But today, more than ever, it might just be true. To those involved, Real Madrid's first trip of the season to Barcelona today is more than just a football match, particularly for the visiting team.

Not since Luis Figo's return to the Nou Camp in 2002, a stormy night when it rained assorted missiles, has the match excited such passions.

Subplots abound. In addition to being a match between La Liga's top two, 90000 fans will also be treated to the richest game in footballing history - in terms of the clubs' incomes and the value of the players involved - and the expected return of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi from injury in their first head-to-head in Spain.

Above all else, today represents the first test of Florentino Perez's new galacticos project after the president sanctioned an unprecedented summer spending spree of £220-million, a staggering outlay that is in itself indicative of a cultural clash between the clubs.

If Barcelona are Arsenal, with the emphasis on developing players from their academy, then Real are Chelsea with less restraint, signing up the biggest names and sending them on exhausting, money- spinning tours to recoup their outlay.

Barcelona's self-image as football's good guys ignores the fact that more than half of their team were signed for huge sums of cash to complement home-grown stars such as Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, but perception is often more important than reality.

Even the normally diplomatic Pep Guardiola, the local hero who enhanced his status by winning a treble in his first season in charge, embellished the myth on Friday by sneering at Real's transfer policy.

"They are leaders, but, of course, how could they not be after spending over à270-million?" the coach said.

Xavi, the diminutive midfield player who, as Barcelona's main distributor, is perhaps the most important man in their team, was equally dismissive .

"We have our philosophy and how Madrid play does not interest me," he said. "Real Madrid were the victims of our success last season and now, with new players, they are looking for their style of play and things have yet to turn out well. If I had to choose one of the philosophies, I would prefer ours."

Real may be top of La Liga by a point, but, as Barcelona's bullishness indicates, the visiting team are the ones under pressure. A succession of unconvincing wins has created complaints about the team's playing style, leading to doubts being cast on the position of Manuel Pellegrini, the coach.

The Chilean is under pressure only four months into the job despite taking 28 points out of 33 in the league, a ludicrous situation that provides another contrast with life in the Catalan capital. Barcelona could have been knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday, but such is the club's faith in Guardiola that his position was not questioned, his players responding to outclass Inter Milan with their best performance of the season.

On Friday Barcelona agreed on a one-year contract extension with Iniesta that ties him to the club until 2015 and sets the buyout clause in his contract at à200-million. He is the seventh player, Messi included, to commit himself to the Nou Camp in recent months and the contentment is hardly surprising on the back of three La Liga titles and two European Cups in the past five seasons. How Pellegrini must envy such stability. - ©The Times, London