BARCELONA -- Let me remind you of a Clasico-related statistic which is absolutely jaw-dropping and seems to be barely mentioned.
Real Madrid are, pound for pound, the most successful and prestigious club side in the history of football. No doubt about it. Not because they've won the most Spanish league titles by far (34 to Barcelona's 26), but because they have utterly dominated the most powerful footballing continent since the European Cup was invented in the 1950s.
Whether it's the early stranglehold of five straight European Cup wins from 1956-1960, the epic middle stage between 1998's redemption and perhaps the greatest goal in a Champions league final (Zinedine Zidane's volley in 2002), or the first hat trick of wins (2016-18) since Bayern Munich (1974-76), Real Madrid write big football stories and paint their signature across their continent with a flourish.