Barcelona host Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the 2026-27 season on Sunday at Camp Nou.
The game marks Jose Mourinho’s return to one of the most storied fixtures in global soccer after more than 13 years away.
Remarkably, despite spells in charge of prominent European clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, Roma and Benfica, Mourinho has not faced Barcelona in a competitive fixture since.
It will be intriguing to see the extent to which “The Special One” slips straight back into the old routine as Barcelona’s chief antagonist.
The Clasico clashes during Mourinho’s initial three seasons in charge, mostly head-to-head with archrival Pep Guardiola, added a fresh layer of enmity to a history of shared hatred between La Liga’s two giants.
It was an incredible time, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo going up against one another in their playing primes. There was controversy, drama and unending arguments aplenty.
Over the course of three years, Mourinho’s Madrid played Barcelona 17 times, games that usually felt seismic. Games that made the world stop with bated breath.
Allow us to jog your memory.
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Jose Mourinho’s 17 Clasicos ranked
17. Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona (La Liga: March 2, 2013)
Mourinho’s most recent Clasico in charge yielded three points and gave Madrid their first home league win in the fixture since 2008. Benzema gave Los Blancos an early lead before Lionel Messi netted his 50th goal of an absurd individual season, also his 18th in Clasicos to match compatriot Alfredo Di Stefano in the all-time stakes.
Ramos headed home the decisive goal from Luka Modric’s corner in the 82nd minute, and a furious Valdes talked himself into a red card after full time. But the wider context was one of the defeated side leaving the Spanish capital still 13 points ahead of their rivals, while Mourinho only deployed Ronaldo as a second-half substitute. Resting star players for the forthcoming Champions League encounter with Manchester United was the priority.
16. Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semifinal: January 30, 2013)
Holders Barcelona struck first early in the second half of this Copa del Rey semi, with Messi finding an opportunistic assist for Cesc Fabregas early in the second half.
Rafael Varane brought the Santiago Bernabeu to its feet with an excellent header on the end of Mesut Ozil’s cross inside the final 10 minutes.
15. Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid (Champions League semifinal: May 3, 2011)
This might feel like a very low ranking for a match that sealed Barca’s place in the Champions League final at Madrid’s expense, but there was an air of collective fatigue around the contest as the sides met for a fourth time in a brutal 18-day period.
Guardiola’s side were already 2-0 up from the first leg, a particularly strong advantage in the Champions League’s away goals era. Once Pedro converted Andres Iniesta’s through ball in the 54th minute, the tie was effectively settled. Marcelo leveled on the night after Angel Di Maria hit the post.
14. Real Madrid 1-2 Barcelona (Copa del Rey quarterfinal: January 18, 2012)
Ronaldo drilled a left-footed shot past Barcelona’s cup goalkeeper Jose Pinto to give Madrid an early lead that they maintained until early in the second half, when Carles Puyol powered home a header.
Karim Benzema hit the post, but Eric Abidal gave Barcelona a lead to take back to Camp Nou on the end of a sumptuous chipped pass from Messi. This would rank higher if it were deeper into the competition.
13. Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid (Copa del Rey quarterfinal: January 25, 2012)
The 2011/12 Copa del Rey ended up being the final trophy of Guardiola’s Barcelona tenure and his team appeared to be cruising into the semis when Messi crafted an opener for Pedro before Dani Alves smashed an unstoppable angled drive in to the top corner.
Ronaldo smartly rounded Pinto to reduce the arrears and Benzema’s strike 18 minutes from time set up a grandstand finish, as well as reminding Barca that Mourinho’s men were going nowhere in that season’s La Liga title race.
12. Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona (La Liga: April 16, 2011)
The first of the epic Mourinho vs. Guardiola 18-day slog carried something of the phony war about it. Barca were in a huge position of strength, eight points clear at the top of La Liga. That advantage remaining intact at the end of a tense 90 minutes amounted to”job done” for the Blaugrana.
The onus was on Madrid to breathe fresh life into the title race and Adriano produced a brilliant goalline clearance to deny Ronaldo before halftime. CR7 then hit the base of Victor Valdes’ left post with a dipping free-kick, only for the entire complexion of the contest – and indeed the title race – to alter when Raul Albiol was sent off for hauling down David Villa.
