Heavyweight teams from Catalonia and the Spanish capital compete in what is arguably the most famous football rivalry in the world, and it never fails to be entertaining.

The 254th competitive El Clasico match between Real Madrid and Barcelona is just one game away, and there isn’t much to separate the two teams in terms of their overall records. Both teams have large budgets and reputations that draw world-class athletes from all over the world, thus over the years, their respective ranks have been stacked with match-winners.

Although they have always had a fierce rivalry on the field, Barcelona and Madrid have generally had positive institutional relationships over the years. There used to be an unspoken agreement between the clubs to refrain from being aggressive toward one another, even 안전놀이터 when it came to enlisting players for minor teams or in disputes involving the Spanish soccer federation and the Spanish league. They had collaborated on the Super League idea as partners and were still trying to get it off the ground.

The teams played each other five times on the field this season, with Barcelona winning three games and Madrid winning two. The Catalan club was destroyed 4-0 at Camp Nou in the second leg of the Cup del Rey semifinals.

Barcelona defeated Madrid in both the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia and the opening leg of the Copa del Rey at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It also triumphed in the clubs’ final encounter in the Spanish league, a result that gave the Catalan club a significant advantage in the race for the championship. With nine games left, it leads Madrid by 11 points.

The newest Barcelona scandal involving payments to a former officiating official has soured what was once a friendly relationship between the two Spanish powerhouses.

“It’s damaged,” Barcelona president Joan Laporta said. “We have had an harmonious institutional relationship with all clubs, including Madrid. The ‘clasico’ is the greatest spectacle in the world and there is always an intense rivalry. But to me, the institutional relationship has been harmed because of them.”

Madrid opted to take part in the judicial processes after Barcelona was formally charged with alleged sports corruption, fraudulent management, and fabrication of mercantile data by prosecutors.

Barcelona has denied trying to influence officials with its payments, and Laporta claimed Monday in his first press conference to defend the club’s activities that Madrid’s claim that it suffered due to referees during Barcelona’s most prosperous period was “an extraordinary exercise in cynicism.”

“Everyone knows that Real Madrid is a club that is historically favored by refereeing decisions, and continues to be now,” Laporta said. “It’s a club that has been known for being the club of the regime, because of its proximity to those in power politically, economically and in sports.”

Madrid didn’t keep quiet and late on Monday posted a video disputing Laporta’s claims on their television station and social media pages. The 카지노사이트 Catalan government referred to the film as “fake news” and demanded that Madrid retract its statements and take it down from its websites.

“Barcelona is not involved in the Super league because of other clubs,” he said. “We are involved because we think it’s important for the sustainability of European soccer.”

Laporta asserted that he thought Madrid president Florentino Pérez had been “under a lot of pressure by Madrid fans” because he missed the previous two “clasicos” at Camp Nou. But he added that he thought Madrid ought to have put off its decision to join the legal action against Barcelona for longer.