I’ll be watching Real Madrid take on Barcelona at on Sunday, March 19th on ESPN+. This is a match worth clearing my schedule for.
In a hurry? There’s lots to know about El Clasico. But if you just want to watch, your options are easy because this match airs on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
- Hulu + Live TV: This is a great streaming service that includes ESPN+ and Disney+. Try the Hulu Live free 3-day trial.
- ESPN+: For just $10.99/month, you get access to all La Liga games including El Clasico. If you are a sports fan, you should probably subscribe anyway!
- Fubo: This live TV streaming service is the best for soccer fans overall not just El Clasico. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
Table Of Contents
Next El Clasico Match
We don’t yet have the date of the next El Clasico. We will update here when it is scheduled.
The last El Clasico match:
- Sun Mar 19 (): Barcelona at Real Madrid (ESPN+)
If you want to watch El Clasico online, there are a couple of ways to make that happen. Here’s how you can live stream Real Madrid vs Barcelona after you’ve ended your cable contract.
El Classico is arguably the world’s most significant club soccer rivalry. It features Real Madrid and Barcelona, Spanish teams from very different regions of that country. This brings a lot more into this rivalry than just what is played on the pitch. However, the quality that is shown on that pitch is quite high.
These clubs have a combined 18 European titles and numerous other honors.
They are also amongst the most valuable sports teams. According to Forbes, they rank fourth and fifth worldwide, Barcelona in fourth, and Real Madrid in fifth, only trailing the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, and New York Knicks. With the teams ahead of them competing in different sports, that makes El Clasico the only match-up possible among the top five on that list.
As a result of all of these factors, interest in this match is quite high.
Fortunately for Americans, watching this match-up is easy. In nearly all cases, all that you need is an ESPN+ subscription ($10.99/month) while a Paramount+ subscription ($7.99/month) will handle any meetings that occur in European competitions, such as in the UEFA Champions League.
A subscription to Fubo will allow you to watch games that appear on ESPN, CBS, and CBS Sports Network as well as the rest of the world of soccer on the various beIN Sports and TUDN channels.
What Is El Clasico?
El Clasico is a rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid with two significant factors: a pair of the world’s greatest clubs facing off, often with championships on the line.
This is combined with them representing different regions within a country that are often at odds with each other for reasons that have nothing to do with sports.
Off the Pitch
Many view Barcelona as representing Catalan nationalism, the view that Catalonia, a region that comprises the northeast corner of Spain, should be separate from Spain. In fact, this push became significant in 2017 with the holding of a referendum asking Catalonians if they want to secede from Spain and become an independent country. In the end, Catalonia remained a part of Spain.
Conversely, Real Madrid is often viewed as representative of Spanish nationalism and establishment power.
However, much of that does not matter to those who simply care about the athleticism and drama that takes place on the pitch. This is especially true for those with no personal connections to Spain.
But it helps to understand just how much the political aspect of this rivalry has to do with how heated these matches are and how much they mean to their players, staff members, ownership groups, and regions.
On the Pitch
On the pitch, the athleticism on display in El Clasico is among the best seen in this sport. These teams have been crowned as the best in Europe, winning either the European Cup or its successor, the UEFA Champions League, a total of 18 times.
Real Madrid has done so a record 13 times, winning the finals in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Barcelona has done so five times, placing itself fifth on the all-time winners’ list, lifting the trophy in 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015.
They have also dominated the domestic scene within Spain, combining to win 70 Spanish league titles with Real Madrid setting the pace with 34 and Barcelona just behind with 26.
In addition, the sides have claimed a significant number of the Copa del Reys that have been contested with Barcelona leading all others with 31 cups, and Real Madrid coming in third on that list with 19 championships.
These rivals first met on May 13, 1902. It was in a semi-final of the Copa de la Coronacion, a cup competition that had been created to honor Alfonso XIII’s coronation and that was the first competition to bring together clubs from throughout Spain. Barcelona prevailed in this historic showdown, 3-1.
When Do Barcelona and Real Madrid Meet?
Barcelona and Real Madrid are guaranteed to play at least twice every season, during the La Liga campaign, which stretches from August to May. The exact dates of those meetings vary.
They may also play once or twice during the Copa del Rey, Spain’s national cup competition. This depends on the draws and if those clubs advance far enough in it to meet up. This meeting will be just one match unless they are drawn to face each other in the semi-finals; then, the tie would be played over two legs.
The sides may also meet in the four-club Supercopa de Espana, which features the previous season’s La Liga and Copa del Rey winners and runners-up in two semi-finals and a final.
One or two Barcelona-Real Madrid matches can also take place in European football, most likely in the UEFA Champions League. However, do note that this is not possible prior to the quarter-finals as clubs from the same country are kept apart prior to that stage. If it occurs at that point or in the semi-finals, they will face off twice, while a match-up in the final will be a single contest.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have played eight times in Champions League matches, twice apiece during the 1959-60 (semi-final), 1960-61 (round of 16), 2001-02 (semi-final), and 2010-11 (semi-final) seasons. Each advanced twice; Barcelona succeeded in 1960-61 and 2010-11 while Real Madrid did so in 1959-60 and 2001-02.
