Lionel Messi scored a stunner against Mexico to silence his doubters, again. With this goal, he equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's FIFA World Cup goals tally. The Argentine great has already scored twice in this year's world cup. Although, Portugal's all-time leading goal scorer will at least have two chances to take the lead against Messi's 8-goal tally. That gives us an opportunity to go through the Messi vs Ronaldo FIFA World Cup stats.
Messi vs Ronaldo: FIFA World Cup stats
Portugal's no. 7 has played 18 games for the national team across a record five world cups. He has scored 8 times in those 18 games for the Seleção das Quinas. 3 of those 8 goals are from the penalty box and he has only missed once from the spot on the grandest stage of world football.
On the contrary, Messi has played 21 games for Argentina in five world cups and netted the ball 8 times for La Albiceleste. Messi only scored one penalty in those 8 goals, which came against Saudi Arabia in a shocking losing cause in their opening game of FIFA World Cup 2022.
Both the strikers have a great goal-per-game ratio when it comes to scoring in world cups. Messi has a 0.38 goal-per-game ratio while Ronaldo has a ratio of .44.
Between Ronaldo and Messi, it is the Portuguese captain who has a hat-trick against his name in the World Cup. Ronaldo's lone hat trick came against Spain in a 3-3 draw in 2018. Messi is yet to score a hat-trick in the world cup.
They both have scored only once with a free-kick in their respective world cup careers till now. Without the free-kicks, Messi has netted the ball thrice from outside the box in his FIFA World Cup career till now. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has been able to score just once from outside the box excluding the free-kicks.
When it comes to providing assists, Lionel Messi wins the Messi vs Ronaldo World Cup battle. Messi has provided 6 assists to his teammates while Ronaldo has only twice.
With his goal against Ghana, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first and only male player to score in five FIFA World Cups. Only Marta and Christine Sinclair have the same record but in the Women's World Cup. Marta was the first player ever to have that record.
Here are the footballers to score goals in five FIFA World Cups.
Till now, 9 European clubs (Under UEFA) have managed to win a treble, which includes the premier national league competition, the main national cup competition, and the UEFA Champions League/UEFA Europa League.
In football, a team wins a treble when they win three major trophies in a single season. Winning the continental treble means winning the premier national league competition, the main national cup competition, and the main continental trophy, for UEFA, which is the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League.
Though winning the Europa League is also considered a treble, it is not accepted wholeheartedly by the pundits and fans as winning the UEFA Champions League.
Till now, 9 European clubs have been able to win the continental treble. Before we discuss all the European treble winners in men's football history, we must know about the types of Trebles we have in football.
Barcelona is the only club to win multiple trebles with both their men's and women's team, completing the feat in 2024.
Continental treble
This is considered the actual treble in football where a team go on to win the national league, national cup competition and the main continental trophy. Celtic Football Club in 1966-67 became the first team in football history to win a Continental treble. Till now, 22 men's teams have won the Continental Treble, with 30 being the total number of times. In Europe, only 8 football teams have been able to accomplish the feat.
Domestic treble
Generally, for most of the footballing nations, winning a domestic treble is not possible since they do not allow first-division teams to win any secondary cup or league. A domestic treble includes winning three national competitions, including the national league title, the national cup competition, and one secondary competition. Countries which were under British or French possessions once allowed domestic trebles to happen. Celtic with 8 domestic trebles, and Rangers, with 7, are the most successful teams when it comes to winning domestic trebles.
European treble winners in men's football history
1. Celtic | 1966-67
Celtic team with their 1966-67 European Cup trophy. Image | Celtic Star
In the 1966-67 season, Celtic became the first team ever to win the continental treble when they won the Scottish Football League, Scottish Cup and European Cup (UEFA Champions League now).
Celtic with 58 points in the Scottish Football League went past Rangers to clinch the national league. In the Scottish Cup, they defeated Aberdeen Football Club by 2-0 in the final to win the trophy. William Wallace was the goalscorer for them in the final.
In the European Cup, Celtic defeated Inter Milan by 2-1 in Lisbon to become the first-ever Treble winner in football history. Thomas Gemmell and Thomas Chalmers were the scorers for Cletic that day.
