Star-studded list of icons revealed for Barcelona vs Real Madrid legends match

Ballon d'Or winners, World Cup champions and all-conquering European stars make up the glittering list of players who will be involved in the legends match between Barcelona and Real Madrid in December.

Freshly retired Barcelona icon Andres Iniesta is the headline act for the A-list friendly which will be staged in Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium on 15 December. The 40-year-old hung up his boots after a year in the UAE with Emirates but had previously spent half a decade in Japan with Vissel Kobe.

Iniesta will be joined in the Barcelona midfield by his long-serving former teammate Xavi Hernandez, as revealed by the club's official website. The former club captain spent almost three years as manager of Barcelona before he was let go over the summer.

The 1999 Ballon d'Or winner Rivaldo will also line up for Barcelona together with Javier Mascherano, Ludovic Giuly, Adriano and Javier Saviola. Bojan Krkic and Rafa Marquez still work for the Catalan club behind the scenes and will represent the team on the pitch at the end of the year.

Real Madrid have their own Ballon d'Or winner, although Barcelona can also lay claim to Luis Figo. The Portuguese forward infamously crossed the fearsome divide, moving from Catalonia to Madrid at the turn of the century. When Figo returned to Camp Nou for a Clasico in November 2002, he was bombarded with golf balls, plastic lighters, beer cans and - most memorably - a pig's head. The atmosphere in Japan is expected to be a little less intense.

Roberto Carlos and Iker Casillas will be lining up alongside their divisive former teammate. Julio Baptista, Steve McManaman, Savio and Ivan Campo have also been booked for this illustrious event.

The two current iterations of the Spanish giants clashed as recently as October. Barcelona romped to a 4-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu in a performance which added to the legend of several modern-day players.

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