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Barcelona's record-goal scorer Lionel Messi remained the face of the Catalan giants throughout his trophy-laden stint at Camp Nou, especially his terrific contributions in El-Clasico.
Often dubbed as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the beautiful game, goal-machine Messi used to run rings around Real Madrid even when his Ballon d'Or arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo was at the peak of his powers.
⚽️ 0-1 @Cristiano (23')
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) October 7, 2020
⚽️ 1-1 Messi (30')
⚽️ 2-1 Messi (61')
⚽️ 2-2 @Cristiano (66')
🔙✨🌎 #OnThisDay in 2012, two of the best players in #LaLigaHistory took centre stage in #ElClasico!#YouHaveToLiveIt pic.twitter.com/PcVA1coy7b
There is no denying that the golden era of El Clasico came to an end when Ronaldo left Santiago Bernabeu in 2018.
Three years after Ronaldo's sensational transfer to Juventus, record-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi made headlines when he ended his long association with FC Barcelona in 2021.
After Messi joined Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), arch-rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid played out the first-ever Clasico without Messi or Ronaldo in the 2021/22 season since 2007.
El-Clasico: How many times have Barcelona defeated Madrid without Messi?
Not just Ronaldo, Messi has an edge over all La Liga icons when it comes to playing El-Clasico matches in the Spanish top flight. With 26 goals for Barcelona, Messi left Camp Nou as the all-time top goalscorer in the history of El-Clasico.
In his final Clasico appearance, Messi failed to inspire Barcelona as Real Madrid battled past Blaugrana at the Bernabeu in 2021. Since Messi's transfer to PSG, Barcelona have met Real Madrid in 12 competitive games.
In those 15 El-Clasico games, Barcelona won 8 times while Real Madrid won 7 times. None of those games has been drawn
| Matches | Real Madrid | Draws | FC Barcelona |
| 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
Results of EL-Clasico games since Messi left Barcelona
| Season | Competition | Matchday | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/25 | LaLiga | 35 | 11.5.2025 | FC Barcelona 4:3 Real Madrid |
| 24/25 | Copa del Rey | Final | 27.4.2025 | FC Barcelona 3:2 Real Madrid |
| 24/25 | Supercopa | Final | 13.1.2025 | Real Madrid 2:5 FC Barcelona |
| 24/25 | LaLiga | 11 | 26.10.2024 | Real Madrid 0:4 FC Barcelona |
| 23/24 | LaLiga | 32 | 21.04.2024 | Real Madrid 3:2 FC Barcelona |
| 23/24 | Supercopa | Final | 14.01.2024 | Real Madrid 4:1 FC Barcelona |
| 23/24 | LaLiga | 11 | 28.10.2023 | FC Barcelona 1:2 Real Madrid |
| 22/23 | Copa del Rey | Semi-Finals 2nd Leg | 05.04.2023 | FC Barcelona 0:4 Real Madrid |
| 22/23 | LaLiga | 26 | 19.03.2023 | FC Barcelona 2:1 Real Madrid |
| 22/23 | Copa del Rey | Semi-Finals 1st Leg | 02.03.2023 | Real Madrid 0:1 FC Barcelona |
| 22/23 | Supercopa | Final | 15.01.2023 | Real Madrid 1:3 FC Barcelona |
| 22/23 | LaLiga | 9 | 16.10.2022 | Real Madrid 3:1 FC Barcelona |
| 21/22 | LaLiga | 29 | 20.03.2022 | Real Madrid 0:4 FC Barcelona |
| 21/22 | Supercopa | Semi-Finals | 12.01.2022 | FC Barcelona 2:3 Real Madrid |
| 21/22 | LaLiga | 10 | 24.10.2021 | FC Barcelona 1:2 Real Madrid |
Top scorers in El-Clasico since Lionel Messi left Barcelona
| Player | Position | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karim Benzema | Centre-Forward | Real Madrid | 6 |
| Vinicius Junior | Left Winger | Real Madrid | 6 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Centre-Forward | FC Barcelona | 5 |
| Kylian Mbappe | Centre-Forward | Real Madrid | 5 |
| Raphinha | Winger | FC Barcelona | 4 |
| Jude Bellingham | Attacking Midfield | Real Madrid | 3 |
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