According to the Daily Mail, the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, scheduled for the weekend of December 22 at the Montjuïc stadium, could be played across the Atlantic. The idea would be to move this clash between the Catalans and the Colchoneros to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. A first in the history of the Spanish Championship.
A shock at the top of the Spanish Championship… on the other side of the Atlantic. According to the Daily Mail, the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, scheduled for the weekend of December 22 at the Montjuïc stadium, may be moved to the United States. Almost 7,500 km from Catalonia. The game could be played at Hard Rock Stadium (almost 65,000 seats), located in the northern suburbs of Miami, Florida. It is home to the Miami Dolphins, an American football team that plays in the NFL.
Javier Tebas, the boss of La Liga, expressed this summer his desire to organize La Liga matches in the United States. “It’s a sign of respect to the American fans,” the Iberian manager explained. “We see the NBA and the NFL playing in Europe or Mexico. That would resonate in the American market.” US sources, quoted by the Daily Mail, are hoping for a favorable outcome in the coming weeks. This will require convincing the Spanish Federation (FREF), UEFA and Fifa.
Ceferin eyes a Champions League final in the USA
FREF has already rejected two such attempts in recent years when Luis Rubiales was its president. But the new management would now be more open to this possibility. La Liga believes UEFA could also be conciliatory at a time when its No.1, Aleksander Ceferin, has expressed his desire to stage a Champions League final in the United States. It remains to be approved by Fifa, whose rules stipulate that championship matches must be played on the territory of that country.
Last summer, Barça and Real Madrid met in front of almost 82,500 spectators during a warm-up match at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In December 2023, the Catalans also played a friendly match in Dallas against the Mexicans from Club América. This new move against Atlético would be the first in the history of La Liga with a host of stars such as Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez. It could fetch a handsome sum for Barça, currently leading the championship, who are facing significant financial difficulties. The Culé club has been forced to play at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc (45,000 seats) since the start of the renovation of the Camp Nou, to which it hopes to return at the beginning of 2025, before the end of the work, is planned for the summer of 2026 to increase the stadium’s capacity to 105,000 seats.
