Why was Barcelona's league game in Miami cancelled?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Why was Barcelona's league game in Miami cancelled?

The Athletic FC Podcast
Host: Ayo Akinwolere
Guests: Dermot Corrigan, Matt Slater, James Horncastle (voice note)
Date: October 23, 2025

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Overview

This episode dives deep into the sudden cancellation of the much-anticipated La Liga match between Barcelona and Villarreal, originally scheduled to take place in Miami in December. Host Ayo Akinwolere, joined by The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan and Matt Slater, explores why the event fell through, what it means for Spanish football, and the wider theme of leagues seeking growth abroad to match the Premier League’s corporate strength. The show also touches on similar moves in Serie A, fan and player power, Spanish football politics, and the upcoming El Clasico.

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Main Theme and Purpose

• Main Theme: Why La Liga’s attempt to stage a competitive fixture abroad, specifically Barcelona vs Villarreal in Miami, was cancelled.
• Purpose: To analyze the key forces—political, financial, fan and player reaction, and internal Spanish football rivalries—that scuppered the plan, and discuss possible implications for similar ventures in other leagues.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Breaking News: Miami Game Cancelled

[01:57–03:10]

• Adam Krafton broke the story; the cancellation was a shock even to players and manager Hansi Flick.
• La Liga and organizer Relevant had worked for years for such a deal; initial go-aheads seemed in place.
• Protests mounted in Spain; time constraints cited as the official reason for pulling the plug.

Quote:
“It came as a shock to everybody. Even the Barca players who were just on their way out of this stadium didn’t know about it.” —Dermot Corrigan [02:32]

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2. The Role of Real Madrid and Spanish Football Politics

[04:17–06:20]

• Matt Slater points to Spanish politics and the Real Madrid–Barcelona rivalry.
• Real Madrid's president Florentino Perez, not supportive of the move, wields major influence.
• Players and their union felt left out, particularly over how decisions were made and lack of consultation.
• Together, fan pressure, player protest, and Real Madrid’s lobbying proved too much for organizers.

Quote:
“I think what I underestimated was the importance of Real Madrid and Florentino Perez. If he really doesn’t like something, he can pull levers... with Spanish politicians to make life difficult.” —Matt Slater [05:08]

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3. The Power of Protest: Fans and Players

[06:20–10:53]

• Organized fan groups, especially in Spain, opposed the idea; players conducted symbolic 15-second protests before games.
• La Liga attempted to hide these protests from broadcasts, angering players further.
• However, broad public protest (like that seen during the Super League fiasco) was less pronounced.
• The pivotal role played by Real Madrid and their players was underscored.

Quote:
“The players wanted to talk to Tebes about it... They were kind of ignored, really. Tebes just kept putting AFE off, kept saying he wasn’t able to find time in his schedule to meet the players.” —Dermot Corrigan [06:54]

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4. Fallout for La Liga and The U.S. Push

[15:32–18:22]

• The financial gain from a single game was not huge; the move was symbolic for larger ambitions.
• La Liga, in partnership with Relevant, wants to match Premier League’s global influence.
• These pushes are, at root, a response to the English Premier League’s dominance, especially in North America.
• It’s not the end of the matter—likely a postponement, not an abandonment.

Quote:
“It wasn’t really about the one game ... that’s why this feels like a postponement. Barca were going to make money, but they were going to make money around the edges.” —Matt Slater [15:54]

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5. Serie A’s Overseas Plans and Broader European Context

[20:01–25:31]

• Serie A is attempting a similar move: AC Milan vs Como in Perth, Australia in February; context and challenges discussed by James Horncastle.
• Their justification includes San Siro being unavailable due to the Winter Olympics and substantial payments from Australian organizers.
• Player protests in Italy have been mild; more may come in the wake of the La Liga cancellation.
• The Premiership's financial reach is driving such experiments; domestic leagues struggle to keep up.

Quote:
“Milan have to take a game on the road, so why not take one abroad? ... Western Australia is putting up a minimum fee of 12 million.” —James Horncastle [20:40]

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6. UEFA’s Reluctant Role and the Future of Overseas Matches

[26:14–29:06]

• UEFA gave a reluctant green light but reportedly were “quite relieved” when the event was cancelled, wary of legal/political complications.
• The episode reveals UEFA’s evolving commercial partnerships (notably with Relevant), their opposition to the Super League, and the political sensitivity to such moves.
• The legal door seems open for future attempts, especially in the US market.

Quote:
“I think something has changed. People change their minds. I think [UEFA boss] Seferin ... is sort of seeing the bigger picture, that, you know what, maybe the way we’ve been doing it for the last hundred years is the right way, and perhaps we should just leave it alone.” —Matt Slater [27:31]

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7. El Clasico, La Liga’s Structure & The Premier League Problem

[31:47–38:24]

• The cancelled Miami game has increased tension between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
• El Clasico remains huge, but both the rivalry and La Liga itself have lost global luster since the heights of the Messi–Ronaldo era.
• Premier League’s “illusion of competitive balance” has eroded La Liga’s broader appeal, with Spanish football now a “two and a half horse race” at the top.
• La Liga’s financial and political realities limit the ambitions of all but the big two.