Messi made no mistake from the spot but Barca were unable to cash in on their man advantage and Ronaldo levelled eight minutes from time with a penalty of his own after Dani Alves clumsily fouled Marcelo.
11. Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid (Supercopa de Espana: August 23, 2012)
In the first meeting of the post-Guardiola era, Tito Vilanova’s Barca took on Mourinho’s Spanish champions and the rivals combined to produce a thrilling second half at Camp Nou.
Ronaldo got in front of Sergio Busquets to power home from Ozil’s right-wing corner. From the restart, Javier Mascherano pinged a delightful lofted pass for Pedro to equalise and that ignited Barcelona. Sergio Ramos blundered into Iniesta and Messi sent Iker Casillas the wrong way from the penalty spot before Xavi slotted home to make it 3-1.
Casillas made a fabulous save to prevent Messi from adding another, and Madrid sprang up the other end, where Di Maria capitalised on a shocking error from Valdes. It would prove crucial in the final analysis.
10. Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona (Supercopa de Espana: August 29, 2012)
When the teams reconvened six days later, Gonzalo Higuain leveled the aggregate score after Mascherano misjudged Pepe’s punt downfield. Ronaldo made it 2-0, and Barcelona’s nightmare opening half-hour concluded when Adriano was sent off for a last-man foul on the Portuguese superstar.
Messi scored a sumptuous long-range free kick on the stroke of halftime, but the scoreline remained unchanged and Madrid prevailed on away goals. It felt like another demonstration of their superiority following their La Liga triumph in 2011-12. At this point, it felt like Mourinho was building a dynasty. In reality, he would be out the door at the end of the season as his hold on the dressing room unraveled.
9. Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid (Copa del Rey semifinal: February 26, 2013)
Mourinho lost none of his last five Clasicos in his first spell at Madrid and no performance was as emphatic as this one behind enemy lines.
Barca started strongly, only for Ronaldo to tear forward on the break, win a penalty from Gerard Pique and dispatch it emphatically. He scored his second of the game before the hour, with Barcelona once again exposed on the counter-attack as they chased the game. Varane added his second of the tie before Jordi Alba volleyed in Iniesta’s return pass for a late consolation.
Madrid could not go all the way and suffered the indignity of losing the final 2-1 to rivals Atletico at the Bernabeu. It meant Mourinho let a final shot at silverware pass him by before his departure.
8. Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid (La Liga: October 7, 2012)
Messi and Ronaldo’s battle for supremacy was wrapped up in El Clasico for the better part of a decade, but the famous fixture felt like little more than a platform for their greatness here. Even as the match assumed the wider political significance of Barcelona supporters in the stands chanting for Catalan independence.
Ronaldo thumped past Valdes at his near post to open the scoring; Messi poached a close-range leveller with half an hour played. After the hour, Messi curled in a majestic free-kick; five minutes later, Ronaldo drilled in an equaliser.
Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid; Messi 2-2 Ronaldo.
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7. Real Madrid 1-3 Barcelona (La Liga: December 10, 2011)
This one started with a Mourinho masterclass as Madrid pressed and harried Barcelona from the kickoff, forcing errors for Benzema to volley in after just 20 seconds.
But Guardiola’s side were magnificent following that brutal setback. Messi’s solo run set up Alexis Sanchez’s equaliser. Xavi’s deflected long-range hit gave them the lead and Fabregas’ back-post header ensured the points went back to Catalonia.
6. Real Madrid 2-2 Barcelona (Supercopa de Espana: August 14, 2011)
Fresh from the simmering enmity of their 2011/12 battles, Madrid and Barca quickly brought the following campaign to boiling point with an unforgettable Supercopa joust. Ozil converted Benzema’s pass to give the hosts an early lead, but Villa picked out the top corner for a sublime equaliser.
Messi capitalised on confusion in the Madrid defence to make it 2-1 on the cusp of halftime. Madrid levelled early in the second period when Xabi Alonso steered a low drive into the net. When the teams met again just three days later, no one had really had a chance to calm down.
5. Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid (Supercopa de Espana: August 17, 2011)
Messi played in Iniesta to dink a deft finish over Casillas and give Barcelona a 15th-minute lead. The advantage proved short-lived when the hosts failed to deal with an Ozil corner and Ronaldo was the beneficiary.
