Spanish rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid are reportedly attempting to organize a friendly version of El Clásico in the United States in the summer of 2023. Sources tell ESPN that the two clubs want to build off of the success of previous Clásico matchups Stateside.
The top two teams currently in the LaLiga table played in front of nearly 62,000 fans outside of Las Vegas last summer. State-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium hosted the match that saw Raphinha score the sole goal for Barca.
Americans first caught a glimpse of El Clásico in 2017 when Barca and Real Madrid played in Miami. Also won by Barca, the thrilling game ended 3-2 in front of 66,000 people. Superstar Lionel Messi scored inside the first four minutes of the match on the night.
The idea this time would be to find a venue on the west coast, with Los Angeles and San Francisco two of the options on the table, says ESPN.
Rivalry is among best in the world
EL Clásico is widely considered one of, if not, the most important rivalries in club soccer. The two teams have met in various competitions over 280 times in their history. Barca currently holds a narrow lead in Clásico wins with 118. Real Madrid has managed to beat their rivals 105 times in the history of the matchup.
Massive European clubs have been coming Stateside to play summer friendlies more often over the last decade. Soccer in the U.S. is obviously growing, but support for the sport still lags behind much of Europe and South America. Nevertheless, these teams want to tap into the sprouting market to help expand their reach beyond Europe.
2023 Clásico in United States comes off many this season
Barca and Real are set to face each other three more times in the span of about a month later this season. The two first have a Copa del Rey semifinal first leg on March 2nd. Then Barca will host their rivals in a LaLiga matchup on March 19th. Finally, the Copa del Rey second leg game will take place on April 5th. Barca currently hold an eight point advantage over Real in the Spanish league standings.
PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
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