Quotes:
“It does feel smaller to me, a neutral, than it did, let’s say, a decade ago when the height of Messi versus Ronaldo. Those games were huge.” —Matt Slater [33:09]

“Atletico are happy enough to finish third... if they can finish third, make sure they’re into the Champions League and secure that money for the next season, Simeone’s job is safe for sure.” —Dermot Corrigan [36:34]

“England’s just a bigger country, richer country than Spain. The pay TV in Spain is quite expensive for most people, so a lot of people don’t have it.” —Dermot Corrigan [38:06]

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Notable and Memorable Moments

• Matt Slater’s One Direction jokes [03:20–03:56]: Adds lightness to the episode, referencing August optimism about the Miami game (“I wish I knew some One Direction songs ...”).
• Player protest hidden on TV [07:56–08:36]: Dermot Corrigan details symbolic in-game protests that La Liga sought to obscure.
• James Horncastle's Italian perspective [20:20–22:05]: Clear summary of Serie A’s different constraints and the global “game export” trend.
• Reflection on the ‘Super League’ backlash [08:53–10:11]: Matt Slater recounts how fan protests and UK political intervention derailed the Super League—contrasting that with the lack of public passion over the Miami game.

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Segment Timestamps

• [01:57] — Episode proper begins: Topic introduction
• [02:32] — Why the Miami game was cancelled
• [04:17] — Real Madrid’s political power and player issues
• [06:20] — Was this a win for fans/players?
• [08:53] — On the power of protest: Super League comparison
• [10:53] — Real Madrid’s influence and final push to block Miami
• [15:32] — What the cancellation means for La Liga and Relevant, US market ambitions
• [20:01] — Serie A: AC Milan vs Como in Perth, possible domino effect
• [22:05] — Why leagues are forced to “think outside the box” to keep up with the Premier League
• [24:03] — Will the same protest pressures cross to Serie A?
• [26:14] — UEFA’s position and reluctance
• [31:47] — Will the cancellation affect El Clasico? Renewal of administrative hostilities
• [33:04] — Is El Clasico still relevant globally?
• [35:37] — The dominance problem in La Liga
• [38:24] — Closing remarks

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Summary

In summary, the episode delivers a thorough analysis of why the Barcelona vs Villarreal Miami game, a flagship for La Liga’s global expansion, was cancelled at the last second. The hosts break down the combined force of internal Spanish football politics (especially the Real Madrid–Barcelona divide), the backlash (if muted) from fans and, more crucially, players, administrative oversight by Javier Tebas, and last-minute governmental intervention. They situate this within the broader context of other leagues’ ambitions, especially Serie A’s plans for Australia, and reflect on the existential challenge posed by the Premier League’s unparalleled commercial might.

The conversation is smart, at times playful, and consistently sharp in cutting through the PR spin to reveal what’s really at stake in the global football business—and who actually holds the power.

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Key Quotes (Attribution & Timestamps)

• “Even the Barca players... didn’t know about it. Flick was doing his press conference... Complete shock.”
  — Dermot Corrigan [02:32]

• “If [Florentino Pérez] really doesn’t like something, he can pull levers... with Spanish politicians to make life difficult.”
  — Matt Slater [05:08]

• “The players wanted to talk to Tebes about it... They were kind of ignored, really.”
  — Dermot Corrigan [06:54]

• “It wasn’t really about the one game... that’s why this feels like a postponement.”
  — Matt Slater [15:54]

• “Milan have to take a game on the road, so why not take one abroad?... Western Australia is putting up a minimum fee of 12 million.”
  — James Horncastle [20:40]

• “It does feel smaller to me, a neutral, than it did, let’s say, a decade ago ... Those games were huge.”
  — Matt Slater [33:09]

• “England’s just a bigger country, richer country than Spain. The pay TV in Spain is quite expensive...”
  — Dermot Corrigan [38:06]

---

For listeners seeking a concise but deep understanding of one of the season’s most intriguing off-pitch football stories, this episode is rich with context, insight, and memorable exchanges.

Transcript

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[Ayo Akimolere]

The Athletic FC welcome to the Athletic FC podcast with me, Ayo Akimwalere. Barcelona was set to play Villarreal in Miami in December. That's now been cancelled. Today we explain why. With us today we have our LaLiga writer Dermot Corrigan. We've also got Matt Slater for an extra bit of spice as well. Right Dermot. On Tuesday, Adam Krafton broke the news. Villarreal vs Barcelona in Miami, 20th of December has been cancelled. How on Earth did we get here?

[Matt Slater]

Yeah.

[Dermot Corrigan]

Great work by Adam to break the news. And it came as a shock to everybody. Even the Barca players who were just on their way out of this stadium, didn't know about it. Flick was doing. His press conference was just broke after the press conference. He couldn't even be asked about. It was complete shock. La Liga have been trying, you know, as we've talked about before, for years to try and get a game to be played overseas. Looked like he was falling into place to play Villarreal against Barcelona in Miami. They had got a grudging green light from UEFA, seem to be moving ahead, but protests started to mount within Spain about it and relevant the organizers and La Liga between them. They decided that they just didn't have enough time to get everything done over the line by December 20th when the game was going to go ahead.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah, for sure. Well, let's find a little bit of humour in this situation, because back in August, Matt, along with Adam Kraft, we were talking about this match going ahead and it prompted this line from you.