2. 1971-72 | Ajax
Ajax 1971-72 team that won the European Treble | Image: X
Ajax, the football club from the Netherlands became the second European team to win the treble in the 1971-72 season. They won the Eredivisie, their national league and then won the KNVB Cup and later on won the European Cup to complete their treble. That season, Ajax were nearly the invincible team losing just one game in the whole season.
In the Eredivisie, Johan Cruyff became their top goal scorer with 25 goals. Ajax with 63 points, 8 points cleared Feijenoord in the second position. In the KNVB Cup, they defeated FC Den Haag in the final by 3-2 to win the cup. Cruyff had scored the opener in that game also and scored three goals in the tournament.
In the European Cup, they defeated Inter Milan by 2-0 with Johan Cruyff scoring a brace for them. In all together Cruyff had scored 33 goals for them that season in the three tournaments.
In the 1987-88 season, PSV became the second team from the Netherlands to win the historical treble. That season they won the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup and the European Cup. They won their 10th Eredivisie title with 59 points, 9 points clear of Ajax in the league table. Wim Kieft scored 29 goals in that season for PSV in the league.
In the KNVB Cup final they defeated Roda JC by 3-2 in the extra time. Then, they went on to win the European Cup by defeating Benfica in the final by a 6-5 penalty shootout. Ronald Koeman came out as one of the standout performers for PSV that season.
Manchester United players with their 1999 UEFA Champions League trophy. Image | FC Barcelona
It took 11 more years for any team to win the European Treble and Manchester United became the first team from England to achieve that feat. United, under Sir Alex Ferguson won the Premier League, FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League after not winning any trophies in the previous season. The treble is regarded as the achievement in his career, and he was awarded the knighthood in November 1999 after that success.
They won the Premier League with 79 points, 1 point more than Arsenal. Dwight Yorke with 18 goals was their and League's joint-highest goal scorer in that season. In the FA Cup, despite facing difficult opponents throughout the tournament, Ferguson's men kept on fighting back, and after two semi-final replays against Arsenal and a final against Newcastle United, they won the FA Cup. Paul Scholes and Teddy Sheringham scored for them in a 2-0 win in the final.
In the Champions League, they were drawn into the group of death alongside FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Brondby. They qualified for the knockouts as the runner-up from the group and defeated Inter Milan and Juventus in the quarter and semi-finals, respectively, before beating FC Bayern Munich in a historic comeback in the final. In front of 91000 people in Barcelona, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in the added minutes to hand Manchester United a terrific 2-1 win over Bayern.
Barcelona players with their 2009 UEFA Champions League trophy. Image | FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona in the 2008-09 season became the first Spanish team to win the European Treble. Under their former captain, and Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola, the Spanish giants reached their peak in that season winning the La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League. They are still the only Spanish team to win the European Treble.
After selling players like Deco and Ronaldinho, Barcelona started to reorganise their shape as a club and Lionel Messi alongside Samuel Eto'o became their hero at the front. They won La Liga with 87 points, 9 points clear of Real Madrid. Samuel Eto'o with 30 goals in the league was their top scorer.
In the Copa del Rey final, they defeated Athletic Bilbao by 4-1 as Yaya Toure, Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Bojan scored for them after conceding an early goal.
In the 2008-09 Champions League, Barcelona had to clear the qualifying round first to enter the group stage. They defeated Wisła Kraków in a two-legged qualifying round before entering the group stage alongside Shakhtar Donetsk, Sporting CP and Basel.
That header from Lionel Messi that saw FC Barcelona win the 2009 Champions League.
They topped the group stage and then went on to beat Lyon, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea in the knockouts before beating Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in the final in Rome. Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi scored one goal each as Barcelona scripted history. Messi finished with 38 goals in all competitions that season. That season saw Lionel Messi win his first Ballon d'Or award with a record margin of 240 points than second-position Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barcelona in 2009 became the first team to win a "sextuple" in European football history.
6. 2009-10 | Inter Milan
Inter Milan players after their historical 2009-10 European Treble
Right after Barcelona's historical 2008-09 season, Inter Milan created their history as they became the first and still the only Italian team to win the European treble. They were the sixth European Treble winners in the men's football history. It was the "special one", Jose Mourinho's second and last season with the club that helped the Italian giants create history.
After a historical season with FC Barcelona, Samuel Eto'o was swapped with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and was sold to Inter Milan. Eto'o that season went on to become the only player to win back-to-back European Treble. That season Inter Milan won their fifth consecutive Serie A title, Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League.
