After his surprise transfer from Newcastle to Barcelona this summer, Anthony Gordon now prepares for the biggest game of his club career thus far -- El Clásico.
The English winger has made a strong start to life at the Nou Camp, with two goals and five assists in his first 11 matches for Barcelona in all competitions.
El Clásico is where legends are made, though, and Gordon will be looking to enter his name in Barcelona folklore as his side look to strengthen their grip on the La Liga title this season.
There are not many British players who have trodden this path before and ahead of Gordon joining an illustrious group of players, we look back at how other Brits got on in this storied fixture.
Laurie Cunningham
Real Madrid: 1979-1984
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 3. Goals: 1
The first ever British player to be involved in El Clásico was Real Madrid's Laurie Cunningham, joining Los Blancos from West Brom in 1979.
And Cunningham made an instant impact against Barcelona, scoring his side's third goal in a 3-2 win over Real Madrid's biggest rivals.
He would go on to play in two further Clásicos, winning one and losing one but failing to score in either, before a broken foot saw him leave the club.
Cunningham tragically passed away in a car crash in the Spanish capital in 1989, when he was playing for Rayo Vallecano.
Steve Archibald
Barcelona: 1984-1988
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 6. Goals: 1
The only Scotsman to play in El Clásico, Steve Archibald joined Barcelona from Tottenham, having won two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup.
He went on to score on just one occasion in El Clásico, scoring his side's second goal of a 3-0 win as Barcelona went on to win La Liga.
Archibald would go on to play in a further five matches against Real Madrid but could only muster up an assist before he moved to Hibernian.
Gary Lineker
Barcelona: 1986-1989
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 8. Goals: 5
The first British player to make a real impact on this fixture was Gary Lineker, who made the move to the Nou Camp after a prolific season at Everton.
One of England's all-time greatest forwards, Lineker scored five times in eight Clásico matches.
After losses in his first two Clásicos, Lineker went on to score five goals in five matches, most notably scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 win at the Nou Camp in January 1987.
Mark Hughes
Barcelona: 1986-1988
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 3. Goals: 0
Signed in the same summer window as Lineker after impressing at Manchester United, Hughes' time at Barcelona did not match his achievements either after or before his time at the Nou Camp.
He failed to score in each of his three Clásicos, although he did get an assist in Europe against Real Madrid.
Steve McManaman
Real Madrid: 1999-2003
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 7. Goals: 1
Steve McManaman joined Real Madrid to great fanfare after playing over 350 times for Liverpool.
The winger, who was only the second Brit to play for Real Madrid after Cunningham, enjoyed a tremendous time in the Spanish capital, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League twice.
In El Clásico itself, McManaman played in seven matches, never losing. His only goal was the second goal in a 2-0 win in the Champions League, on the way to his second title in Madrid.
David Beckham
Real Madrid: 2003-2007
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 7. Goals: 0
After winning six Premier League titles at Manchester United, David Beckham joined Real Madrid as the latest Galactico.
He played in seven Clásicos in total, never scoring, but notably assisting twice in a 4-2 triumph in the 2004-05 season.
Michael Owen
Real Madrid: 2004-2005
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 2. Goals: 1
Michael Owen had already won the Ballon d'Or when he joined Real Madrid but his time in the Spanish capital was extremely short-lived.
Owen came off the bench in a 3-0 thrashing at the Nou Camp but he did score from a Beckham assist in a 4-2 win in the return fixture.
Gareth Bale
Real Madrid: 2013-2022
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 15. Goals: 2
After transforming from a left back to a winger, Gareth Bale made the move from Tottenham to Real Madrid for a then record transfer fee.
He was not always the most popular figure in the Spanish capital, but he did win five Champions League titles, scoring one of the most iconic goals in the process.
In Clásico fixtures, Bale played 15 and only won three but he scored an unforgettable Copa del Rey winner when he ran around Marc Bartra off the pitch before coolly slotting the ball past José Pinto.
Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid: 2023-Present
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 10. Goals: 4
Jude Bellingham became the sixth Englishman to join Real Madrid and was another to join Los Blancos for an astronomical fee when he made the move from Dortmund.
Bellingham at the age of 23 has already played in 10 Clásicos, winning four and losing six.
In his first season, Madrid won both the La Liga and Champions League titles and Bellingham scored in both league matches, including a brace in a 2-1 win away from home.
He was also involved in both goals, scoring one and creating the other, in a 2-1 win last season but has come out on the wrong side of the clash more times than not.
Marcus Rashford
Barcelona (loan): 2025-2026
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 3. Goals: 1
Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on loan from Manchester United in the summer of 2025 and so he did not play the same amount of Clásicos as the likes of Bellingham and Bale.
But, in just three, he did make a massive impact.
Rashford netted a brilliant free-kick in May last season, in the match in which Barcelona sealed the title against their rivals.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Real Madrid: 2025-Present
Record in El Clásicos: Played: 1. Goals: 0
Trent Alexander-Arnold joined Real Madrid from Liverpool in the summer of 2025, having won two Premier League titles and the Champions League with his boyhood club.
Alexander-Arnold missed out on making his Clásico debut in October 2025, remaining on the bench as Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1.
His first appearance in the fixture came in May 2026, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 defeat at the Nou Camp. It proved a painful introduction, with Barcelona securing the La Liga title at the expense of their greatest rivals.
(John Watson and Jonathan Woodgate never played in an El Clásico for Real Madrid)