Opponents on the field this Sunday (26) in a match valid for the tenth round of the Spanish Championship, Real Madrid and Barcelona fought a battle behind the scenes over the last week. At the end of the dispute, the Catalan club was prevented from going ahead with its plan to play a league game on the outskirts of Miami, which was scheduled for December 20th.
The transfer of the duel between Villarreal and Barcelona to North America, unprecedented in the history of the competition, was part of a project to strengthen the image of the teams involved in the United States market. LaLiga, organizer of the championship, saw the opportunity to expand in a place that hosted the Club World Cup this year and will host the World Cup in 2026.
Similar moves are often seen in the major leagues in the United States. The NFL (American football), the NBA (basketball) and the MLB (baseball) take games abroad — Brazil has already hosted two NFL clashes and has one more confirmed. In cycling, the French Tour de France, the Tour of Italy and the Tour of Spain have already started outside their respective countries.
In 2008, the Premier League tried a similar action, holding a 39th round of the English Championship outside the United Kingdom, in places such as New York, Hong Kong and Sydney. The proposal ended up shelved after facing strong rejection from FIFA (International Football Federation), UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), FA (Football Association, England), the English press and local fans.
The plan presented by Barcelona and Villarreal followed the same path. Since the 8th, when the president of LaLiga, Javier Tebas, confirmed that the match would take place outside Spain, there has been a flood of criticism.
Noises came from everywhere. Fasfe, a kind of Spanish fans’ association, joined groups of fans of both teams to declare their “absolute, total and firm opposition” to the plans.
Last weekend, athletes from several teams staged a protest and did not compete for the ball in the first 15 seconds of the matches valid for the ninth round of Espanyol.
Real Madrid asked FIFA to prevent the game from taking place, arguing that it would undermine the “integrity” of the competition. According to its directors, the elimination of the home factor for a team in a single game could have a significant impact on the final result of the league positions.
According to the website The Athletic, the Madrid team presented two official complaints to the Spanish government’s Superior Sports Council (Consejo Superior de Deportes, CSD), pointing out that LaLiga did not have the right to take a national game abroad and raising the possibility of Tebas even being suspended from his position. According to the publication, this was the main reason for the leader’s retreat.
On Wednesday (22), the president of the CSD, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, sided with Real Madrid and said: “This was not the way to do things.”
Captains of the 20 clubs competing in the Spanish Championship complained that LaLiga had made decisions without consulting the players’ opinion.
Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona’s Dutch midfielder, expressed his opposition to the idea of the club he defends. “I don’t like us playing there and I don’t agree with it. It’s not fair to the competition. I don’t think it’s right for the players. We always complain about the game schedule and excessive travel,” he said.
Xabi Alonso, coach of Real Madrid, declared that the Miami match would tamper with the competition. “There was no unanimity or consultation to play on a neutral field. The protests are positive, and this feeling is positive.”
The differences created a scenario of legal instability that led the promoter of the match in Miami to give up.
Barcelona and Villarreal, however, did not completely bury the project. In a statement, the Catalan team stated that it “regrets the lost opportunity to expand the competition’s brand in a strategic market with the capacity to grow and generate resources for the benefit of all.”
LaLiga also said such initiatives were “essential to ensure the growth of Spanish football” as it strives to keep pace with the English Premier League, whose broadcast deals outstrip those of its European competitors.
This would have been one of the arguments used by the Spanish league to obtain exceptional clearance from UEFA to take the game to the USA. The cancellation of the trip, however, was celebrated by the president of the entity. “It’s a victory for the fans, the players and the traditions that make European football special,” said Aleksander Ceferin.
The director’s statement echoed in Italy, where Milan and Como also obtained authorization from the European entity to hold a game valid for the Italian Championship in Perth, Australia, in 2026. If confirmed, it would be the league’s first outside the country.
Milan’s French midfielder Andrien Rabiot called the idea of moving the game “crazy and absurd.” The league’s CEO, Luigi de Siervo, refuted the criticism and compared the initiative to the expansion strategies adopted by the NFL and the NBA. For now, the plan is maintained.
Given the commercial interests involved, since last year FIFA began to consider changing its policy that prevents league matches from being held outside their countries. The move would be in response to an antitrust lawsuit brought by Relevent Sports against the entity, which stemmed from a 2018 attempt to host a LaLiga match in Miami.
The lawsuit alleged that FIFA’s territorial policy constituted an illegal division of markets. The case was resolved in 2025, and the agreement paved the way for possible future international matches in the United States, as Barcelona and Villarreal tried to do.
After a week of clashes off the pitch, Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off on it, at the Bernabéu, in Madrid, this Sunday. The home team won 2-1, with goals from Mbappé and Bellingham on one side, and Fermin López on the other.
Brazilian Vinicius Junior was angry with coach Xabi Alonso, after being substituted 26 minutes into the second half. After a tense match, in which the striker provoked opponents and demanded participation from the fans, he went directly to the changing rooms when Rodrygo took his place.
Shortly before the final whistle, after Pedri was sent off, already in extra time, Vini emerged from the changing rooms and got involved in a fight with the opposing team.