[Matt Slater]

I'm afraid the winds are blowing in One Direction here. Wish I knew some One Direction songs and I can make a gag about One Direction, but I don't. So this is all gonna happen, I'm afraid. Sorry.

[Ayo Akimolere]

I mean, you've had some time now. Any One Direction songs up your sleeve, mate.

[Matt Slater]

Look, it's not for you or I to say what's going on with Javier Tabis. I have no control over Tavis and his policies, but at the end of the day, one way or another. That's four, by the way, guys, four already.

[Ayo Akimolere]

I've seen it. I'm just like, how far is he gonna go with this?

[Matt Slater]

He's not having now, and it's clearly not the perfect plan. And getting things wrong is the story of my life. I'm not going to let this drag me down.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Goodness. We sort of thought you'd already see the script map and you prepared yourself for this. Anyway, let's get serious on it. Are you surprised that it's not actually going ahead?

[Matt Slater]

Yes and no.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah.

[Matt Slater]

That they've sort of caved at this late stage. Once they'd got the kind of political bits, the bits that I thought were the really tricky bits, the football politics bits, they'd got those. They kind of ignored the European Commission complaints. They looked like they were ignoring football supporters for Europe. They looked like they were ignoring fans groups in Spain. FIFA had kind of neatly stayed out of it. Spanish FA on board. CONCACAF hadn't declared their hand but direction of travel, I think was the point I was making back in summer, was that this was going to happen. We already knew about the kind of legal issues in the States, so it did look like there was real momentum here. And of course, we. We've known that both La Liga have wanted to do this for a very long time. Relevant. The agency involved have been trying to do it. La Liga and Relevant working together on TV rights and sponsorship deals. So it all seems to be happening, right? The bits all seem to be happening. But I. I missed the Spanish politics. I just assumed that Real Madrid were against it because Barca were for it and they were zig and Zag. Right. So if it had been the other way around. It had been the other way around. But I think what I underestimated was the importance of Real Madrid and Florentino Perez. If. If he really doesn't like something, he can pull levers, no pun intended, with Spanish politicians to make life difficult. And then I think, belatedly, perhaps Spanish media talked about this, listened to fans groups, the Spanish main fans group, not into this. And then I think players. Players was the last bit. And how many times have we had podcasts where we have talked, be it about financial rules, the calendar, what have you. Football keeps forgetting to run it past the players. There does appear to be a lack of consultation here. Proper consultation, and I'm afraid consultation is a bit of a code. I think once the players realized that this was a push for more money, for growth, for development, it's like, well, hold on, where's our cut? You haven't discussed this with us. I think those combinations, Spanish politics, Real Madrid players have come at the last minute to scupper this or certainly postpone it.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah, I really want to talk about Real Madrid a little later on, but this is really fascinating, all those things that Matt's just highlighted. I just wonder if this is a win for the fans, if this is a win for the players. Finally they being heard, finally they put their foot down and said, we're not going to have this.

[Dermot Corrigan]

Yeah, I understand why a lot of the fans groups were against it for sure, especially the organized fans groups. I spoke to some Villarreal fans who are against it as well, but I'm not sure how much that really came into it in the final reckoning. The fans were always going to be against it. Tevis didn't seem that worried about it at all. I spoke to the European Commissioner for Sport about Micallef, Glenn Micallef a few weeks ago and he was very against it. But that didn't seem to be putting a spoke in the wheels at all either. I'd agree with what Matt's saying about how the players felt disrespected and maybe that is code for it. They felt that they weren't getting their code of what was happening. But Tevis seemed to feel that he would be able to ram it through despite the players being against it. The players wanted. Through the players union here, afe. The players wanted to talk to Tebes about it. They asked for information. They were kind of ignored, really. Tebus just kept putting AFE off, kept saying he wasn't able to find time in his schedule to meet the players. The players have their own busy schedules as well, between traveling to games and everything. But they wanted to at least be heard, to be able to put their point of view across the Tebes and maybe to have some kind of a negotiation that if there is going to be hassle for the players and maybe this is one game this year and maybe it's two games next year and maybe it's five games the following year, if that's going to be the case, then we're going to have to rewrite our working conditions. The convenio, they call it here in Spain that it's kind of like a legal agreement that teachers have, some journalists have. I'm not sure the athletic are signed up to it, but it's a kind of protection for workers rights that a lot of people have in Spain and the players have that, and this didn't figure in that at all. So they felt they had a legal leg to stand on. And the players were not happy either about how the protests were handled. Last weekend they did a kind of symbolic protest, 15 seconds at the start of each game, which was a way of them being able to show the world that they weren't happy with this. But then La Liga tried to make it that the world couldn't see that they were happy with it by kind of hiding it within the broadcasts, which the players weren't happy about either. So the momentum was building. But as Matt said, I think it was Real Madrid's ability to get involved and to the influence that Florentino Perez has and that Real Madrid have within the corridors of power in Spain. That was the real problem in the end for the plan.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Matt, are governing buddies underestimating the power of protest? I don't know if it's definitely not happening. We might see it, you know, just like kicking the can down the road. It might happen again. But like this is quite powerful though, symbolically, because the protests happened with the players and La Liga chose not to show it on tv.

