was allowed to call up players from other teams. After that match, he continued to play for Real Madrid.[84]

References
  1. "el clásico, en minúscula y sin comillas". www.fundeu.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. "El clàssic es jugarà dilluns". El Punt. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  3. Stevenson, Johanthan (12 December 2008). "Barca & Real renew El Clasico rivalry". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  4. "Lionel Messi Reaches $50 Million-A-Year Deal With Barcelona". Forbes. Retrieved 1 October 2014
  5. Benjamin Morris. "Is Messi vs. Ronaldo Bigger Than The Super Bowl?". FiveThirtyEight.
  6. "Real Madrid-Barcelona: Celebrations in enemy territory". Marca. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  7. El Clasico: Real Madrid Vs Barcelona • Fights, Fouls, Dives & Red Cards
  8. "Castilian Oppression v Catalan Nationalism – "El Gran Classico"". Footballblog.co.uk. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  9. "Barcelona in the strange and symbolic eye of a storm over Catalonia". The Guardian. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  10. "AFP: Barcelona vs Real Madrid rivalry comes to the fore". Google.com. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  11. Rookwood, Dan (28 August 2002). "The bitterest rivalry in world football". The Guardian. London.
  12. "El Clasico: When stars collide". FIFA.com. Retrieved 21 October 2014
  13. "Barça, the most loved club in the world". Marca. Retrieved 8 May 2015
  14. Ozanian, Mike. "Barcelona becomes first sports team to have 50 million Facebook fans". Forbes.com.
  15. Palomares, Cristina The quest for survival after Franco: moderate Francoism and the slow journey, p.231
  16. Cambio 16, 6–12, Enero 1975 p.18
  17. McNeill, Donald (1999) Urban change and the European left: tales from the new Barcelona p.61
  18. Ball, Phil (21 April 2002). "Mucho morbo". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  19. Burns, Jimmy, 'Don Patricio O’Connell: An Irishman and the Politics of Spanish Football' in "Irish Migration Studies in Latin America" 6:1 (March 2008), p. 44. Available online pg. 3,pg. 4. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  20. Ham, Anthony p. 221
  21. Vázquez Montalbán (1992) Barcelonas, ch.4 'La Ben Plantada' p. 109
  22. Ball, Phil p. 88
  23. "Franco recibió dos medallas del Barça". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2010.
  24. "El deporte en la guerra civil". El Cultural (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  25. "Rafael Sánchez Guerra". elpueblodeceuta.es (in Spanish). 30 June 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  26. "The Ultra Sur | El Centrocampista - Spanish Football and La Liga News in English". El Centrocampista. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  27. Dos Manzanas (14 June 2011). "Tres Boixos Nois detenidos por agredir a una mujer transexual en Barcelona". Dos manzanas. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  28. "La mafia de boixos nois se especializó en atracar a narcos - Sociedad - El Periódico". Elperiodico.com. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  29. "Great similarities between Barcelona and Celtic". vavel.com. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  30. "FourFourTwo's 50 Biggest Derbies in the World, No.2: Barcelona vs Real Madrid". fourfourtwo.com. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  31. "La izquierda es culé y la derecha, merengue, según el CIS" (in Spanish). LaVanguardia.com. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  32. "¿Del Madrid o del Barça?" (in Spanish). elpais.com. 23 February 2003. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  33. "Real Madrid v Barcelona: six of the best 'El Clásicos'". The Telegraph. London. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  34. "Sid Lowe: Fear and loathing in La Liga.. Barcelona vs Real Madrid" p. 67. Random House. 26 September 2013
  35. "Sid Lowe: Fear and loathing in La Liga.. Barcelona vs Real Madrid" p. 68. Random House. 26 September 2013
  36. "Sid Lowe: Fear and loathing in La Liga.. Barcelona vs Real Madrid" p. 70. Random House. 26 September 2013
  37. Spaaij, Ramn (2006). Understanding football hooliganism: a comparison of six Western European football clubs. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 978-90-5629-445-8. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  38. Lowe, Sid. p. 73
  39. Lowe, Sid. p. 72
  40. "Sid Lowe: Fear and loathing in La Liga.. Barcelona vs Real Madrid" p. 77. Random House. 26 September 2013
  41. "BBC SPORT | Football | Alfredo Di Stefano: Did General Franco halt Barcelona transfer?". BBC News. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  42. "Alfredo di Stéfano was one of football's greatest trailblazers". The Guardian. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  43. Lowe, Sid. p. 344
  44. "Sid Lowe: Fear and loathing in La Liga.. Barcelona vs Real Madrid" p. 345, 346. Random House. 26 September 2013
  45. Lowe, Sid. p. 339
  46. Lowe, Sid. p. 338
  47. Jefferies, Tony (27 November 2002). "Barcelona are braced for a stiff penalty". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  48. Deportes. "(Spanish)". 20minutos.es. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  49. "Real Madrid v. Barcelona: A Glance Back at Past Pasillos | Futfanatico: Breaking Soccer News". Futfanatico. 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 December 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  50. "The pasillo controversy: Real Madrid should respect Barcelona with guard of honour". Goal.com. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  51. "Real win Champions League showdown". BBC News. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  52. "Applauding the enemy", FIFA.com, 15 February 2014
