It's the biggest derby in soccer, maybe the biggest league match in the world, and it always feels like it's played in a state of motion. You can't just talk about Real Madrid and Barcelona as they are -- El Clasico is forever about these storied clubs as they were and will be, too. (They face off Sunday, Oct. 16, 10:15 a.m. ET, on ESPN+.)
You can't talk about Barcelona without referencing and weighing the wild spending spree they went on this summer. Despite having the best team in LaLiga over the second half of last season, despite stomping Real Madrid 4-0 in March and despite crippling debt issues that forced the departure of Lionel Messi last August, the club sold future television revenue and part of the club's in-house production company to afford the acquisition of seven new players, only two of whom have yet become primary starters.