[Matt Slater]

Yeah, I think it's a good question. Are they underestimating protests? Look, starting with the European Super League is the obvious one. You know, that blew up very quickly and fell apart almost as fast. And that really was English fans voting with their feet. You know, that kind of mad 48 hours where English fans basically, you know, not Spanish, Italian fans just said, we don't like this idea. This is awful. And that prompted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to get behind it. Right. You know, he put his finger in the air, wet his finger and went, right, that's the way I'm going. And he talked about a legislative bomb. You know, without those protests, I don't think he'd have said a word, to be honest. We know now that he'd been briefed on the idea a week or so beforehand. You know, so he was very much gauging the public mood. You know, we've also go way back to 39th game. That was an idea that kind of leaked. And the media and fan reaction in the uk, in England was. Was very, very negative. And the Premier League just haven't gone there. Again, it's not on the agenda for them. So I do think that protest matters. I'm just not convinced this was fan power that did this. Okay, maybe a combination of. Of fan plus player plus politicians getting involved. It was a kind of combination from the fans.

[Dermot Corrigan]

Like, I spoke to some fans of Ariel who were very upset about it. There were some people at Barca who were upset about it, but it wasn't like there was big protests in the stadium, but nothing like the Super League like when there was people outside the stadiums, you know, threatening directors and stopping games from happening. That weekend, that crazy weekend in real, people are a bit upset about it, but some people were going to fly over to Miami for the game. In Villarreal, the president of the club is really powerful. He took it over 25 years ago. He's a local, really wealthy businessman. Villarreal was a small semi pro club and he's built them up to be. Well, semi pro is probably a bit unfair, but they were a second division club and he's built them into a Champions League club. So he gets to make these type of decisions most of the fans kind of accept. And at Barcelona, they're in such financial trouble as well.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Exactly.

[Dermot Corrigan]

That they were going to make money out of it. You know, they're used to strange schemes. They have to Put up with it. You know, from Laporta, I think the players protest did help to build kind of pressure on the Spanish government that it was so, so obvious what was going on that they were against it. Even the Barca players as well being involved in it. And Barca Madrid are so big in Spanish football that if both Barca players are against something, and if the Madrid players are against something as well, it makes headlines, it gets people talking about it, but if Florentino Perez gets involved in it, then it does change the way things are looked at. And the Florentino Perez and Javier Tevez just do not like each other, and they're always up against each other. If Tevas is for something, Madrid are automatically against it. I think, as Matt said there before, there's dozens of legal cases in the Spanish court that Madrid take to block La Liga's incentives or La Liga's different things that they bring into football, like the CVC deal, the investment that came in. Real Madrid stayed out of that. Barca did as well. The Super League is a huge problem between Real Madrid and La Liga as well. Tevis has been the most vocal of all the league presidents, I think, in. In criticizing the Super League, even using the Super League now that it's kind of dormant. He still talks about it all the time because he knows it'll annoy Florentino Perez and it's something that makes him look better. But behind the scenes, Madrid were definitely against it. Madrid's players came out really strongly to talk about it, and they wouldn't have done that if they hadn't got. I don't think they were, like, fed any lines or anything, but they had a nudge to say it's okay to talk about this, go ahead and do it. In the press conferences, Danny Carvajal, the Madrid captain, even went on Instagram to have a go directly at Tevas. This was before the game was cancell, so the pressure was building. Adam's done some really great reporting, and we're still looking into it with the team here as well. In Spain, how actually managed to stop it is still up in the air, but some of the sources we've spoken to have mentioned how Madrid were able to convince the Spanish government that maybe Tebes had overstepped his power, that he didn't have La Liga, didn't have the power to move a Spanish domestic league game outside Spain, and that were he to do that, then he might be possibly suspended from his job. There might be an official inquiry into somebody having broken the rules in that way because he hadn't gone about it in the right way of lining enough things up. This only appeared at the very last minute. It wasn't like back in September, everybody was talking about that here in Spain, but it looked like Madrid had found a way to put a barrier in place that Tevis wasn't willing to take on. And in this one, Florentino has come out on top of Tevis. I think it's pretty clear this is.

[Athletic FC Podcast Host]

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[Matt Slater]

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[Dermot Corrigan]

You look the same.

[Matt Slater]

But with this camera everything looks better. Especially me.

[Ayo Akimolere]

You haven't changed your hair in 15 years.

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[Ayo Akimolere]

Matt, what does this mean then for La Liga and Relevant partnership? Because that's the big one here. There's a lot of money that's been lost here.

