Top 5 greatest club rivalries in football

#2 El Clasico - Real Madrid vs Barcelona

Real Madrid v Barcelona - La Liga

In terms of consistency in quality and fielding the best players in the world, no rivalry comes close to Spain's El Clasico. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two biggest clubs in the world, and their battles throughout history have been legendary.

The rivalry comes about as Madrid and Barcelona are the two largest cities in Spain, and they are sometimes identified with opposing political positions, with Real Madrid viewed as representing Spanish nationalism and Barcelona viewed as representing Catalan nationalism.

Apart from the cultural significance of this game, the fans compete for bragging rights and dominance over the other in the footballing world. Red cards, players mocking the opposition with celebrations, heated bust-ups, they are all common in this game.

These two teams are also the most followed in the world and their games often decide the outcome of La Liga for that season.

Barcelona leads the head-to-head results in competitive matches with 96 wins to Real Madrid's 95; Barcelona also leads in total matches with 115 wins to Real Madrid's 99 as of match played on 2 March 2019.

Most recently, this match was known for pitting two of the game's greatest players against each other as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo took centre-stage. Despite the absence of the latter since his move to Juventus, El Clasico remains one of the most anticipated games in world football.