One of those typically delicate and wonderful Messi goals restored the lead for Guardiola’s men as halftime beckoned. Further set-piece woes allowed Benzema to equalise in the 82nd minute, only for Messi to have the final word when he volleyed home a Fabregas cross.
At least, it should have been the final word. In stoppage time, Marcelo hacked through the back of Fabregas with an ugly scissors tackle and was shown a deserved red card. The incident took place on the touchline, just near the two benches, which emptied into an unseemly melee.
Amid the carnage, Mourinho walked around the back of a scrum and jammed his finger into then Barca assistant Vilanova’s eye. It came to be seen as the moment when his calculated attempts to manipulate El Clasico’s tempestuous tensions tipped into chaos.
4. Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid (Copa del Rey final: April 20, 2011)
Part two of the four Clasicos in 18 days epic and one of Mourinho’s greatest triumphs in Madrid. Against a Barcelona side that had humiliated them five months earlier, Los Blancos locked down Guardiola’s creators to have the better of a first half where Pepe, stationed as a midfield destroyer as opposed to a center back, headed against the post.
Barca hit their stride after the break, but Pedro had a goal ruled out on a razor-thin offside call, and there was no way through. Ronaldo settled the final after extra time with a thunderous, muscular headed goal. Madrid had denied Barca a shot at a treble to match their 2008-09 heroics, and their supporters at the Mestalla chanted Mourinho’s name.
3. Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona (Champions League semifinal: April 27, 2011)
Guardiola pointed out after the Copa final that his team had fallen foul of the linesman’s “good eyesight” with regard to Pedro’s disallowed goal. Mourinho played the court jester in his pre-match press conference, mocking this observation. Guardiola responded with a famously scathing briefing.
After asking to address “Mourinho’s camera”, Guardiola said: “Tomorrow, at 8:45, we will play a match here out on the pitch. Off the pitch, he is the winner. He can have his personal Champions League off the pitch. I’ll give him that. In this room, he is the puto jefe, the puto amo [the f— boss, the f— master]. I don’t want to compete with him for a moment in here. After their victory, I congratulated Real Madrid for winning the Copa, which we do in our house. A cup that they deservedly won against a very good team, which is the team that I represent very proudly.”
It turned out Guardiola’s remarks had been preplanned as a motivational tactic. It made for unforgettable pre-match theatre. In the game itself, the tension remained suffocating, with Barca dominating possession and Madrid imposing their physicality. In the 76th minute, Messi converted a cross from substitute Ibrahim Afellay with Madrid down to 10 men. Pepe’s studs-up challenge on Dani Alves made him the fourth Madrid player to be sent off in as many Clasicos under Mourinho. Barca’s No. 10 sealed the deal late on with a solo goal that stands as one of the greatest of his career.
“One day, I would like Josep Guardiola to win this competition properly,” Mourinho said afterwards, crying conspiracy. “If I tell UEFA what I really think and feel, my career would end now.”
2. Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid (La Liga: April 21, 2012)
Mourinho’s finest hour in Madrid. In each of the previous two seasons, Madrid racked up in excess of 90 points, only to finish second behind the Barcelona juggernaut. This time, they prevailed. It’s hard to imagine them doing so without this brilliant win.
Sami Khedira scrambled an opening goal that remained the difference between the sides until Alexis Sanchez’s 70th-minute equalizer. As the chasers, the onus was on Barca to get the win, and Camp Nou turned up the volume. Then Ronaldo silenced them with a brilliantly cool finish on the end of a magnificent Ozil pass. Madrid were seven points clear with four games to play and would not be denied.
1. Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (La Liga: November 29, 2010)
Mourinho’s first Clasico remains one of the most talked-about editions of the fixture. The fear in the Spanish capital heading into this weekend will be of Hansi Flick’s free-scoring side inflicting a repeat dose.
Xavi started the rout in torrential rain, converting from close range when a lunging Marcelo failed to cut out Iniesta’s pass. Pedro converted the second following fine work from Villa, who chipped in with a brace after halftime. Substitutes Bojan Krkic and Jeffran Suarez combined for a humiliation-sealing fifth.
“The biggest defeat of my career. I’ve never lost 5-0 before, that’s true,” Mourinho said afterwards. “But one team played to their full potential, and the other team played very badly.”
Mourinho knows the perils of the same thing unfolding on Sunday.
