Much talk surrounded whether the Argentine should return to the starting lineup, or ease his way back from injury.

Much of the Clasico talk surrounded whether Argentine superstar Lionel Messi would play, having torn his internal collateral ligament of his left knee back in late September.

The four-time Ballon d’Or winner was ruled out for 7-8 weeks upon diagnosis, putting his chances of making the trip to Santiago Bernabeu under danger.

Fortunately, the 28-year-old made a comeback in less than two months, and was thus named in the Blaugrana’s 18-man squad for Saturday’s game.

However, with Luis Enrique admitting that the four-time Ballon d’Or winner was not at 100 percent, doubts still remained whether La Pulga would slot right back into the starting eleven or whether he would merely make the bench.

With the game less than an hour away, the world received their answer.

Notice a four-time Ballon d'Or winner on the bench?

Messi, having missed 5 Liga BBVA matches, will begin the Catalan giants’ first game since the latest international break on the bench, and will have to wait a bit longer to return to the pitch.

This decision may be pleasing to Barcelona fans, who in a recent poll on AS, admitted that they would prefer Leo not start in the weekend clash over fears of suffering a relapse.

Social media, Twitter in particular, had a lot to say on this matter. Check out below for the best tweets. 

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Real Madrid 0 - 4 Barcelona

November 21, 2015 12:15pmEstadio Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

Live TV coverage and streaming in United States

beIN SPORTS USA
beIN SPORTS en Español
fuboTV
beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A.

Follow the game on-the-go

Download our iOS and Android apps to follow on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.

Live Soccer TV App for iOS Live Soccer TV App for Android