They first won the Coppa Italia by beating Roma in the final. Diego Militao scored the lone goal for them in the final. Then, they won the Serie A on the final match day with 82 points, 2 points more than Roma.Diego Militao scored 22 goals in the league season for them.
In the UEFA Champions League, they were clubbed with Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin Kazan and progressed to the knockout stage as the runner-up of the group. In the knockouts, they defeated Chelsea, CSKA Moscow and Barcelona before winning 2-0 against Bayern Munich in the final. Militao scored a brace for them and won the player of the match award as well.
FC Bayern Munich with the UEFA Champions League 2012-13 trophy
In the 2012-13 season, FC Bayern Munich became the first and only German team to win the European Treble. Under head coach Jupp Heynckes, they won their 22nd Bundesliga title, and 5th UEFA Champions League title alongside the DFB-Pokal title.
Before the season they brought in players like Xherdan Shaqiri, Dante, Claudio Pizarro, Mitchell Weiser, Tom Starke and Mario Mandzukic alongside Javi Martinez for a then-record signing fee.
In the league, they acquired a record-breaking 91 points as Mario Mandzukic finished with 15 goals against his name. In the DFB-Pokal, they defeated VfB Stuttgart in the final by 3-2 as Mario Gomez scored a brace for them.
In the Champions League, they were grouped with Valencia, BATE Borisov and Lille. They moved to the next stage as the group champions and then faced Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona in the knockouts. In an all-German final, they defeated Borrusia Dortmund by 2-1 to complete their treble. Mario Mandzukic and Arjen Robben scored for them in the final.
8. 2014-15 | FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona players after winning the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League. Image | FC Barcelona
Under head coach Luis Enrique, FC Barcelona in the 2014-15 season became the first team in European football history to win the treble more than once. In the summer, Barcelona signed Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez which helped them create one of the most successful trios in football history in M-S-N with Messi, Suarez and Neymar. They had also signed Marc-André ter Stegen and Ivan Rakitic same season.
They won the La Liga narrowly with 94 points, 2 points clear of Real Madrid. Lionel Messi (43) was outscored by Cristiano Ronaldo (48) in the league that season. Neymar also scored 22 goals for Barcelona in the league that season.
In the Copa del Rey final, they defeated Athletic by 3-1 as Messi scored a brace and Neymar netted once.
In the Champions League, they faced PSG, Ajax and APOEL in the group stage and advanced to the knockout stage as the champions of the group. They then went on to beat Manchester City, PSG and Bayern Munich before beating Juventus by 3-1 in the final. Neymar, Rakitic and Suarez scored in that final. Messi with 58 goals in all competitions was their top scorer. After that performance, Messi went on to beat Ronaldo and Neymar to win his 5th Ballon d'Or.
9. 2019-20 | FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich won their second European Treble in the 2019-20 season
Post Barca's remarkable success in the 2014-15 season, German club FC Bayern Munich went on to equal their records as the second team in European Football history to win the treble more than once. Under coach Hansi Flick they went on to become the second team in European football to win the "sextuple".
Niko Kovac was the manager for FC Bayern Munich when they started the season, and then Hansi Flick was named as the interim manager. In a season hit by Covid-19, Bayern were forced to play behind closed doors.
However, that did not restrict them from being their brutal best. Robert Lewandowski broke the record for the most goals scored in a single Bundesliga season (34) as Bayern lifted the league for the 29th time.
In the DFB-Pokal final, they defeated Bayer Leverkusen by 4-2 as Robert Lewandowski scored a brace for them.
In the UEFA Champions League round of 16, they defeated Chelsea. Then, they humiliated Barcelona by an 8-2 win (the biggest margin in a UEFA Champions League knockout game) and thrashed Lyon by 3-0 before beating PSG by 1-0 in the final. Kingsley Coman scored the all-important goal for them in the final.
10. 2022-23 | Manchester City
Manchester City with their first-ever Champions League trophy in 2022-23 season
In the 2022-23 season, Manchester City became the second English team and 8th overall team to win a European Treble. Pep Guardiola created one of his records as he became the first coach in European history to win the treble more than once.
Manchester City were coming into the season as the Premier League defending champions and signed players like Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips and Julian Alvarez to strengthen their squad. Erling Haaland went on to break the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a single season as he scored 35 goals in the whole season. City went on to win their 7th Premier League title with 89 points.
