Football as a business is ever-changing at present, but for La Liga to want to play Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid in the USA is surely a step too far.
It isn’t the first time a Spanish top-flight game has been mooted to be played overseas, with Barcelona’s fixture against Girona in 2019 also earmarked for the move, which ultimately didn’t happen.
La Liga chief, Javier Tebas, even intimated last year, per the Daily Mail, that a fixture being played in the States would be a “mark of respect” to the supporters there.
La Liga want Barcelona v Atletico to be played in the US
Many clubs, including Man United, now enjoy pre-season tours across various parts of America, which is clearly a captive audience where European football is concerned.
So much so that even MLS All Star teams now play against teams from abroad, such as Arsenal.
Any decision to move a regular season game from the host country half way around the world is surely the precedent to it happening more regularly, which shows that it’s money above all for many clubs nowadays.
The days that football was ‘for the fans’ is long gone, and no amount of persuasive corporate speak will change that.
The Daily Mail report suggest that there’s still a way to go in order for an agreement to be reached, however, both Barcelona and Atletico are working alongside La Liga to try and get a deal – which will also require UEFA and FIFA backing – over the line.
Although US supporters of both clubs are likely to be delighted, those fans who would attend the fixture in Barcelona are likely to be less enamoured.
With regular season NFL and baseball games now taking place in England as a matter of course, it appears that a role reversal of sorts won’t be too long in the offing, even if this season’s fixture comes too soon.