10 Amazing Facts About The El Clasico That You Should Know

The El Clasico of 2017 has come and gone leaving fans and players of the Real Madrid and FC Barcelona with mixed feelings. So many El Clasico matches have been played with goals scored leaving either of the two clubs with the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat but little is known of the El Clasico, that match that focuses the spotlight on two of Spain’s biggest football gladiators

1 The El Clasico originally referred to competitions held within the Spanish championship alone

2 Apart from the UEFA Champions League, it is the fiercest most watched match annually throughout the globe

3 The rivalry is between two of Spain’s biggest cities, Madrid and Barcelona who have opposing political positions while Barcelona represents Catalan nationalism, Madrid represents Spanish nationalism

4 While Real Madrid leads in head to head wins 93 wins as against Barcelona’s 91, Barcelona is ahead in matches won winning 110 matches as against Real Madrid’s 97

5 These two El Clasico gladiators are two of the three clubs that have never gone into relegation, the third team is Athletic Bilbao

6 The El Clasico of 22nd of April will remain a memorable one for Lionel Messi who scored his 500th goal which was the winning goal of the match at the Bernabeu

7 Lionel Messi holds the highest goal scorer of the ‘grudge match’ with 23 goals

8 These two Spanish giants have met a total of 266 incredible times, 233 competitive matches and 33 exhibition matches with Real Madrid winning 93 competitive matches, and Barcelona winning 19 exhibition matches

9 Manolo Sanchis has the most appearances in the El Classico making 43 appearances

10 The largest victory of the El Clasico is held by Real Madrid as they defeated Barcelona 11-1 in a Copa Del Rey on the 19th of June 1943

The next El Classico match would be taken place on the 29th of July 2017 at Nou Camp, who do you think will win, the Catalan or the Galacticos? Let’s hear your comments.