In the FA Cup final, City's captain Iikay Gundogan scored the fastest goal in the FA Cup final's history as they defeated Manchester United by 2-0 in the final.
The Haaland riot continued in the UEFA Champions League as well as he scored four goals against RB Leipzig in the round of 16. They then went on to beat Bayern in the quarters and Real Madrid in the semis before beating Inter Milan in the final by 1-0. Rodri scored the lone goal for them in the final and was named player of the final as well.
Erling Haaland scored 52 goals in his 53 games for Manchester City that season. However, despite that performance, he could not beat Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or trophy.
11. 2024-25 | PSG
PSG became the latest team to win the European treble under Luis Enrique as they clinched their first-ever Champions League trophy, and also lifted the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France trophies.
In Ligue 1, they clinched the French Championship with 84 points, as Ousmane Dembele, with 21 goals, won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot.
In the Coupe de France final, they defeated Reims by 3-0 as Bradley Barcola scored a brace and Achraf Hakimi scored another goal to seal the win.
In their historic Champions League season, Dembele finished as their top scorer of the season while Desire Doue scored a stunning brace to help them lift the title. Achraf Hakimi scored in all quarters, the semis and the final to become one of the heroes for them.
With this win, Luis Enrique became the second manager to win two European trebles with two different teams.
The No.10 jersey in football is always an iconic one. Be it for any club, country or any team playing in a local tournament, usually the best player of the team or the attacker wears the No.10 jersey for the team.
FC Barcelona, one of the best and historical clubs in the World, had some of the greatest players ever to wear the No. 10 jersey for them. Today, in this article, we will discuss 10 legendary Barcelona players who have worn the jersey no. 10.
To give you the context of the article, let me remind you that, after a great 2024-25 season, Lamine Yamal is set to wear the No.10 jersey for FC Barcelona in the next season, only if Ansu Fati leaves the club.
If you talk about any stats or legendary things about FC Barcelona, there is a chance that you will have to mention the little man from Argentina, Lionel Messi. Most goals, most trophies, most assists, most Ballon d'Ors, and many more records for the club - Messi has everything to his name.
Messi had 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 appearances for FC Barcelona and left the club with the most number of titles. The 8-time Ballon d'Or winner wore the No.10 jersey for the first time in 2008 when Ronaldinho left the Catalan club to join AC Milan.
Since then, Messi has worn the iconic jersey for 14 years, before leaving the club as the greatest Barcelona player.
An Argentine legend followed by another one. One of the greatest footballers ever, Diego Maradona, who is known for his time at Italian Club Napoli, spent two seasons at FC Barcelona as well.
Although Maradona's stint at Barcelona was full of controversies and injuries, he scored 38 goals in 58 matches and won the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup for FC Barcelona.
3. Ronaldinho (2003–2008)
With his Samba magic and flair, Ronaldinho is regarded as one of the greatest Barcelona players ever. The Brazilian legend was there when Messi made his debut and gave him all the support to fill his shoes later. Before Messi, it was Ronaldinho, who used to wear the No. 10 jersey for FC Barcelona.
Ronaldinho scored 94 goals and provided 71 assists in 207 matches for FC Barcelona.
Alongside winning two La Liga titles, he also won the 2006 UEFA Champions League for the Spanish club.
Gary Lineker is one of the greatest English players ever to play for FC Barcelona. From 1986 to 1989, Lineker played for FC Barcelona in 138 matches, wearing the famous No. 10 jersey.
Lineker scored 51 goals for the Catalan club and helped them win the Copa del Rey in 1988 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1989.
5. Rivaldo (1997–2002)
Rivaldo, the Brazilian legend and captain, joined FC Barcelona in the 1997 season and played 235 games for the Catalan, the most he played for any club in his career. The attacking midfielder scored 130 goals for Barcelona and won four titles, including two La Liga titles.
Not only that, during his stint at Barcelona, he won the FIFA Best Player Award and Ballon d'Or award in 1999.
Since there was no consistency in jersey numbers during the 1930s and 1940s era, it is quite unclear how many games he played wearing the No. 10 jersey for FC Barcelona. But Cesar, who wore the No. 10 jersey occasionally for FC Barcelona, played 344 games for the club.
