Build-up to the first Clásico of the season

Barcelona and Real Madrid meet at the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday, 25 October, in matchday ten of LaLiga, with kickoff at 21:00. Barcelona lead the table alone on 27 points, six ahead of Real Madrid. Hansi Flick has coached Barcelona since the 2024-25 season, and in that time the club has won five of the six titles it contested, two Leagues, two Supercopas and one Copa del Rey. Real Madrid have turned back to José Mourinho, who first joined the club in 2010 to stop a Barcelona side then coached by Pep Guardiola. Real Madrid beat Leipzig 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, 21 October, in the third round of the Champions League league phase.

Mourinho's rest complaint and Masip's reply

After the Leipzig win, Mourinho said there was no trust surrounding El Clásico and called it a league game that is not like any other. He also complained that Real Madrid were losing 24 hours of rest, in quick remarks to Movistar Plus Deportes. Barcelona had played their own Champions League match on Tuesday, while Real Madrid had played on Wednesday after a league game on Sunday.

Enric Masip, adviser to Barcelona president Joan Laporta, answered on Thursday, 22 October, at the Desafío Nacex, a charity padel and golf event at the Club de Golf Barcelona in Sant Esteve de Sesrovires. He accused Real Madrid of attacking and mistreating the whole competition and of using the Negreira case to cover up its own problems.

“When someone uses these techniques, they move forward to cover up their own problems by pointing at their biggest rival.”

Masip recalled the second leg of the Supercopa final, when Mourinho put a finger in the eye of Tito Vilanova, then Guardiola's assistant, and told Mourinho to improve rather than attack others. Laporta had earlier told L'Equipe that relations with Real Madrid were broken and that the club had lost all credibility. Masip insisted that the Negreira accusations had never been proven.

“In three and a half years, nothing has been proven and nothing will be. There has been nothing.”

Referees, schedules and Arda Güler

Eldiario.es reported that Mourinho has again criticised referees this season, including after losing a derby against Atlético Madrid, and has complained about the fixture calendar. Masip said he trusts the professionalism of the referees for the Clásico. He also argued that Arda Güler should have been sent off in Real Madrid's last league match against Sevilla and so miss the Clásico.

Predictions and what is at stake

Gerard Piqué and Miguel Layún, president of the Kings League, debated which club is the best in the world in a video published by ESPN México. Piqué said Barcelona are currently the best team in the world.

“Barcelona is currently the best team in the world, by a distance from the second.”

Both predicted a Barcelona win, Piqué 4-1 and Layún 3-2. A Real Madrid win would let them close the six-point gap, while a Barcelona win would be a near-decisive blow to their title hopes. The match is set for Sunday, 25 October, at the Spotify Camp Nou.