Real Madrid and Barcelona have won a combined 54 Spanish League Championships.

These two teams always find a way to get their hands on the best soccer players in the world one or another. Their popularity and value is unmatchable by any other sports franchise.

But you already knew that.

This rivalry goes much deeper than just success and finance. Here are five things you may not have known about the famous El Clasico rivalry: 

1. It's Close. Real Close.

The Real Madrid vs. Barcelona rivalry is arguably the greatest rivalry in sports history because it's so close. Neither team has a clear advantage. Real Madrid holds a slight edge in La Liga wins, 71-66. When you take into account all matches, including the Copa del Rey (which Barcelona has a 14-12 edge), Real Madrid comes slightly out on top with 92 victories to Barcelona's 88. Real Madrid defeated Barcelona earlier this season in Week 9.

2. Only a War Could Postpone This Rivalry...Literally

There was no official Spanish League Championship from 1937 through 1939. As a matter of fact, Real Madrid and Barcelona didn't square off one time during that time span even once because of the Spanish Civil War. In 1936, Nationalist General Francisco Franco ordered his troops to execute Barcelona President Josep Sunyol i Garriga. The rivalry would only expand from there as Barcelona and Madrid (two most popular cities in Spain) would have very different political beliefs. Play resumed again between the two on Jan. 28, 1940, in Madrid in a very hostile environment.

3. It Started Early

Real Madrid and Barcelona faced each other for the first time at the 1916 Copa del Rey. Barcelona won the match 2-1 on March 26 in Barcelona, Spain. In their fourth game of that competition, Real Madrid won with a controversial no-offside call that resulted in a goal. Fans reacted by throwing rocks at Madrid players. Many believe this is where the rivalry really started. The very first La Liga contest between these two was held on Feb. 17, 1929, at the Camp de Les Corts. Real Madrid won the match 2-1 with Rafael Morera López scoring the first El Clasico La Liga goal. The very first La Liga season was won by Barcelona thanks to Athletic Bilbao upsetting Real Madrid on the final match of the season.

4. It's All About Lionel Messi

The El Clasico has provided fans with some of the greatest soccer players of all-time, but Lionel Messi is No.1. Messi not only has the most La Liga goals of all-time with 275, but he is the all-time leading scoring in the El Clasico rivalry. Messi has scored 21 times against Real Madrid, 14 of which are La Liga goals. Fellow countryman Alfredo di Stéfano (fifth all-time La Liga scorer with 227 goals) has the second most El Clasico goals with 18. In case you were wondering, Cristiano Ronaldo has 14 goals against Barcelona.

5. Royally Real

Have you ever carefully looked at the Real Madrid logo?

At the top of CF emblem, there's a crown. Real (meaning "Royal" in Spanish) was given to the club in 1920 by King Alfonso XIII himself. Spanish soccer fans knew favoritism was being showed toward the large capital city, and it further escalated the Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry. Interestingly, during the Spanish Civil War the crown was dropped from the logo, and "Real" was erased from the teams name, thus going back to just Madrid FC. The crown did not appear back on to Real Madrid logo until 1941, where it has remained ever since.

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