It turns out that sometimes there are consequences. Overspend recklessly, act with little sense of solidarity with the rest of the league, pursue a series of short-term populist measures and, in the end, it will all catch up with you. For a long time, El Clásico was the highlight of the domestic European calendar, the game the world stopped to watch. Sunday’s meeting at Camp Nou feels as though it has almost crept up, a game between seventh and second in the table, one that nobody can even begin to pretend is anything like the best football being played in Europe this season.
The Diminished State of El Clásico