[Matt Slater]

I don't think anybody really thought this one game was going to generate much money. I suspect people the league was actually probably going to be down on it because there are a lot of costs involved. I know they were going to reimburse Villarreal for, you know, missing basically a home game. So I think Villarreal were going to get a payment of. I've seen figures of around 6,7 million euros. And they'd also made this offer. I can't remember if it was Villarreal or La Liga. They were actually going to FL fans out. I mean, you know, is that even possible? How many planes? It wasn't really about the one game. It was never about the one game, which is why this feels like a postponement. Barca were going to make money, but they were going to make money around the edges, right? This is a very much a kind of all part of Barca's endless marketing expeditions. That game in Miami was going to effectively be a Barca home game, which of course was one of Real Madrid's, I thought better points, you know, around the integrity. This is supposed to be a tough away fixture for Barcelona at Villarreal and it's actually now going to go to a neutral ground where 95% of the crowd are going to be Barca fans. So what next? Well, you know, in terms of La Liga and Relevant, it's been a pretty good relationship in terms of the TV deal in the States. I think they're with espn, eight year deal. Big increase on what they had before. Relevant have brought in, I think, three big sponsors. You know, the Ronaldo Messi halo effect exists. Barcelon Real, you know, when go on pre season tours do incredibly well. I think there was1 in 2017, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami where Barcelona played each other. And I think the game made something like $30 million in matrices. So the riches are there. It's the bigger picture. La Liga is trying to close the gap with the Premier League. They can see their TV deal in North America and they can see the Premier League's TV deal in North America and they're streets apart, right? And they're thinking, well, why? You know, we have big brands, we're a really, really good league, we need to sort of put our flag in the ground over there. So that's what this is about, and that's why this will keep coming back. Tabas has been absolutely straightforward and transparent about that. I am doing this because I'm very worried about the Premier League moving away from the rest of us. We have to do something. The fact that they are working with Relevant is Relevant. Relevant is an agency that has been doing this for a very long time. You know, they were behind the summer tournaments. They were the one that fought the legal battle with U.S. soccer and FIFA to have overseas games kind of tacitly approved by the US courts. It was a settlement, but it was very clear that which side was settling. You know, Relevant won the argument. But I do wonder if we'd be having this pot at all if it was Real Madrid with a game in December or January at the Club World.

[Dermot Corrigan]

Cup during the summer in the States, Madrid were by far the most popular team with American fans. They're games really sold out with. The prices for their tickets were a lot higher than the prices for other games with Raid really target the US market. They think it's really important, but they don't want to go there under the La Liga umbrella for whatever money is to be raised to go to La Liga and then be shared out amongst the rest of the teams they want. If they're going to be making money in the States, they want the lion's share or all of that money to come to them. And that's at the heart of a lot of the battles between Tevis and Florentino. Paris is over who benefits. Madrid are such a big behemoth in Parse in Spanish football, and Tevis likes to be able to use those two teams in order to raise more money and then to share it out to everyone. Which is kind of why he has been able to maintain himself in the job for so long, despite having such an opposition from the big clubs. Because Laporte has been against him plenty of times as well in the past, even though they seem to have made up at the minute. But it came down to it that Madrid. Why would we let this happen if we're not going to benefit very much from it and we have a way to stop it, so we're going to go and do it. So, yeah, if you. I was trying to see if they're going to play a La Liga classico in the States, which is probably never going to happen, realistically, because the fans wouldn't allow it. But if both Madrid and Barcelona were behind something like this, Everybody I spoke to in Spain was like, it would definitely happen if the 2 Madrid, Barcelona line up behind something. It happens with the super cup move to Saudi Arabia. Both Madrid and Barcelona get way more money for playing in that than the rest of the teams. They worked it out by some kind of formula that if it's Madrid and Barca and Atletic, Bilbao and Valencia who play, even if the finals between Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, Madrid and Barca end up making way more money out of it than the other two teams do. So they got Madrid and Barca on board for that. Valencia went to court about that and they ended up settling as well. Just how things kind of work in Spain.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, well, let's move on because we've spoken about how Barcelona were meant to play Villareal in Miami in December. What about Serie A? Well, in February, AC Milan are due to play Como in Perth, Australia. Could the cancel La Liga game have any impact on that game going ahead? Well, to answer that, here's the Athletics.

[Dermot Corrigan]

James Horncastle, CDI is waiting on the.

[James Horncastle]

Final approvals to take this game down under. Those approvals will come from FIFA and Football Australia, but I think from their perspective, a major hurdle was crossed when UEFA reluctantly consented. City A have been making the case for this game to go abroad now for the best part of a year. They've spoken on the record about it, a series of public engagements. No one feels blindsided by it. And, you know, I mean, they feel that they've got a twofold case for doing it. First reason is that San Siro is. Is not open for football through the month of February because it is designated as a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. So Milan have to take a game on the road, so why not take one abroad? And the second reason is to do with business, to do with money. Western Australia is putting up a minimum fee of 12 million. But I mean, the most vocal dissenters, if you like, have been some of the players. Adrian Rabiot and Make Minion of AC Milan both have said it's crazy, it's absurd that, you know, they're. They're giving up a home game. But there hasn't been a protest yet like the one that we've seen in La Liga last weekend, where, you know, almost every game, if not every game, players took 15 seconds before kicking off. That just hasn't happened in Italy. And it remains to be seen, really, if people jump on the fact that this La Liga game has been cancelled to make the prospective City a game in Australia more of an issue. Than it has been up until now.

