sportskafun.com: El Clásico - The biggest football game in the World

"El Clasico" as the name suggests itself, means The Classic. It is the name given to the rivalry between the two biggest clubs in this world, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Termed as probably the biggest game in club football, it is one of the most viewed match in this world.

These two top clubs from Spain, whenever they play, the world stops. They have the largest fanbase and are the most followed team at present. According to Forbes, these are world's two most valuable teams.

History says this rivalry has surpassed every limits. Lots of controversies, on and off the field, politics, transfers etc. You will come to know about some interesting facts as you read through.

First El Clasico In history

The first ever El Clasico was played in 1902 on the home ground of Real Madrid. It was a club competition game and Barcelona were the winners, winning by a scoreline of 3-1.

After this although they played against each other in several friendlies it was in February of 1929, when they first met in Spanish competition La Liga, this time at Barcelona's home ground.

Los Blancos won the match 2-1.

Real Madrid leads the head to head battle win 93 wins to Barcelona's 90. The two are teams are also never relegated from La Liga since its inception in 1929.

CONTROVERSIES

Some major controversies which involved both the clubs are :

1943 Copa del Generalisimo semi-finals - When Barcelona won the first leg 3-0. Real Madrid complained about the goals which referee allowed for Barcelona. Whilst home supporters whistled against Real Madrid for applying rough tactics and against referee for allowing them to. A campaign began in Madrid and Barcelona fans were banned from traveling to Madrid. Real Madrid beat Barcelona 11-1 in the second leg. It was one of the most controversial match.

Alfredo di Stefano Transfer - The rivalry reached new heights when both clubs tried to sign Di Stefano in 1950s. Both clubs claimed to own his registration but when intervened by the FIFA president, it was decided the teams will share the players in alternate seasons. But eventually Di Stefano moved to Real Madrid and became an integral part of the club's success in the 60s.

Luis Figo Transfer - In 2000, when Luis Figo moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid, this was the transfer surrounded by a lot of politics and controversies. It led to a hate campaign against him when he visited Barcelona in Real Madrid shirt. Banners with "Judas", "Scum" and "Mercenary" were hung around the stadium.

These are some of the notable controversies.

More details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cl%C3%A1sico

Recent

In recent years, this rivalry has been overviewed as the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and after signings of players like Luis Suarez, Neymar by Barcelona and Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema by Real Madrid, it has broadened as the rivalry between the two trios BBC vs MSN.