Barcelona and Real Madrid will renew the stateside portion of their rivalry this summer in Las Vegas, where the Spanish giants will play a July 23 friendly at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.
The two met five years ago in Miami. It was Barcelona’s 3-2 win attended by more than 66,000 people who were part of the International Champions Cup, an off-season tour aimed at, in part, paving the way for a La Liga game on American soil. That match did not happen and the ICC was closed during the violence.
This year’s American El Clásico is part of a five-team, five-team tournament called the “Soccer Champions Tour.” Hosted by LA Galaxy owner AEG and will include Juventus, Club América and Vasvas de Guadalajara playing games in Vegas, Dallas and California.
Barcelona and Madrid last visited the US in 2019, although they did not face each other. Madrid took part in the last ICC when Barca played Napoli in a few friendly matches. Their fortunes have varied since then. Madrid won La Liga in 2020 and recently finished La Liga and the UEFA Champions League twice this season.
Barcelona, on the other hand, faced debt and institutional problems, lost Lionel Messi and only lifted the 2021 Copa del Rey. Bayern Munich midfielder Robert Lewandowski is reportedly still keen, however, and it is unlikely that the two-time FIFA World Cup player will play for the first time in Barcelona in the US Blaugrana is already scheduled to meet Inter Miami and New York Red. Bulls in July.