Barcelona and Real Madrid could play La Liga matches abroad if Javier Tebas succeeds in ambitious plan
La Liga president Javier Tebas would like Barcelona and Real Madrid to play matches abroad. The dispute between Javier Tebas and Spain’s biggest clubs has been going on for years. Barcelona and Real Madrid’s popularity makes it very appealing to see them play in countries outside of Europe, which could happen if the executive succeeds in his plan. Tebas said: “We are going to continue trying. Many other sports came to Spain; we want to do something similar to them. FIFA is establishing a rulebook to play one match from each league abroad. It would be very good for the brand.” These comments came during a public event organized by the Universidad de Navarra. In his speech, he also mentioned the United States, Saudi Arabia and Casablanca as potential locations La Liga could choose for this. Tebas remarks on Spanish clubs Logically, the La Liga president gets very enthusiastic when describing the competition he leads. Even if the titles are mostly dominated by two clubs, with Atletico Madrid occasionally challenging, he spoke highly about the continental matches. Tebas isn’t liked by the fans (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images For Sportel) For Tebas, what puts Spanish clubs ahead of most is their participation against teams from other countries in continental competitions. In this regard, he highlighted the teams that are representing the league, each being in a semifinal. Tebas said: “We had very bad luck with the teams that were eliminated in the quarterfinals, but those who are still alive (Atletico Madrid in the Champions League against Arsenal and Rayo Vallecano in the UEFA Conference League against Strasbourg) have good possibilities. In 10 years, La Liga has won many titles.” A failed attempt The main precedent for this idea came last year. Barcelona was scheduled to play against Villarreal in Miami in December. However, the backlash from players and fans was so significant that they had to reverse the decision. This decision was mainly driven by Real Madrid, who complained to FIFA that it could affect the fairness of La Liga by giving up a home match to a rival in the title race. In October, the match was canceled, which shows that Tebas may not easily succeed in making teams travel outside of Spain.