5 greatest El Clasico moments in recent history

4. Arrival of the magician

Lionel Messi celebrates his goals against Real Madrid.

In the 2006-07 season, when Barcelona was ruled by the likes of Ronaldinho and Xavi, an unassuming 20-year-old Argentine made his presence felt for the first time, and surely not for the last, scoring 17 goals that term to become a regular first-team starter thereafter for the Catalan club.

Lionel Messi had been knocking on the doorstep for a few seasons, but there was no better stage for him to make his presence felt than in a match against Real Madrid. He did just that, scoring a hattrick at Camp Nou to help Barcelona to a fighting 3-3 draw against their arch-rivals.

There was no turning back thereafter, as the 11th of March, 2007 saw the rise of an heir to Barcelona’s throne.