Mbappe and Yamal renew rivalry as Real Madrid face Barcelona in first season Clasico

Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal will go head-to-head when Real Madrid host Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season on Sunday, just one day before the Ballon d’Or is awarded.

The two forwards are among the candidates for the prize, which will be presented on Monday, but recent meetings between Spain’s two biggest clubs suggest Barcelona have had the upper hand since Mbappe joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2024.

The clubs have met seven times in all competitions since then, with Mbappe featuring in six of those matches. Barcelona have won six of the encounters, while Real Madrid have claimed only one victory.

Barcelona’s wins came by a 4-0 scoreline in La Liga on 26 October 2024, a 5-2 victory in the Spanish Super Cup on 12 January 2025, a 3-2 success in the Copa del Rey final on 26 April 2025 and a 4-3 league triumph on 11 May 2025.

They also defeated Real Madrid 3-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final on 11 January 2026 before recording a 2-0 league win on 10 May 2026.

Real Madrid’s only victory during that sequence was a 2-1 La Liga win on 26 October 2025.

Individually, however, Mbappe has been more prolific in those fixtures. The France forward has scored six goals against Barcelona across the seven matches, including a hat-trick in May 2025.

Yamal has scored three times in the same run of games, although he provided two assists in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey final victory.

The contrasting records make Sunday’s meeting another important test of the two players’ influence in the biggest fixture in Spanish football. Mbappe has the stronger scoring numbers, while Yamal has been part of a Barcelona side that has dominated the overall results.

The Frenchman may therefore be willing to sacrifice his individual statistical advantage for a win, particularly because Yamal has also come out on top in the last three meetings between France and Spain.