El Clasico 2012: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Clash Will Be Spectacular

Whether you are rooting for Barcelona or Real Madrid in their El Clasico clash on Saturday, one thing's for sure: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will bring it.

Messi, the best player in the world, has an astounding 63 goals in all competitions this season, including 41 in La Liga. Ronaldo has 53 goals and is tied with Messi for the La Liga lead. They are both battling for the Pichichi trophy.

But Messi and Ronaldo will be competing for far more than an individual award on Saturday. The battle at the Nou Camp  will likely determine the La Liga title this season.

Of course, it's not all about Messi and Ronaldo—Barcelona and Real both field tremendous overall teams.

They have thoroughly dominated the league: Both  have over 80 points this season and the third-place club, Valencia, has just 52.

But let's be honest: All eyes will be on Barca and Real's respective superstars on Saturday, and they will likely have a big hand in if their teams win or lose.

The favorite, as usual, is Barca, but Real certainly has a shot of coming out on top. Los Blancos wouldn't be the current leader in the standings if they didn't play outstanding soccer.

It's worth noting that Real has found a way to stop Messi from scoring the last two contests. Then again, Messi hasn't taken any shots the last two games and Barcelona still came away with a victory and a draw. 

Ronaldo, on the other hand, has scored a goal in each of the past two matchups, predictably proving to be a great threat near the net.

But as much attention as Messi's goal scoring gets, there's a reason why Barca hasn't lost the past two contests when he's failed to score: Messi impacts the game by simply being on the pitch.

Whether you are a Barca fan or a Real die-hard, Saturday's El Clasico fray will boast two premier players in soccer, and that is something to be thankful for.

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about soccer together.