What and when is El Clasico? And where to watch Real Madrid v Barcelona
FT Desk
- 25 Oct 2025 03:30 CDT
- 4 min read
Analysis
Spain has always had a long and illustrious history with the sport of football, whether that be through the national team or indeed through its biggest clubs.
Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Villarreal have all flown the flag for the European nation in continental competitions over the decades, but when it comes to worldwide appeal nothing comes close to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
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Los Blancos were Europe’s first super club and are synonymous with the European Cup and Champions League, while their Catalan rivals have done more than any other club to define football at its purest form.
As such, the rivalry between both clubs is unrivalled across all of European football and, fittingly, is called El Clasico because it rarely disappoints.
What is El Clasico?
The match between Barcelona and Real Madrid is fought by Spain's two biggest and most successful clubs. It is deemed the pinnacle of Spanish football.
The term El Clasico is given to any game between the bitter rivals and translates into English as 'The Classic.'
The term to describe this great match only really entered the mainstream in the mid-2000s as beforehand it was often described as El Derbi (The Derby).
The rivalry is deeply political as the giants do not share a locality. It intensified during the Spanish Civil War and became entrenched after the Second World War.
In the 21st century, the rivalry was dominated between the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are considered by many to be the two greatest players of all time.
Both of those players have since moved on, but new heroes are establishing themselves.
When and where is the next El Clasico?
The next El Clasico is this Sunday 26 October at the home of Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. The kick-off time is 15:15 pm GMT.
At the moment the two clubs are, naturally, in the top two positions in La Liga.
Real Madrid lead the way in first position with 24 points taken from their opening nine matches. They have won eight and drawn one of those, with the solitary loss coming against city rivals Atletico Madrid.
Barca are in second, having won seven, drawn one and lost one of their nine matches for a total of 22 points.
Last five competitive Clasico results
| Barcelona 4-3 Real Madrid (La Liga, May 2025) |
| Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid (Copa del Rey, April 2025) |
| Real Madrid 2-5 Barcelona (Super Cup, January, 2025) |
| Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona (La Liga, October 2024) |
| Real Madrid 3-2 Barcelona (La Liga, April 2024) |
Who is Real Madrid's key player?
When Kylian Mbappe completed his massive free transfer switch from Paris Saint-Germain, a power struggle intensified between the Frenchman and Real Madrid's main star at the time, Vinicius Junior.
Now, there is no question as to who has won that battle as Mbappe is the undisputed king in the capital, while there are reports that Vinicius Junior may be on his way to Saudi Arabia.
The World Cup winner has started the new campaign in superb form and leads La Liga's goalscoring charts with 10 strikes so far.
Who is Barcelona's key player?
Even at 18-years-old, Lamine Yamal is Barcelona's most important player and already one of the highest paid sportsmen on the planet.
His rise has been so meteoric that he is already considered to the the Lionel Messi heir that Barcelona have been desperate to unearth for so long.
His 2025/26 has been stop-start due to a groin injury, but his performance will be key to Barca's success on Sunday.
Where and how to watch El Clasico?
The game will be shown live on Premier Sports 1 and LaLigaTV for those in the UK and on ESPN+ for those in the United States.
