text: In their period, the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been encapsulated by the rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi. Following the star signings of Neymar and Luis Suárez by Barcelona, and Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema by Real Madrid, the rivalry was expanded to a battle of the clubs' attacking trios, nicknamed "BBC" (Bale–Benzema–Cristiano) and "MSN" (Messi–Suárez–Neymar). Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018, and in the week prior to the first meeting of the teams in the 2018–19 La Liga, Messi sustained an arm injury ruling him out of the match. It would be the first time since 2007 that the Clásico had featured neither player, with some in the media describing it as the 'end of an era'. Barcelona won the match 5–1.
  Statistics
  Matches summary
  Head-to-head ranking in La Liga (1929–2024)
  Total: Real Madrid with 48 higher finishes, Barcelona with 45 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2023–24 season).
  The biggest difference in positions for Real Madrid from Barcelona is 10 places in the 1941–42 season; the biggest difference in positions for Barcelona from Real Madrid is 10 places in the 1947–48 season.
  Hat-tricks
  24 players have scored a hat-trick in official El Clásico matches.
  4 = 4 goals scored; (H) = Home, (A) = Away, (N) = Neutral location; home team score listed first.
  Not including friendly matches.