Real Madrid vs Barcelona: which players have played the most Clásicos in history?

There are some historic rivalries in Spanish football but none bigger than El Clásico. For decades it’s been the biggest game in the calendar - for history and for the fierce rivalry that has long existed between Real Madrid and Barcelona, no other game comes close. Over the years, many of these encounters have decided who ends up lifting the league trophy. Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid head into tonight’s Clásico, the 257th, top of the table on 78 points - eight points in front of Xavi’s Barça in second place.

Clásico debutants

The two teams met at the Lluís Companys back in October - an occasion to remember for Jude Bellingham who bagged a brace in his first ever Clásico to hand the visitors a 1-2 victory. Also making their Clásico debuts in that game were Kepa Arrizabalaga and Joselu for Madrid, and João Félix, João Cancelo, Ilkay Gündogan, Iñigo Martínez, Lamine Yamal and Oriol Romeu for Barcelona.

A few others could be handed their first Clásico experience tonight - among them Andriy Lunin, Arda Güller and Vitor Roque.

Then there are the seasoned vets - those who popped their Clásico cherry long ago. Tonight’s clash will be the 36th time that Luka Modric has played against the Catalans. He’s seen it all before, as has Toni Kroos with 28 games against the eternal foes and Dani Carvajal with 27.

The Real Madrid player with the most appearances against Barcelona, in all competitions is Sergio Ramos who has been involved in 45 Clásicos since his arrival at the Bernabéu in 2005. His first Clásico, on 19 November 2005 was a memorable one – Ronaldinho’s recital in the 0-3 win earned him a standing ovation from the Bernabéu, a rare event for any visiting player let alone one from Barcelona.

Just behind Ramos is Karim Benzema, who starred in his 43rd and final Clásico in March 2023, months before he left for Saudi Arabia. Following the French striker are Madrid legends – Paco Gento and Manolo Sanchís who both faced Barça 42 times during their careers. Former captains Fernando Hierro, Raúl González and Iker Casillas faced the eternal rivals 37 times and Míchel had some memorable battles with the Catalans, 34 of them during his time at the club.

Busquets, Clásico appearances record holder

Sergio Busquets is the Barcelona player with the most appearances against Real Madrid and the player with the most Clasicos overall with 48. He captained Barça in the 2-1 victory at Camp Nou on 19 March 2023 - the final time he appeared in this fixture. Busi is now at Inter Miami with the next blaugrana in the list: Leo Messi has 45 Clásicos against Real Madrid under his belt and is the fixture’s top scorer with 26 goals. After him there is Xavi Hernández on 42, Gerard Piqué with 40 and Andrés Iniesta on 38.

Curiously, Messi made his Clásico bow in the same game as Ramos, having watched the previous season’s clash at Camp Nou from the bench. He featured in the starting line-up and by the quarter hour he’d already dished out his first Clásico assist, laying the ball off for Samuel Eto’o to set the visitors on their way.

Soon after he had the ball in the net himself, beating Casillas with a wonderful finish curled into the top corner - but it didn’t count as he was offside. His first encounter with Madrid ended on 70 minutes when he was replaced by Iniesta.