Two giants collide when Real Madrid host Barcelona in La Liga’s El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on April 21, writes SportsClub Editor Nick Said.

Between them, Real Madrid and Barcelona have won 17 of the past 19 Spanish LaLiga titles, part of a rivalry that transcends football but makes them the two protagonists year after year. The pair have dominated the Spanish football landscape, with the occasional pockets of success for others, most recently Atlético Madrid.

The fact that they vie for top spot each year brings its own intensity to clashes between the two, as they have added importance and are usually played for three precious points that can decide the eventual destination of the league trophy.

But there is much more to it than that and there is a political element to it as well. Madrid is Spain’s capital and largest city, but Barcelona is the capital of the Catalunya region, which has for decades had a popular separatist movement that has been pushing for independence.

The two clubs are very often on opposite sides of the political spectrum, with Spanish and Catalan nationalism at the forefront.

In the 1930s, when General Francisco 5 Franco launched his coup d’état against the democratic Spanish Republic, all regional languages and identities, such as those of the Catalan population in Barcelona, were suppressed. In fact, Franco had Barcelona club president Josep Sunyol, a member of the separatist Republican Left of Catalunya, arrested and executed without trial.

In later years, Franco would become associated with Real Madrid, though in truth he seemed to prefer Atlético and the mists of time have perhaps blurred the reality.

But, for example, Barça blamed their 11–1 loss to Real Madrid on intimidation from Franco’s forces, while Santiago Bernabéu, after whom Real’s stadium is named, did fight on Franco’s side.

Franco realised the importance of Real for his international image, which was not great, and he began to lend political and financial support to the club, sparking the ire of their rivals, including Barcelona.

“(Real Madrid) is the best embassy we have ever had,” said Fernando María Castiella, who was Franco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Real Madrid became the club of the government and right-wingers, while Barça were seen the left-wing outliers, the non-conformists who could take on the establishment.

It is a rivalry that has been intensified by transfers – the pair fought bitterly over the prospect of signing the great Alfredo Di Stéfano (below) in the 1950s. Real eventually won and he turned out to be a legend for them, but Barça felt cheated and perhaps still do to this day.

The 2000 move of Portuguese winger Luís Figo from Barça to Real was just as controversial, after the player had insisted he would be staying put at Camp Nou, only to days later take a sizeable paycheck in Madrid. His agents had done a deal with Madrid that meant in essence Barça would have to pay a penalty fee of $30 million to keep him – essentially a transfer fee for their own player. He went from being a darling to being a pariah at Barça.

“To play for Barcelona means to have an opportunity for a brilliant career. But to reach the top of it, you have to play for Real Madrid,” Figo said, adding fuel to the fire.

Former Real coach José Mourinho was never one to shy away from such controversy and he said: “Barcelona has no dream, but an obsession: Real Madrid. They teach you to hate them. They hate Madrid more than they love Barcelona.

They want Madrid in their shadow. Maybe it works for a few years, but there’s going to come a time when Barcelona will be over.”

This has been no one-sided rivalry down the years. In 256 official clashes in all competitions, Real have won 104 to Barça’s 100, with 52 draws. Real have outscored their opponents 430-417. Those are tight numbers in 120-odd years of competing and Barcelona fans would love, over the next few seasons, to get ahead of their rivals and have something extra to crow about.

But they have work to do, Barça went down 4–1 to Real in the Spanish Super Cup in January that was played in Saudi Arabia and have three defeats in their last four meetings.

An oddity of recent clashes between the sides is that in the past 15 clashes, there have been no draws, with Real winning nine and Barcelona six.

This month’s clash will be last in charge for Barça coach Xavi, who has already said he is leaving the club at the end of the season. All that while Real coach Carlo Ancelotti has signed on for two more years.

It may add some spice, but is unlikely to have a huge outcome on the game.

Without the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, El Clásico has lost some shine in recent years. Their performances were always captivating and more often than not they rose to the occasion.

It remains to be seen who can be the hero this time round and secure bragging rights for the last time this season in a traditional game that means so much more to the fans than just the three points.

EL CLÁSICO HEROES

LIONEL MESSI (BARCELONA)

Messi scored a record 26 goals in El Clásico games, eight more than the next highest on the list, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo. That included two hat-tricks for the Argentine, who played 45 times in all for Barça against Real Madrid. He is also credited with a further 14 assists.

CRISTIANO RONALDO (REAL MADRID)

Ronaldo scored 18 El Clásico goals in 33 games and holds the record for netting in the most consecutive games in the fixtures, punishing Barça for seven matches in a row between 2011 and 2013. On his day he was the consummate finisher and won plenty of derby games for Real.

SERGIO BUSQUETS (BARCELONA)

Midfielder Busquets holds the record for the most El Clásico appearances with 48 during a Barça first-team career that lasted from 2008 to 2023. He won 23 of those, which is also a record, with no other playing having been victorious as many times. A defensive midfielder, he did not manage a goal, but is credited with one assist in that span!

SERGIO RAMOS (REAL MADRID)

The defender was not everyone’s cup of tea but was a real warrior on the pitch for Real and helped them to many El Clásico wins. He played 45 times for Real against Barça, missing just one LaLiga encounter in 16 seasons due to injury.

Photo by EPA/STR