The Most Bizarre Clasico: A Barça without a '10' & A Madrid without a '9'

The departures of Benzema and Ansu Fati leave a scenario never seen before in the history of FC Barcelona-Real Madrid

The match comes at a time of maximum equality between the two teams with just one point difference in the table.

It will be a Clásico with many ingredients 'clásicos'. Logically. With a special atmosphere, a worldwide following. A trail (or several) of controversy with the Negreira case, the videos pressuring the referees and the cross-referencing of statements.

But there will also be something new. For example, TOP footballers who will experience this special rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid for the first time. Joao Felix, Cancelo, Bellingham, Kepa, Gündogan. Many of them, when choosing where to play, took into account the fact of experiencing this unique match on the planet football. Maybe not defining, but it weighed in the balance.

There will be another 'new' factor. And bizarre. And it is that for the first time in the history of the classics there will not appear in the squad (nor in the general list of numbers of both squads, of course) a player wearing the '9' at Real Madrid and the '10' at FC Barcelona.

Last season it was Karim Benzema and Ansu Fati who wore such emblematic numbers. But this summer neither the newcomers nor any other member of the squad has wanted to take on that responsibility. At Barça, for example, there was speculation that Joao Felix would make the move. But club and player decided to start with another number, not to focus so much on the spotlight and out of respect for Ansu who is on loan at Brighton.

In the case of Real Madrid, Joselu has been the reference striker who has arrived. But the gap left by Benzema has been tremendous. The Frenchman has been Madrid's attacker for many years. One of the best in the history of the white club. 

"Any number in Real Madrid's first team is important and I'm proud to wear any. The number is secondary. The important thing is to be here and enjoy the moment. I wore the number 9 at Castilla, but having a number among the 25 best in the world is already important," said the footballer trained at La Fábrica.