On Sunday, Real Madrid and Barcelona square off in the 177th league edition of El Clasico, the greatest rivalry match in all of sports. Real leads the all-time series with 72 La Liga victories as compared to Barca’s 70 (the two sides have shared the spoils an additional 34 times), and the club from the Spanish capital desperately needs another victory to reduce the currently escalating gap in league play.
Barcelona vs. Real Madrid | Camp Nou
Sunday, October 28, 2018 | 11:15 a.m. ET
TV: beIN SPORTS USA or beIN SPORTS en Español
Stream: Fubo TV, Sling TV or beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A
A meeting between Inter Milan and Barcelona at the Camp Nou will always conjure images of Jose Mourinho celebrating his tactical masterclass by storming the pitch at the final whistle, but for one Inter player, Wednesday’s tilt will serve as an unlikely reminder of things past — it's Mauro Icardi’s “homecoming.”
FC Barcelona has updated the world on the severity of the arm injury which forced Lionel Messi off in the 26th minute of the club’s 4-2 victory over Sevilla on Saturday, and it’s terrible news for fans of the beautiful game: Messi has fractured the radial bone in his right arm and will be out for three weeks.
Accordingly, Barca’s captain will miss Wednesday’s Champions League match against Inter Milan and, most notably, next Sunday’s El Clásico at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi did what Lionel Messi does 12 minutes into Barcelona’s match against Sevilla on Saturday. Then he did something uncharacteristic for the prolific Argentine: he got hurt.
In a scary moment for Barça fans, Messi was taken off with an apparent arm injury after an awkward fall in the 16th minute, moments after he scored his 12th goal of the season. He was eventually taken off in the 26th minute, unable to continue, a rare injury for a player who has averaged more than 52 appearances per season the last 10 years.
Wednesday, FC Barcelona posted a video to its official YouTube channel entitled “INSIDE TRAINING | Coutinho prepares for his first El Clásico.” It’s a little strange because perhaps the Brazilian would be better served preparing for Saturday’s match against league leader Sevilla at the Camp Nou or next Wednesday’s heavyweight Champions League tilt with Inter Milan (the clubs are even at the top of Group B with six points), but there’s just no denying that it doesn’t get any bigger or better than El Clásico.
When it comes to pure entertainment, Ronaldinho is perhaps the greatest footballer of all time.
The Brazilian officially (and finally) retired from football earlier this year, but he’s still involved in the game as an ambassador for Barcelona, the club he spent five seasons with, more than any other club for which he played.