In those games, he scored 226 goals and won 11 trophies for the club, including 5 La Liga titles. With 28 goals, he also finished the 1948-49 season as the top scorer of La Liga.
7. Juan Román Riquelme (2002–2005)
Another Argentine legend is on the list of legendary players to wear the No. 10 jersey for FC Barcelona. Riquelme, the legendary Argentine attacking midfielder, though he only played 42 games for FC Barcelona, made his mark before leaving for Villarreal and Boca Juniors.
8. Michael Laudrup (1989–1994)
Laudrup, the Danish playmaker, was an integral part of Johan Cruyff’s dream team. The stylish midfielder played 226 games for FC Barcelona and scored 54 goals for the club. Along with his goals, Laudrup assisted 26 times as well.
Laudrup won 9 trophies for FC Barcelona, including 1 UEFA Champions League, 4 La Liga titles, 1 UEFA Supercup and 2 Spanish Super Cups. Post becoming FC Barcelona.
After his successful 1992 and 1993 seasons, Laudrup joined Real Madrid the next season.
9. Luis Suárez Miramontes (1955–1961)
One of the greatest Spanish midfielders, Luis Suárez Miramontes, is also one of the greatest FC Barcelona players. Luis Suárez Miramontes, in 176 games for FC Barcelona, scored 80 goals and assisted 21 times.
Suarez won two La Liga titles and two Spanish Cup titles for FC Barcelona before moving to Inter Milan, where he flourished as a striker and went on to win two Champions League titles as well.
But before leaving for Inter Milan, he won the 1960 Ballon d'Or while playing for FC Barcelona.
10. Hugo Sotil (1973–1976)
Hugo Sotil, the Peruvian striker, was one of the key players for FC Barcelona during the Johan Cruyff era. In 70 games, he scored 18 goals and helped FC Barcelona win the 1973–74 La Liga title.
Hugo was one of the key members of Barcelona's resurgence in the 1970s.
The European Golden Boot or European Golden Shoe is awarded annually to the leading goal scorer in league matches in the top divisions of European football. First awarded in 1968, this prestigious honour is judged on a points-based system.
The winner is not simply the player with the most goals in the season. There is a weighting system where the goals scored in the top-ranked leagues are worth more. Players from the five highest ranked leagues according to UEFA (based on results of each league's clubs in European competition over the previous five seasons) get 2 points per scored goal, leagues ranked 6-22 get 1.5 points per goal and the remaining leagues get 1 point per goal.
The top five ranked leagues in 2022 were Germany, Spain, England, Italy, and France. The winners usually come from the top-ranked leagues.
Historical Overview
Between 1968 and 1991, the award was given by L'Équipe to the highest goalscorer in any European league. Between 1991 and 1996 there were no official awards given to the top goal scorers, but the leading goalscorer for those years have since been recognized.
Since the 1996–97 season, the award, given by European Sports Media, has used a weighted points system.
Most Golden Boots win
Lionel Messi has won the European Golden Boot a record six times (2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19). The next closest is Cristiano Ronaldo with four (2007-08, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15).
Let's take a look at the most Golden Boots win in football history.
Real Madrid players Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Nacho have equalled Paco Gento's record for most Champions League titles as a player. All of them have won six European Cup/Champions League titles.
The Champions League has always been a huge honour for any team. Teams like Real Madrid have won the trophy as many as 15 times while AC Milan, FC Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich have won found success in Europe's biggest club competition.
As a result, the players from such elite teams as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, and AC Milan dominate the charts of players with the most Champions League titles.
Players who have won the most Champions League titles
Paco Gento was the first player to win six European Cup/Champions League titles as a player.
Iconic Real Madrid left-winger Paco Gento used to hold the record for the most Champions League titles by a player. He has won six trophies in his 18 years at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, Real Madrid legends Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric andNacho have equalled his record and became the only players to win six Champions League titles in the UCL era.
Former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is tied up at 5 UCL titles with players like Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Larence Seedorf as well as other Real Madrid giants in Hector Rial and Marquitos, Lucas Vázquez, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and a few others.
El Clasico is considered as the greatest football rivalries, between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Here is the list of the top 10 greatest El Clasico matches ever played.
Zamorano celebrating his goal in the 1995 El Clasico. Image | TheHardTackle
The Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match on January 7, 1995, at the Santiago Bernabeu was unforgettable. Zamorano netted a hat-trick, leading Real Madrid to a commanding 5-0 victory in this LaLiga clash. It was one of the most one-sided El Clasico matches ever, with the home team fully dominating Barcelona.
