“El Classico is here”: When Rohit Sharma Compared MI vs CSK IPL Rivary to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians will face off against each other at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium tonight. Mumbai’s captain Rohit Sharma once compared the rivalry between these two sides to the “El Clasico”.

El Clasico is a term that is referred to the football matches between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. This is one of the most watched football fixtures in the world. All the numbers get shattered during these games. Talking about the Indian Premier League, Chennai and Mumbai are two of the most popular teams in the tournament.

Even in terms of trophies, CSK and MI are the two most successful teams. While MI have won the trophy five times (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020), CSK have lifted the silverware on four occasions (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021).

When Rohit Sharma Compared MI vs CSK IPL Rivary to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid

In 2019, Sharma had posted a picture on social media platform Twitter where he was seen training in the nets. “#ElClassico of IPL is here folks,” Sharma captioned his post.

Talking about El Clasico, Sharma is himself a fan of Real Madrid Football Club. He has been to Madrid’s home stadium Santiago Bernabeu a lot of times. The club gave a customized Jersey as well to Sharma in 2020 during his visit with ‘RO 45’ on the back.

Recently, Chennai’s all-rounder Moeen Ali compared the match between these two IPL sides to the football game between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC. Liverpool and United are the two most successful English clubs and matches between these two teams are always very fierce and competitive.

“This is a game I really look forward to. These are the two most successful franchises and the fan-following is huge and this is one of the biggest games you can play as a cricketer outside of international cricket,” Ali hadsaid in the pre-match conference.

“From football’s point of view, it is like Manchester United playing Liverpool. These are huge games.”

Mumbai vs Chennai IPL Head to Head

Chennai and Mumbai have faced each other 35 times in the IPL, where Mumbai have won 20 and the Super Kings have won 15. Although, Rohit’s favourite football club Real Madrid is a little behind Barcelona in El Clasico football games.