The El Clasico on Sunday will not feature either of two of the world's best footballers — Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — taking centre stage for the first time in over a decade. The last time when both Barcelona and Real Madrid played against each other without either of Messi or Ronaldo was on December 23, 2007; exactly 3958 days ago.
The Barcelona skipper is out of the fixture with a fractured arm, while Ronaldo left for Juventus in the summer after a third successive Champions League title with Madrid.
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The duo, who have 10 Ballon d'Or awards between them, had come to become the focal point of the El Clasico over the last 10 years, often defining these fixtures with their individual brilliance.
Messi is the all-time leading scorer in El Clasico history with 26 goals in 38 matches. Ronaldo is joint top-scorer for Madrid against Barcelona netting 18 goals in 30 appearances.
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Along with his goalscoring ability, Barcelona will also miss Messi's creative influence. The Argentine has 14 assists to his name; the most in El Clasico history. Ronaldo, however, only has a solitary assist against Barcelona, in a 1-2 loss for Jese Rodriguez in 2013.
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In the 30 matches where both Messi and Ronaldo faced each other, Barcelona won 14 matches to Madrid's eight. Both teams combined to score 101 goals when these two played against each other, averaging three goals per game.
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