Benzema: El Clasico is still the best match in football

Real Madrid will face Barcelona next week as El Clasico begins a new era without the presence of its arguably greatest stars. Following the departure of Lionel Messi this summer, the match will mark the first El Clasico without the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi since 2007.

Karim Benzema, who is currently La Liga’s top scorer, believes the excitement around the match will continue after the era of Messi and Ronaldo.

"For me, it's still the same. It remains the best match that exists in football,"

he told ESPN.

"It doesn't matter about the players who are there, who have left or who will join. Real-Barca is historic.

"The names change, but before there was [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, [Samuel] Eto'o. Real-Barca will always be Real-Barca."

Real Madrid are the favorites to win the upcoming game as they continue their good form under Carlo Ancelotti. The Blancos are leading the La Liga table with 17 points from eight matches, hoping to edge out other competitors by securing a vital victory against their arch-rivals.

Benzema added:

"There's never a good moment to play them. A team like Barca or any top team, they can have a poor game and then bounce back again.

"It's a match that we can't take lightly, even if they haven't played well so far."

Real Madrid will face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, before meeting Barcelona in El Clasico five days later.

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