Sunday will see the first Clasico without Lionel Messi or Sergio Ramos at Barcelona or Real Madrid in 15 years as they now share a dressing room in Paris, but that opens the door to a new generation.
While fans are licking their wounds from those departures, Sergio Busquets remains as the player between the two clubs to have played the most Clasico fixtures at 40, ahead of Gerard Pique on 37 and Karim Benzema on 36.
Benzema remains the leading goalscorer, having hit the back of the net 10 times in the Clasico.
Barcelona are younger
If we compare the two sides, we see that Barcelona are the third youngest team in LaLiga Santander with an average age of 26 years and 174 days.
Gavi se lamenta tras una ocasin en el Camp Nou.
In comparison, Real Madrid are slightly older at 28 years and 20 days, making them the fifth oldest team in LaLiga, according to OPTA stats.
Barcelona also have eight players born since 2000, the highest in the competition, while Real Madrid have six.
Real Madrid hold the record for the youngest side
Since 2005/06, the youngest side in this fixture is Real Madrid‘s line-up under Manuel Pellegrini in 2010, with an average age of 25 years and 72 days.
However, Barcelona dominate the top five youngest players to have taken part in the fixture this century, with Ansu Fati, Bojan Krkic, and soon to be Gavi leading the way.
Pedri persigue a Nacho en un Clsico del Camp Nou.
The youngest scorer
Ansu Fati is the youngest player to score in the fixture, having scored in the last Clasico at Camp Nou at 17 years and 359 days of age.
Next up is Vinicius Junior at 19 years and 233 days, while Lionel Messi scored three in 2007.
Busquets, MVP de la fase final de la Nations League 2021.
Who are the oldest players?
Luka Modric (36), Marcelo and Benzema (both 33) will be the oldest players, with one having won a Ballon d’Or and another being a candidate this year.
The future, in the hands of youngsters
The key players in this weekend’s clash will be Ansu Fati and Vinicius, two teenagers with a young supporting cast who will look to push them to victory.
Vini Jr y Rodrygo son el futuro del Real Madrid.
