FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
What’s going to happen when the two most celebrated sides of football go head to head? This is more than just a match! Continue reading about the history of this sensational soccer derby, when and where to buy the tickets for the next match and our guide to buying big game tickets.
What is El Classico?
El Clasico, or ‘The Classic,’ is the name assigned to football’s biggest rivalry and one of the most famous sports competitions in the world, FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.
On the field, the game features the two biggest football teams in Spain – others might claim the planet – which will render it an exciting rivalry in their own right. What sports fan wouldn’t want to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale go head to head? But beneath the water, there’s a lot more at play.
The motto of FC Barcelona has always been Mes que un club, or ‘More Than a Club,’ and in the face of the oppression of Catalan culture, the victory of Barcelona was seen as more than just a sporting victory – seen as a battle won in the war between Catalan and Spanish nationalism.
Catalan pride during the Franco period
This political dimension of El Clasico cannot be understated. During the Franco period (which lasted from 1939 to 1975), the Catalan culture and language was repressed by the centralist dictatorship of Spain, which banned the teaching of Catalan in schools and the usage of the language in any official or public capacity. In these tough times for the city, the love of FC Barcelona became one of the only avenues in which Catalans could articulate their national pride, and for them Real Madrid, with its links to the capital, the Spanish monarchy and Franco himself, embodied their oppressors and Spanish ignorance.
Today’s situation
Although the status of Catalonia as an Autonomous Region of Spain is much superior to those earlier days, the recent pushes for complete secession indicate that the international importance of El Clasico has lost none of the dangers of the past.
Nowadays, it is still a complete-blooded and sometimes bad-tempered fight, with both Catalan and Spanish identity at stake.
Not just this, but as both Barcelona and Real Madrid typically compete at the level of the next best teams in Spain, the team that can perform well in the two Clasicos of the season (the home and away of La Liga, held in Camp Nou and the Bernabeu Stadium) it also has a very good chance of winning the league.
Where to buy the tickets for FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid?
Of course, tickets to El Clasico are rarer than gold dust … I know, everyone can ground a little bit of gold into tiny bits, but bring me the guy with a spare ticket to Barca vs. Madrid!
Your best strategy is to review the La Liga timetable and purchase your tickets from a reliable ticket booking agent in advance of time. If you’re incredibly fortunate, you may also be able to order them from all official team pages.
Ticket Compare: to find the best deal
Perhaps the easiest way to head to ticket-compare.com where they handily evaluate the costs of many brokers and resellers, helping you find a much cheaper offer. Given that some resellers add a HUGE mark up (somtimes even thousands of euros), this is a really a convenient website to go through, as you’re almost guaranteed to get the cheapest deal possible. In this case, that could mean saving a hundred euros!
Official team websites
Keeping in mind what was written earlier, you can try to head to the official websites of FC Barcelona or Real Madrid and pray they still have some availabilities. Usually when they become available, they are sold out within just a few minutes.
How Much Do El Clasico Tickets Cost?
From Official club websites
If you manage to catch them on one of the club’s official sites (you’ll have to log on the second they ’re going to be on sale!) you might end up paying just € 150 or so.
The chances of buying your ticket on the official websites are close to winning the lottery, as local fans and members will be ready to buy them as fast as the can.
From Ticket Agencies
Tourists and travelers are likely to have to go through an agency. where you can expect to pay from €300 to €350 for a category three ticket (i.e. behind the goal, at the top of the stadium). If you want to be halfway across the line, you might be looking at more than € 500. VIP boxes? cost more than most people’s monthly salaries.
Where and when is the next Clasico?
When: 1st March 2020
Where: Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Madrid
Kick Off time: 20:00
Competition: La Liga
Tickets: Buy them here, from €308
In addition to the home and away of the League, the two teams will meet for the third , fourth or five times in the season according to the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Finally, such games are rarely staggered by one day (e.g. from Saturday to Sunday), so seek, if necessary, to make your flights and journeys versatile.