Real Madrid vs Barcelona: who has most wins in El Clásico?
Barcelona have won the last two Clásicos, including a friendly in Las Vegas. We look at the overall balance after 249 competitive meetings.
There have been a total of 249 competitive Clásicos and 34 exhibition or friendly games during Real Madrid and Barcelona’s long-standing rivalry. There have been spells when one or the other has dominated this fixture - Real Madrid strung together a winning run that lasted almost three years between 1962 and 1965; while Barca’s best run in LaLiga - five consecutive victories followed by a win and a draw, was brought to an end by Mourinho’s Madrid in April 2012 - having lasted almost three and a half years without defeat. There have also been periods of stalemate, but those are rare - the longest Madrid and Barça have gone without a winner in El Clasico is a season and a half - three consecutive draws between March 2002 and April 2003.
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Ancelotti versus Xavi
During his two spells at Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti has overseen his side in eight official meetings with Barcelona - six in LaLiga, one in the Spanish Super Cup and one in the Copa del Rey final. Carletto lost his first two Clásicos as coach, his Madrid side slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Camp Nou in October 2013 and were beaten 3-4 in the reverse fixture at the Bernabéu. It was third time lucky for the Italian, who savoured his first Clásico win in the 2014 Copa del Rey final with Gareth Bale’s unforgettable late winner. Madrid also won the next meeting, at Camp Nou in the league, but the writing was already on the wall for Ancelotti when Barcelona ran out 1-2 winners in the capital in March 2015 and a couple of months later he was sacked.
Since returning in 2021, Ancelotti watched his Madrid side take all three points from Camp Nou in LaLiga then knock Barça out of the Super Cup at the semi-final stage.
Xavi starred in 42 clashes with Real Madrid as a player (joint third in appearances behind Messi and Ramos with 45 and Busquets with 43), but he’s a relative newcomer when it comes to spending El Clásico in the dugout. Sunday’s game at the Bernabéu will be his fourth as a coach - his third in official competition. Xavi’s Barça were knocked out of the Super Cup in his first Clásico at the helm but redeemed themselves by thumping Madrid 0-4 a couple of months later at the Bernabéu in LaLiga. His side also emerged victorious in the most recent meeting - a pre-season friendly in Las Vegas over the summer.
Overall however, Madrid still hold the upper hand in the Clásico stakes.
Real Madrid lead Clásico standing
Madrid’s last Clásico success was a 1-2 win at Camp Nou in October 2021, which was notable as Ronald Koeman became the first Barça manager since Patrick O’Connell in 1936 to lose three consecutive Clásicos. Unsurprisingly, it proved to be the final straw and the Dutchman was sacked a week later after a 1-0 defeat at Rayo.
The win was also Madrid’s 100th triumph in official Clásico competition (which include a 1903 Copa de la Coronación game, a one-off, unofficial mini-tournament held in honour of Alfonso XIII’s coronation in 1902), and took Carlo Ancelotti’s side to four wins ahead of Barça’s 96 (at the time) in the historical rivalry.
Barça had led 96-95 after a 1-0 triumph at the Bernabéu in March 2019 - the first time since 1931 that they had boasted more Clásico victories than Los Blancos (excluding the disputed 1902 Copa de la Coronación semi-final). However, a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou later that year was followed by four straight victories for Madrid. Because of the Copa de la Coronación dispute, Madrid are still waiting to officially become the first of the two clubs to register an undisputed century of wins in the fixture, with the current tally being 100-97 in Madrid’s favour in official competition.
There have also been 52 draws in El Clásico.
Barcelona’s curious El Clásico friendly statistic
As for friendlies and exhibition matches, Barcelona came out on top in the most recent meeting in Las Vegas back in July. These games are, unless otherwise specified, never considered “official” matches and therefore do not count towards the overall totals of games played between the sides (or to player goal and appearance records). However, when there is nothing at stake Barça’s dominance is eye-catching: 20 wins to Madrid’s four, with 10 draws.
Taking friendlies into account, which we stress are completely unofficial in terms of the historical standing, Barcelona have won 117 Clásicos to Madrid’s 104.