But theres simply none who can compare to six-time Ballon dOr winner, Lionel Messi. Gone are the days where all 22 players on the pitch during a Clasico would be household superstars. In the never-ending business of football transfers, the players who have played for both these teams have borne the brunt of this rivalry.
However, weve stuck him in a category regardless. What does Lewandowskis signing mean for Aubameyang at Barcelona, Three alternatives for Robert Lewandowski Barcelona can target. Now, we must point out that every player in this Tiermaker must have been world-class at some stage in their career or else they wouldnt have played for either club. [3][4][5] A fixture known for its intensity, it has featured memorable goal celebrations from both teams, often involving mocking the opposition. Casemiro continued to speak very highly of Messi, putting him in the same bracket as Ronaldo as players who transformed football. His sole season at the Camp Nou was special,scoring 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions and winning the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year. Only one of them happened. We have updated our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to reflect changes in the law on cookies and tracking technologies used on websites. Crossing the Madrid-Barcelona divide: Should the Catalans sign Angel Di Maria? [4] Both clubs have a global fanbase; they are the world's two most followed sports teams on social media.[13][14]. The famed rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid, dubbed as El Clasico, lived its prime through the 2010s when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo locked horns at the peak of their careers. Messi for Barcelona and Sergio Ramos for Real Madrid are tied for the most appearances in El Clsico games at 45, with Sergio Busquets set to make his 44th appearance in the fixture in Las Vegas. Di Stfano became integral in the subsequent success achieved by Real Madrid, scoring twice in his first game against Barcelona. El Clsico or el clsico[1] (Spanish pronunciation:[el klasiko]; Catalan: El Clssic,[2] pronounced[l klasik]; "The Classic") is the name given to any football match between rival clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. To be able to comment you must be registered and logged in. There have of course been some other impressive Clsico wins. In 2008, rumors emerged that FC Barcelona were interested in signing Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb. 
The Spain international was a key player for club and country during the time and after reportedly being a personal favourite of the Real Madrid boss. The MessiRonaldo rivalry was characterized by a lot of goals scored by both players, in addition to many domestic and European titles that they were a major reason for achieving them. [19][20] In 1936, when Francisco Franco started the Coup d'tat 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). 
[54][55] On 26 June 1983, during the second leg of the Copa de la Liga final at the Santiago Bernabu 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. Of the 248 competitive matches, Real Madrid have won the most, with 100 wins to Barcas 96 (and 52 ties). [50] The last pasillo, and most recent, took place on 7 May 2008, and this time Real Madrid had won the championship. 
Weve taken the 12 players to represent both clubs since 1990 and ranked them from worst to best. 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. 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". A campaign began in Madrid. But over the years, their duels have turned sour, forcing their fans to hate each other rather foster mutual respect. And that was, of course, before completing his swap to the Madrid-based side in 2013. Others had whistles handed to them with their tickets." Along with Athletic Bilbao, they are the only clubs in La Liga to have never been relegated. [45], 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. [76] In El Clsico matches, Messi has scored 26 goals in his career which is a record. He wasnt quite the force of old, but Ronaldo still shone at Real including that hat-trick against Manchester United. The rivalry reflected in El Clsico matches comes about as Barcelona and Real Madrid are the most successful football clubs in Spain. As of 20 March 2022, 21 different players have scored a hat-trick in official El Clsico matches. Whoa We're sorry! Now you can watch the entire NBA season or your favorite teams on streaming. 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 Bara." During the nine years they played together in Spain, the two players scored a total of 922 goals, including 38 goals in El Clsico matches, 20 scored by Messi and 18 by Ronaldo. Conclusion: Barcelona and Real Madrid have had some incredible players represent them down the years. He earned a move to Barcelona one year later after a successful season with Real Mallorca and initially made a positive impact, scoring in a Champions League win over Chelsea. Consequently, UEFA does not consider clubs' records in the Fairs Cup nor Latin Cup to be part of their European record. With the arrival of Kubala and Di Stfano, Barcelona and Real Madrid became among the most important European clubs in those years, and the players represented the turning point in the history of their teams.[69][70][71]. He was loaned to Las Palmas by the Los Blancos and spent three years at Logrones before moving to Camp Nou in 1994. "Had trials at Southampton as a youngster and would've made it if it wasn't for a knee injury.". [6] In October 1999, Real Madrid forward Ral 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. You readily associate Enrique with Barcelona but its often forgotten that he played for Real too. Surprisingly, however, Messis final goal against Los Blancos came a full three years before he left Bara, in a 2-2 draw in LaLiga in May 2018. The stadium that was used between June 2020 and September 2021 as the Bernabu is revamped (Real Madrids training ground-based stadium used normally by Castilla and the underage sides) is named after this man for a reason.
[6] In April 2017, Messi celebrated his 93rd-minute winner for Barcelona against Real Madrid at the Bernabu by taking off his Barcelona shirt and holding it up to incensed Real Madrid fans with his name and number facing them. Irrespective of where he ended up, there is no denying that Modric looked up to Barcelona and Cruyff during his formative years. Not, at least, until that game. [75] In addition, Messi is the all-time top scorer of La Liga, and Ronaldo is ranked second. Bara was initially Iniesta's second favorite team after Albacete.
Soon after Millonarios' return to Colombia, Barcelona directors visited Buenos Aires and agreed with River Plate, the last FIFA-affiliated team to have held Di Stfano's rights, for his transfer in 1954 for the equivalent of 150 million Italian lira (according to other sources 200,000 dollars). 14 of the 25 hat-tricks came from Real Madrid players. During this time at Real Madrid, CR7 played in 29 Clsicos, netting 18 goals. Zizou admitted that Juventus were always his favorite Italian team, whereas, in La Liga, it was Barcelona. [59], A 2007 survey by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociolgicas showed that 32% of the Spanish population supported Real Madrid, while 25% supported Barcelona. It would be the first time since 2007 that the Clsico had featured neither player, with some in the media describing it as the 'end of an era'. With Kubala and Di Stfano, a rivalry was born, but it would still take a long time to become what it is today. The symbolism was not hard to spot when ardent Cruyff disciple Pep Guardiola oversaw a 5-0 thumping of Jos Mourinhos Madrid in November 2010. [39][40], 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". The Romanians time at Madrid was deemed unsuccessful by some,which says more about the talent he possessed than his actual performances at the Bernabeu. Both he and Messis last Clsico goal both came in that 2-2 LaLiga fixture in May, 2018. After a successful spell in Seville, and starring at Euro 2000, Alfonso signed for Barca but struggled to settle in the Catalan capital. Pieyro 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 Chamartn". Real Madrid released a statement after the match which former club president Ramn 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. Madrid still boast the two largest wins in the record books that 11-1 in June 1943 and an 8-2 thrashing in February 1935. On the other hand, he also wanted the renamed CF Barcelona succeed as "Spanish team" rather than a Catalan one. Both were arguably the Premier Leagues best player when they left for a Spanish giant but their dream moves have turned into nightmares and been plagued with injury problems. In all honesty, he was much better for First Division Portsmouth, Robert Prosinecki with a beauty for Portsmouth! 