Lionel Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo, Pep Guardiola v Jose Mourinho, Barcelona v Real Madrid. Footballing rivalries often go through a golden era, where each game seems to be more entertaining than the last, but this was more than that. Beyond the matches, the goals, the red cards, the world class talent on show, El Clasico reshaped so much of what we enjoy in modern football today. For a three year period, football was taken to a whole new level, from La Liga to the UEFA Champions League, and has never been the same since. This is the how El Clásico changed football forever.