[Ayo Akimolere]

D Can you blame these two leagues? If you think about the corporate might of the Premier League and the reach it has, surely La Liga Serie I might have to think outside of the box just to try and bring more money in, for sure.

[Dermot Corrigan]

And I. I would have a lot of sympathy with it. Speaking about Villarreal, Jeremy Pino, great young player at Villarreal, gets them into the Champions League, is into the Spain team, is homegrown, he's from Canaries, but he's been come through the whole system, you know, at Villarreal for eight or nine years or worked his way all the way up and Crystal palace can just come in and take him away. Crystal palace not in the Champions League, obviously, although playing in Europe and Crystal palace are doing great and everything. But Crystal Palace, Brentford, Brighton teams who in Spain wouldn't be known as the big teams. If Liverpool or if Chelsea or Man United come in and want to take a player from a team like Seville or Valencia, they're kind of used to it. But the fact that the very best Seville players or the very best Valencia players, anybody outside the top three teams, and even sometimes at Atletico, they're not able to compete with spurs, say, to sign a player. Spurs can pay higher wages than Atletico. So the Premier League is such a financial behemoth, it's so dominant when it comes to finances, so able to just come and take the best players from most of the Spanish clubs that they feel they have to do something to fight back or they need to do something to fight back. And that if that means going to play in the States, then maybe that's something that they're willing to do. Or if that means going along with Tebes different schemes, then it's something that they're willing to do. And I'm sure, you know, James would say the same about Italy or clubs in France outside PSG and Germany outside Bayern Munich. They're all in the. In the shadow of the Premier League and there's not that much they can do about it, it seems.

[James Horncastle]

So.

[Dermot Corrigan]

You know, that's why they come up with these type of schemes, I guess. And I can. I can have a lot of sympathy with that. Yeah.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Matt James referenced the players being the most vocal in any protest so far. Do you expect the same pressures as we've seen in Spain to apply to this match in February?

[Matt Slater]

Yeah, maybe in that it came late in Spain. I think there are some differences. The first is there isn't an obvious Real Madrid like opponent. I was in Rome for The European Football Club's general assembly a couple of weeks ago, that's the old G14 group. It's massive now, 800 plus clubs are in it. All the big rich clubs are there, 29 Italian clubs are in it. The Italians were very, very kind of pleased to be hosting this big event and there were a lot of questions about these overseas games. And what I was picking up was that Serie A really want to do this and, you know, some fans, some players might not like the idea. It does seem pretty remarkable. There's one thing going to Miami, right? But going to Perth, going to the other side of the world, that seems like quite a trip. Bit of a stretch. I would expect more opposition, but I just wasn't hearing it on the ground in Rome. Okay, that's because I was surrounded by club executives who all like the idea, but equally I wasn't picking it up from Italian journalists. The vibe, the mood of the questions, it was all very much around the politics of it. Was UEFA going to do something about it? Was FIFA going to do something about it? I thought it was interesting that when Rabiot made his comments, he was soon slapped down by Serie A CEO Luigi DeServio, who said players need to be reminded sometimes they're paid to do a job. I can't imagine Richard Masters saying something that provocative to players, frankly. So we shall see.

[Dermot Corrigan]

I guess the fact that the game in Spain has been cancelled is going to make it more difficult for the Serie A game to go ahead. Kind of logically, like, it's not a great look. Serie A would have been delighted if the game happens in Miami. Everybody talks about that for a while and then they can kind of come in behind and you know, as James is saying there, San Siro is not available anyway, so Milan are looking for a place to play. You can kind of make that argument. But now that the players, and it looks as if the fans and the players process at least played a significant role in the game being changed, maybe the Italian players will show a bit more backbone now and come out and protest like the Spanish players did do. And that attitude from the Italian FA president is quite similar to Tebos attitude towards the Spanish players. And that got their backs up. So maybe again, a little bit more diplomacy from the president of the federation would probably help for him to be able to get his plans over the line.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah. One last thing before we move on from this and we've got to mention UEFA, Matt, who reluctantly conced, as James put it, we've not really mentioned them yet. How relieved do you think UEFA will be over the La Liga game being cancelled?