The match gave Real Madrid an edge in the title race for La Liga.
9. Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona, 2014
Gareth Bale(right) celebrating his 85th minute winner against Barcelona in the 2014 El Clasico. Image | Sky Sports
The Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, hosted the 2014 Copa Del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona on April 16. The match seemed headed for extra time, but a brilliant 85th-minute goal from Gareth Balesecured the victory for Real Madrid. It marked their 19th Copa del Rey title.
8. FC Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, 2010
Xavi Hernandez after scoring the first goal of the night in the 2010 El Clasico. Image | CNN
After dominating El Clasico the previous season, Barcelona, led by coach Pep Guardiola, continued their strong form in 2009-10. Real Madrid had spent big to rebuild their "Galactico Era," bringing in stars like Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Madrid’s firepower wasn’t enough. Barcelona crushed them 5-0 at the Camp Nou, with David Villa scoring twice. Messi didn’t score but played a big role in most of the goals.
Lionel Messi celebrating his hattrick in the 2007 El Clasico. Image | 90MIN
This LaLiga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid took place at Camp Nou on March 10, 2007, and ended in an exciting 3-3 draw. Both teams played their hearts out, making it one of the greatest El Clasico matches in recent years.
Messi scored a hat-trick, whileVan Nistelrooy scored twice andRamos added one for Madrid. A fierce, high-scoring clash that highlighted both teams' firepower.
6. Real Madrid 4-2 FC Barcelona, 2005
Raul Gonzalez celebrating his goal in the 2005 El Clasico. Image | Squawka
The early 2000s saw Real Madrid stacked with stars like Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, and Ronaldo Nazario. Despite Barcelona boasting talents like Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Xavi, Madrid outclassed them with a 4-2 win—Zidane and Ronaldo struck early, while Raul and Owen sealed it in the second half.
5. Real Madrid 3-1 FC Barcelona, 1960
Alfredo Di Stefano trying to score a goal in the 1960 El Clasico. Image | Alamy
Real Madrid’s clash with Barcelona in the 1960 European Cup Semifinal is seen as a key moment in El Clasico history. Madrid won 3-1 and reached the final. Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas found the net for Real Madrid, sealing their victory in the semifinal against Barcelona.
The match showed the strong rivalry and attacking power of both teams. It's still remembered today as one of the greatest El Clasico matches and a major turning point in their history.
4. FC Barcelona 4-0 Real Madrid, 2015
Luis Suarez(centre) celebrating his goal in the 2015 El Clasico. Image | FC Barcelona
During the peak of the MSN era at Barcelona, the team looked unstoppable in Spain. But for the first El Clasico of the season, Messi was out with an injury. Surprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t make much impact, while Luis Suárez and Neymar stepped up. They led Barcelona to a dominant 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
With both teams playing attacking football and creating plenty of chances, this was the greatest El Clasico match of the 1980s. Butragueno gave Real Madrid the lead, but Gary Lineker put Barcelona ahead. Goals from Schuster and Michel made it 3-1 for Madrid. Julio Salinas gave Barca hope, but a late goal from Hugo Sanchez sealed the win for Real Madrid.
2. FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid, 2011
Cesc Fabregas(left) celebrating his assist to Lionel Messi(right) in the 2011 El Clasico. Image | TheNewYorkTimes
One of the most intense and dramatic El Clasicos happened in 2011 during the Supercopa de Espana. The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu, but the second leg had everything—goals, fouls, and lots of drama.
Iniesta put Barcelona ahead, Ronaldo equalised, and Messi sealed it with two goals, including a late 88th-minute winner. The match turned chaotic after a foul on Fabregas sparked a brawl, leading to four red cards and Mourinho infamously poking Vilanova in the eye.
1. FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid, 2017
Debatably the greatest El Clasico match of the modern era, took place in the 2016-17 LaLiga season. Real Madrid was leading the league and hoping to extend their lead, while Barcelona needed a win to stay in the title race.
What made this match unforgettable happened in the final moments. The ball was passed to Messi just outside the Real Madrid penalty area. Instead of taking a wild shot, Messi calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner, securing a crucial victory for Barcelona at their biggest rivals' home.
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