Real Madrid Slams Plan to Take La Liga Match to U.S., Calls It ‘Turning Point in Football’

Real Madrid is not having it — the club says it “firmly rejects” the idea of a regular-season La Liga game being shipped overseas to the United States, warning it could mark “a turning point in the world of football.”
The clash in question? Villarreal vs. Barcelona, scheduled for December 20, which the league wants to stage at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium — home turf for Inter Miami and Lionel Messi’s latest chapter. If the deal goes through, it would be the first Spanish league match played in the U.S.
While Madrid is digging in its heels, Villarreal is leaning into the opportunity, promising free travel and tickets for its season-ticket holders if the game in Florida gets the green light.
Madrid’s beef? The club says the move “hurts the integrity of the competition” and “the legitimacy of the results.” In a statement, it slammed the decision as being made “without prior information or consultation of the clubs,” accusing the league of breaking the “essential principle of territorial reciprocity” — the home-and-away fairness that underpins two-legged league formats.
They warn that it “sets an unacceptable precedent” where exceptions could be made “based on non-sporting interests,” putting competitive balance at risk.
“If this proposal were to be carried out, its consequences would be so serious that it would be a turning point in the world of football,” the statement read.
Fans aren’t happy either. Football Supporters Europe (FSE) said it’s “liaising” with members, clubs, and other stakeholders to “collectively resist the latest threat to the very nature of football,” adding:
“Moving games from their domestic territories strikes at the heart of the relationship between fans and their teams.”
The pushback isn’t just in Spain — Italy is also under fire for a similar plan. In July, the Italian football federation confirmed it was working on hosting the Serie A match between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, this coming February.
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