[Matt Slater]

Yeah, very. I think they've got themselves into a bit of a. A bit of a pickle, frankly. So UEFA have teamed up with Relevant as well. That is very, very interesting. They have dumped their old agency called Team, who they were with for 30 years. You could argue that maybe it was time to refresh that anyway. And UEFA and Relevant are now working together on the sale of all their club media rights around the world. They started just in North America and now they've given the lots of Relevant and, you know, Relevant have promised them, you know, a big 25, 30% uplift. They certainly did a good job with the last American deal. And I think we've all assumed UEFA choosing the agency best known for trying to bring games to the States. There's more than going on here than just TV rights now. They're all denying that. They're saying, no, no, that's not what it's about. But we also know that European football club's boss, Nasser El Khalifi, who's also the owner of Paris Saint Germain and runs beIN Media, one of UEFA's big media partners, does all the football basically all over the Middle East, North African region, has said on the record several times, maybe we should take games abroad. So you start putting these bits together. However, I think something has changed. People change their minds. I think Alexander Seferin, the UEFA president, I suspect he has changed his mind or he's sort of seeing the bigger picture, that, you know what, maybe the way we've been doing it for the last hundred years is the right way to do it and perhaps we should just leave it alone. So I think that's where UEFA is and the reason they were saying reluctantly is that I think they'd realized that the legal arguments in the States had made this really hard to stop. I do wonder if we do a pod in six months, a year or so's time, we're talking about this again and we are waiting for someone to be brave. I'm not saying it's right or wrong taking games abroad. I'm just saying that legally it looks really hard to stop.

[Dermot Corrigan]

Just on what you said there about how the pyramid has worked really well for football over the last, whatever hundred years. It's worked really well for UEFA especially, I would say. And they have had that challenge from the Super League that they seem to have headed off, and Sephren and El Khalifa are really important in heading that off and they're aware of how all the legal challenges that are still ongoing from the Super League about UEFA's position, they have to be very careful politically, maybe, whereas Tebes has pretty good control over La Liga and I'm not sure about the Serie A president, but he seems pretty secure in his position. Safran knows there's a lot of different stakeholders as the EU as well have been really important to keep UEFA in place at that whole idea that we, you know, we could do another couple of pods on about how UEFA are the the organizer of the competition and also commercializing the rights of the competition and the whether that's going to be sustainable into the long term.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Obviously we could talk about this all day, but we have to also talk about El Clasico, which is actually about the football. So let's touch on that next.

[Dermot Corrigan]

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[Athletic FC Podcast Host]

You're listening to the Athletic FC podcast with Ayo Akimolere, right?

[Ayo Akimolere]

Before we move on, I want to tell you about an exclusive interview we had with Liam Racinha, current head coach of RC Strasbourg in Ligue 1. We talked about everything from leadership facing PSG to representation in the game. Let's have a little listen.

[Matt Slater]

I really enjoy working with young players, but it's not about young or old people. Talk now about young or old managers and modern coaching. It's not about modern coaching. Coaching and management is 90% people skills. It's 10% football. It's more about the content of the character, the connection that you have with the individuals within the group and what you can maximize out of them. And that's at any level of football in any industry.

[Ayo Akimolere]

That lands this Sunday right here on the Athletic FC podcast. Make sure you hit the follow button wherever you listen to us so you don't miss out. Derma, let's get back to this show. Let's talk about El Clasico, because this weekend Barcelona head to Real Madrid. How much extra spice do you think this situation might add to what is naturally a spicy game anyway?

[Dermot Corrigan]

Yeah, for sure. Like the Glasgow doesn't really need that much exercise adding to it, but it is going to, especially between the presidents. I think it kind of showed the players were on the same wavelength that the Madrid players and the Barca players supported each other in this last weekend. Carvajal came out to protest about it. De Jong and Peggy were protesting about it at Barcelona. So they're on the same wavelength. But it definitely. A couple of years ago, Madrid and Barca had come together to a certain extent. Florentino and Laporta were together in the Super League. They have deals with similar commercial partners off the pitch as well. The different levers that the both clubs were pulling, they were kind of getting along, but that's been blown apart. Has been coming apart for a while. But with Laporta now being friends with Al Khalifi, that has pushed him away from Perez. I don't think Perez or the people are going into the Super League are pretty happy. We're happy to see that happening. So the atmosphere in the Palco, the VIP area at the weekend should be crispy, as people say in Spain, should be pretty crispy.

[Ayo Akimolere]

I mean, how relevant, excuse the pun, but, like, how relevant is it that they're both meeting this weekend, Matt? You know, and also, I'm just thinking about, just in general, and it's a point we were thinking about when we were trying to come up with what we were doing today on today's pod. Is that how relevant is El Clasico in the modern day compared to perhaps maybe a decade ago?

[Matt Slater]

You know, the football fixture computer never lets us down right in terms of narratives and timings of these things. So, you know, well, well done again, in terms of this game's appeal, no question. But it does feel smaller to me, a neutral, than it did, let's say, a decade ago when the height of Messi versus Ronaldo. Those games were huge, you know, Mourinho, et cetera, et cetera. There was that famous season I can't remember the season. I'm on the wrong part. I know. Was it 2012 ish where there were.

[Dermot Corrigan]

Four and of 2011 12, the four classicos in 18 days?

