Cord cutter's guide to el Clásico

Every year, the highlight of the soccer calendar is el Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. But if you live in the United States, the game isn’t available on over-the-air broadcast television. On television, it’s available exclusively via beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español.

For cord cutters, though, there are several options of how you can watch the game if you don’t have TV or don’t have a cable or satellite subscription that includes beIN SPORTS.

Plus the advantage of streaming the game legally is that you can, in most cases, watch the game on your tablet, smartphone and desktop. Plus if you have Google Chromecast, a Roku or Apple TV, you can cast or stream the game to your television set.

Here are all of the options available to you, including pros and cons of each legal streaming service:

1. fuboTV:

Background: fuboTV has the most comprehensive selection of soccer channels available in the United States. In addition to el Clásico, the legal streaming provider offers FS1, FS2, FOX Soccer Plus, NBCSN, Univision Deportes and a ton of other soccer-related channels to get your daily fix of the Beautiful Game.

Pros: Offers 7 day free trial, DVR is available at no extra charge, excellent customer service, faster load times, beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español included in both fubo Latino ($14.95/month) and fubo Premier ($34.95/month packages), includes access to beIN SPORTS Connect.

Cons: DVR allows you to record up to 3 programs at a time.

Sign up: Free trial

2. Sling TV:

Background: Sling TV has so many different options of channels and packages that you can choose from that it sometimes feels overwhelming. But if you’re willing to take the time to sort through the options, you might end up finding what you’re looking for.

Pros: Offers 7 day free trial, Sling World Sports pricing starts at $10/month (includes beIN SPORTS)

Cons: DVR is only available for Android and Roku devices, DVR costs $5/month extra, doesn’t include access to beIN SPORTS Connect

Sign up: Free trial

3. PlayStation Vue:

Background: Despite the confusing name, you don’t need a PlayStation video game console to watch their streaming channels (although if you do have a PlayStation account, there are benefits).

Pros: Includes access to beIN SPORTS Connect

Cons: beIN SPORTS included but beIN SPORTS en Español only available at extra $5 per month, unable to use it outside of your own home (unless you use mobile device with authenticated apps), recently changed free trial from 7 days to 5 days

Sign up: Free trial

4. go90:

Background: If you find yourself away from the TV set or your laptop, go90 is a great option to consider for watching the game on your smartphone.

Pros: Free

Cons: Mobile only, not available on desktop, no DVR available

Sign up: Download app

5. beIN SPORTS Connect:

Background: beIN SPORTS Connect is the streaming package from the TV network that brings you more than 10 streaming channels to choose from (including beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español). As of press time, you need to be a subscriber to one of the following networks in order to access beIN SPORTS Connect: AT&T U-verse, Atlantic Broadband, Bright House, COX, DirecTV, DISH, Frontier, Hotwire, Liberty, Mediacom, Optimum, RCN, Time Warner, Verizon Fios and enTouch. For cord cutters, the best you can hope for is to either use fuboTV or PS Vue to access beIN SPORTS Connect.

Pros: Access to beIN SPORTS Connect allows you to watch 3 additional live streams of el Clásico including a second screen experience.

Cons: Authentication is required to prove that you’re a current TV subscriber, requires Flash to get the homepage working, doesn’t work on Google Chrome or Firefox, site is very buggy, authentication doesn’t work every time.

Sign up: Website

SEE MORE: Comparing soccer coverage on fuboTV, Sling TV, DIRECTV NOW and PlayStation Vue