El Clasico started before both of them were even born, the rivalry in Spain is about the clubs and the cities, it's foreigners who saw the duel as being between two players and made much more fuss than needed about it, and yes this is a true endless rivalry as it doesn't stop with the trainer or player or anything else and it will probably only end when one team is no longer active or the cities, just like Derby della Madonnina will still mean more for Inter fans than their placing in the ligue.
Who are those individuals and are they actually watching the games? Real Madrid's result was disappointing when they are one of the two unbeaten teams and the second top-scoring team in La Liga? If you take the last 5 matches they have better results than anyone else so are those "individuals" expecting them to do, get 4 points per win or what?