[Matt Slater]

Yeah, there you go. That was the pinnacle. That was as good as football got. That was football at its very best. It's hard to sustain that level, isn't it? It's hard. Is it ticked down a little bit below that? Yeah. Probably globally. Is the Premier League where it's at? It certainly feels that way. I look at the team sheets for any Barcelo game and it still looks astounding to me. You know, Real Madrid keep winning champions leagues. Barca again have got this incredible young team again. So look, there's no mourning required here for. For Barca and Real. I know that Barca are a bit of a shambles financially, but they stumble on, right. They keep producing amazing players and Real get a lot right. I mean, I know they can be a bit tough to love for a neutral. There's certainly a lot to admire. I think this thing about La Liga and Tebas and his awareness. He's right about a lot of stuff. Barca and Real are his greatest assets, but equally they have damaged the Spanish League over years compared to the Premier League. The Premier League, USP is this perception, this. It is a bit of an illusion at times of competitive balance. You know, we have six, maybe seven, eight big teams and there is a kind of any given Sunday type vibe that a Bournemouth or a Fulham or a Palace can bloody the nose of anyone. Right. And that it's true enough. Leicester City did happen. Crystal palace can beat teams up and that's not the case, I'm afraid, elsewhere, particularly I think in La Liga where it is a two and a half horse race. And I think that does. It has hurt La Liga as a product to neutrals around the world. They still love Barca, they still love Real, they love the big stars. But do they care that much about La Liga? I'm not sure they do.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah. Just to pick up on what Matt said and just to wrap things up, Therma, you know, is this the biggest problem with La Liga? You look at Barc, Barcelona, Real Madrid being so strong and then you look at someone like Atletico Madrid, who are always in the Champions League for some reason have won La Liga before. But realistically, it's really a two horse race. There's not much jeopardy, is there?

[Dermot Corrigan]

Yeah, it's hard to argue with that. Going back to Mourinho and Guardiola when they were in Charge. They used to get 100 points a season. Nobody's got 100 points since. They still get like 80, 90 points or high 80s, low 90s is usually what wins the league each year. For Atletico to have a chance to win the league, they need both Barca and Madrid to have have a poor season, which has happened twice during Simeone's 15 years. And nobody else at the start of the season like Atletic Bilbao or Villarreal, who are in the Champions League this season, are really happy to who have got there, but they're not going into the competition thinking, you know, we've a realistic chance of winning it. When Villarreal got to the semifinals with Unai Emery a few years ago, that was a tremendous achievement. And they don't start La Liga season thinking that we have a decent chance of winning La Liga. Atletico are happy enough to finish third. Simeone always denies that, but. But I think the people behind the scenes at the club, if they can finish third, make sure they're into the Champions League and secure that money for the next season. Simeone's job is safe for sure. Then there's a fight to get to finish fourth in the table. And, you know, it was Girona a couple of years ago who had the city money behind them that helped them to get it. There's always that spot there for a club who can overachieve a little bit. Teams like Valencia and Sevilla, who used to be really strong and have, you know, Valencia got to Champions League finals. Sevilla won so many Europa League final. Once they dropped out of Europe, their budget falls dramatically and they still have the contracts for the players, so their wages and their costs are still the same, but their budget drops, and that's hit them both really hard. And they're both struggling down the bottom half of La Liga recently. So, yeah, it's a problem for Spanish football. What Tebes has done is people have to pay their bills on time, which didn't always happen in Spain before. And it means that players get paid. It means clubs aren't going bankrupt, really, but it makes it harder for investors to come in. You know, if the Saudi PIF wanted to buy Malaga and. And bring them up the table, it's harder. It's harder to do that in Spain than it is in the Premier League. While Barcelona Madrid have that huge commercial power, they still have that allure as well to bring players. You know, Bellingham could go to the Premier League, but he wants to come to Spain. Madrid are able to get Mbappe on a free transfer even if they have a huge signing fee, they will get Trent, Alexander, Arnold to to come and play for them. Rashford I guess didn't have that as many options in England, but he was still really, really happy to come and play for Barcelona. People like Frankie De Jong, Pedri Lamin, there's no sign of them being tempted away to go to the Premier League, even though they could probably make more money there. So there is a Barca Madrid have those intangibles and they hopefully will always have that which will enable them to compete. But Tebbett says as well, England's just a bigger country, richer country than Spain. The pay TV in Spain is quite expensive for most people, so a lot of people don't have it. Tepes is always fighting against piracy, but Spanchable just doesn't generate as much money as Eng. Neither does Italian football or French football or German football. So we're up against it here in Europe against the Premier League's behemoth.

[Ayo Akimolere]

All right, let's finish it there. Matt Dermot, appreciate your time and also James, for your voice note a little early and also thank you guys for listening. Matt Davies Adams is with you tomorrow with the preview. We'll catch you next time.

[Athletic FC Podcast Host]

You've been listening to the Athletic FC Podcast. The producers are Guy Clark, Mike Stabre and Jay Beale. Executive producers are Abby, Patsy and Adie Moorhead. To listen to other great athletic podcasts for free, including our dedicated club shows, search for the Athletic on Apple, Spotify and all the usual places. You'll also find us on YouTube at the Athletic FC Podcast, so make sure you subscribe. The Athletic FC Podcast is an Athletic media company production.

[Matt Slater]

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[Dermot Corrigan]

You look the same.

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But with this camera, everything looks better. Especially me.

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