  53. "Real Madrid vs Barcelona: El-Clasico Preview", The Independent, 17 January 2012,
  54. "30 years since Maradona stunned the Santiago Bernabéu". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 2 October 2014
  55. "Rampant Ronaldinho receives standing ovation". BBC News. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  56. "Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 3: Bernabeu forced to pay homage as Ronaldinho soars above the galacticos". The Independent. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  57. "Real Madrid Fans Applaud Barcelona's Andres Iniesta In 'El Clasico'". NESN. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  58. "CIS Mayo 2007" (PDF) (in Spanish). Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. May 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  59. "España se pasa del Madrid al Barcelona". as.com (in Spanish). 10 October 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  60. "Top 100 Facebook fan pages". FanPageList.com. Retrieved 31 March 2016
  61. Sapa-DPA (29 April 2011). "Del Bosque concerned over Real-Barca conflict - SuperSport - Football". SuperSport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  62. Bate, Adam (25 October 2013). "Fear and Loathing". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  63. "El club de los 100: MSN 91-88 BBC". Marca. 24 October 2015.
  64. "Barcelona vs Real Madrid: First Clasico without Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo since 2007 marks end of era". Evening Standard. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  65. "No Messi or Ronaldo in El Clasico for first time since 2007". FourFourTwo. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  66. "Catalyst: The last El Clasico without Messi or Ronaldo was a defining moment in Barcelona's history". The Sun Dream Team. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  67. "Iniesta's eight greatest Clasico moments". Marca. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  68. "Barcelona 5–1 Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  69. "When Raul ended Madrid's humiliation, silenced Nou Camp". Egypt Today. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  70. "Real Madrid vs. Barcelona – Football Match Report – March 2, 2019". ESPN.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  71. Bernabéu, Sid Lowe at the (2 March 2019). "Ivan Rakitic goal earns victory for dominant Barcelona over Real Madrid". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  72. "FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF since 1902". rsssf.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  73. "Real Madrid – Barcelona: Igualdad total en los 35 Clásicos en Copa" (in Spanish). Marca. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  74. "Barcelona: Messi finishes 2017 ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with 54 goals - MARCA in English". MARCA in English. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  75. "Barcelona – Real Madrid: Ansu Fati, Ramos set Clásico records". AS.com. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  76. "Piqué, Clásico matches" (in Spanish). BDFutbol – Statistics of Spanish Football. 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  77. Payarols, Lluís (27 February 2013). "El hijo de Isaac Albéniz, primer tránsfuga Barça-Madrid". Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  78. "Saviola, el último tránsfuga". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 28 December 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  79. Magallón, Fernando (14 July 2007). "Saviola es el 16º que deja el Barça por el Madrid". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  80. Navarro: Joaquín Navarro Perona, BDFutbol
  81. Navarro: Alfonso Navarro Perona, BDFutbol
  82. Jové, Oriol (5 August 2018). "El 'Kubala' de la UE Lleida". Diari Segre (in Spanish). Lleida. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  83. Closa, Toni; Pablo, Josep; Salas, José Alberto; Mas, Jordi (2015). Gran diccionari de jugadors del Barça (in Catalan). Barcelona: Base. ISBN 978-84-16166-62-6.
  84. Salinas, David (2015). El rey de Copas. Cien años del Barcelona en la Copa de España (1909-2019) (in Spanish). Barcelona: Meteora.
  85. Copa Eva Duarte (Defunct) is not listed as an official title by the UEFA, but it is considered as such by the RFEF, as it is the direct predecessor of the Supercopa de España
  86. "UEFA Europa League: History: New format provides fresh impetus". UEFA. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  87. "Classic Football: Clubs: FC Barcelona". FIFA. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
    "Classic Football: Clubs: AS Roma". FIFA. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  • Ball, Phill (2003). Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. WSC Books Limited. ISBN 0-9540134-6-8.
  • Farred, Grant (2008). Long distance love: a passion for football. Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-374-6.
  • Lowe, Sid (2013). Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Random House. ISBN 9780224091800.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.