Another possibility is a meeting in the UEFA Super Cup, which features the previous season’s Champions League and Europa League winners.
Real Madrid Stadium, Managers, and Players
Real Madrid was founded in 1902 and plays its home matches at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, which has a capacity of 81,044. Its famous managers include Miguel Munoz (1959, 1960-74), Vicente del Bosque (1994, 1996, 1999-03), Jose Mourinho (2010-13), Carlo Ancelotti (2013-15, 2021-), and Zinedine Zidane (2016-18, 2019-21).
The current Real Madrid lineup includes Karim Benzema (2009-), Luka Modric (2012-), Casemiro (2013-14, 2016-), Gareth Bale (2013-20, 2021-), Toni Kroos (2014-), Thibaut Courtois (2018-), Vinicius Junior (2018-), Ferland Mendy (2019-), Rodrygo (2019-), and David Alaba (2021-).
Great past Real Madrid players include Manuel Sanchis (1983-2001), Raul (1994-2010), Iker Casillas (1999-2015), Sergio Ramos (2005-21), and Cristiano Ronaldo (2009-18).
Barcelona Stadium, Managers, and Players
Barcelona has been in existence since 1899 and welcomes opponents to the 99,354-seat Camp Nou, Europe’s largest stadium.
Amongst its famous managers are Ferdinand Daucik (1950-54), Johan Cruyff (1988-96), Pep Guardiola (2008-12), and Luis Enrique (2014-17). Recently, Barcelona managers have been short-lived with Quique Setién and Ronald Koeman only managing for a year and Sergi Barjuán currently working as interim manager.
The current Barcelona lineup includes Sergio Busquets (2008-), Gerard Pique (2008-), Jordi Alba (2012-), Marc-André ter Stegen (2014-), Ousmane Dembélé (2017-), Frenkie de Jong (2019-), Ansu Fati (2019-), Sergino Dest (2020-), Pedri (2020-), Óscar Mingueza (2021-), Sergio Aguero (2021-), Memphis Depay (2021-), and Gavi (2021-).
Amongst the greats who have done so in the past include Xavi (1998-2015), Carles Puyol (1999-2014), Andres Iniesta (2002-18), and Lionel Messi (2004-21).
Ways to Watch Barcelona vs Real Madrid
To watch all domestic match-ups between Barcelona and Real Madrid — that is, La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de Espana – all that you need is an ESPN+ subscription ($10.99/month). To learn more, see our ESPN+ review.
To ensure that you can also watch any match-ups that may occur in Europe, which would most likely be in the UEFA Champions League, add on a Paramount+ subscription ($7.99/month), and you will be all set. See our Paramount+ review for more information.
Note that if you want to watch television coverage of these match-ups, some may be shown on ESPN, CBS, and CBS Sports Network. These games will also be available on ESPN+ but if you want to watch live soccer from around the world, we recommend Fubo (formerly FuboTV). For $79.99/month, you get 120+ live TV channels including over 35 that are dedicated to sports — especially soccer.
Read our Fubo review for details.
Spanish-language coverage of their domestic meetings may also be accessed with an ESPN+ subscription. To stream any Champions League or Super Cup meetings with Spanish commentary, you would need to have access to Univision or related channels, such as UniMas, Galavision, and TUDN.
A Univision NOW subscription ($10.99/mo) will allow you to stream games broadcast on Univision, UniMas, and Galavision. Fubo offers all of these channels including a dozen TUDN channels.
TVs and Devices to Live Stream El Clasico
You can watch El Clasico and other La Liga matches on most of the devices in use today.
ESPN+
You can watch ESPN+ on Samsung smart TVs as well as devices/TVs that are built on the Android TV standard.
You can also watch El Clasico on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku.
Phones and tablets based iOS and Android are supported. And you can cast to your TV with them using Chromecast.
And you can use various gaming systems with ESPN+: Oculus, PlayStation, and Xbox One.
Paramount+
Paramount+ supports the same devices as ESPN+ except for the Oculus. It also supports LG and Vizio smart TVs.
Fubo
The only gaming device Fubo supports is the Xbox One. But it supports all the other devices available with ESPN+.
It also supports Hisense, LG, and Vizio smart TVs.
Wrapping Up
If you would like to ensure that you can watch every El Clasico match-up, purchase access to ESPN+ (
) and Paramount+ ($7.99/month). In most seasons, ESPN+ access will be sufficient.For more international soccer coverage, check out Fubo.
FAQs
What is the cheapest way to watch El Clasico?
In most seasons, it will cost you just $6.99/mo a watch El Clasico match-ups. That is the price of an ESPN+ subscription, and that will grant you access to all domestic meetings between the clubs – that is, all but ones played in European competitions.
However, you would need to subscribe to Paramount+ (Essential plan) for $7.99/month to to get access to any UEFA Champions League or UEFA Super Cup match-ups that occur. With that said, a meeting in the UCL final would be broadcast on CBS, which you can watch with an antenna or streaming service.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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