The best players on show in tonight’s El Clasico battle.
Five: Gareth Bale
Yes his Bernabeu career has started in a stuttering fashion but the Welsh international is sure to deliver the goods for Real Madrid soon enough.
Many would argue about the fee the Spanish giants paid Tottenham for the 24 year old wing wizard but the proof will be in the pudding in the course of the next few years.
Scored on his Real Madrid debut and has provided assists and excited the Los Merengues faithful when he’s been given the chance to do so.
Expect big things from the attacker, bags of goals and endless delicious runs past hapless opposition defenders.
Four: Andres Iniesta
Perhaps the most consistent performer in Barcelona’s armoury and a player who looks effortlessly at ease on the ball. The Spanish international can be counted upon for excellent distribution, intelligent running and the occasional crucial finish.
The 29 year old is closing in on 500 Barcelona appearances and though recent speculation has seen Iniesta linked with a Nou Camp exit it seems highly unlikely the attacking midfielder will ever be seen in any other colours than that of his beloved Catalan employers.
Has won just about all there is to win for club and country.
Three: Xavi
The Pass master. The metronome by which Barcelona are set this midfielder is full of grace and majesty and makes everything look so easy.
Rarely loses possession, has great strength for his relatively slight build and reads the game better than any player in the world.
At 33 Xavi is clearly in the latter stages of a glittering career and he may well prove next to impossible to effectively replace.
Xavi has racked up an astonishing 690 Barcelona appearances and has 130 national team caps to his name.
Two: Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese international may find himself overlooked by FIFA when it comes to Balon d’Or’s in recent seasons but aside from Lionel Messi the Real Madrid man is in a league of his own.
Ronaldo’s record of 216 goals in 211 Real Madrid appearances is phenomenal to say the least and perhaps all the more impressive when you consider his side has delivered relatively little in terms of silverware during his time at the Bernabeu.
A big game player who can be counted upon to make an impact whenever necessary and a player who is next to impossible to stop when he is on his best game.
£80m very well spent.
One: Lionel Messi
What can be said about Lionel Messi that has not already been uttered on countless occasions. The platitudes and accolades the Argentine collects are endless and once again this season the attacker has delivered.
Amazing to think that the Barcelona man is still only 26 and yet Messi is already the club’s top goal-scorer of all time having scored an astonishing 325 goals in 390 appearances. Now into his tenth season in the Nou Camp first team his individual and club honours list is second to none.
Six La Liga titles, three Champions League successes and four Balon d’Or’s and yet some will still insist that Messi is yet to prove himself at national team level, don’t bet against that issue being corrected in next summer’s World Cup finals.