Real Madrid v Barcelona: What the world was like the last time El Clasico didn’t feature Iker Casillas or Xavi

The first Clasico of the season kicks off at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday evening, and two of the greatest ever players for Real Madrid and Barcelona will not feature for the first time in 16 years.

Iker Casillas started his career at Los Blancos, making his senior debut at the age of 19, but after 510 appearances, the goalkeeper called it quits on his time in the Spanish capital and moved to FC Porto in the summer.

And it's a similar story for Xavi Hernandez. The midfielder joined the Barca academy aged 11, and went on to make 505 appearances for the Catalan giants before agreeing to join Qatari club Al Saad on a three-year contract at the end of last season.

So for the first time since October 1999 neither player will be on the team sheet for this weekend's El Clasico. 

Just to remind you how long it has been since this occured, talkSPORT has taken a look at what the world was like back then.

Click the yellow arrow above, right, to find out.