Lionel Messi will miss next Sunday's Clasico after the Barcelona star was injured against Sevilla. That means the match will be without Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time in over a decade.
El Clasico is arguably the biggest match in football, when the eyes of the world will all be on Barcelona and Real Madrid.
For the past nine years the match has been dominated by the battle between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the pair have been by far and away the best pair in football and playing on opposite sides of the rivalry.
In the summer Cristiano Ronaldo finally ended that chapter in the 'rivalry' between the two players when he moved from Real to Juventus, leaving Messi in Spain on his own.
Messi's form has been excellent so far this season scoring seven goals and putting on five assists in just nine games. He'd have been looking forward to extending that run in next week's first Clasico of the season but that won't be possible now.
In the 17th minute of Barca's La Liga encounter with Sevilla on Saturday the five time Ballon d'Or winner suffered an injury that left him with a fractured arm and out for several weeks.
The injury means that the Catalan giants will be without their best player in a week where they face Inter in the Champions League before their Spanish rivals in the Clasico.
It also means that the match will be played without him or Ronaldo for the first time since December 2007, when Messi was injured for that game too, with Julio Baptista's goal the difference in a 1-0 win for Real.
There could yet be more change ahead of the big game with Los Blancos reportedly on the verge of selling manager Julen Lopetegui.
The Spaniard only took over at the Bernabeu in the summer after Zinedine Zidane left but after joining in a cloud, following his sacking from the Spain national team, the former Porto manager has only won four of his first nine La Liga games, losing to Levante at home on Saturday.
What will the Clasico be like without Messi or Ronaldo?
ppx668
263
we could never see this happen again
Elsa98
258
A moment of silence.
oldest
240
Imagine when they both retire
SShai
174
This is when both Barca and Real fans realise and respect both players' influence without any comparison or question about it. The 2 greatest ever players head to head in the same era. We've been graced.
DrAlvin000
170
I know that football was b4 CR7 n Messi but it will hard to find their replacement and in this El Classico the tempo will never be as it was in those previous years. Hala Madrid
Armourer
137
A medical overview of Messi's injury:
Freakedass
100
I think Messi’s injury and Ronaldo not being there for the el Classico is a way of football telling us that we should be ready for this in next few years. Two of the most brilliant players will be missed dearly when they hang up their boots. Time for the young players to step up !!