REAL MADRID and Barcelona have lined up a ‘friendly’ in Miami next summer.
The unprecedented fixture was confirmed on social media by ESPN Deportes show ‘Jorge Ramos y su Banda’.
The two rivals are constantly battling with both each other and the Premier League’s top sides for their share of the American market, and tickets for the first ever El Clasico played outside Spain would almost certainly be like gold dust in the US.
Miami is likely to have been chosen as the venue for the match due to its football-mad Hispanic population.
Over 70 per cent of people in the city speak Spanish as their first language.
And David Beckham is set to launch an MLS franchise in Miami in 2019.
In 2015, La Liga president Javier Tebas ruled out ever playing an El Clasico overseas.
He said: “El Clasico will never be played outside of Spain.
“It’s a key game in our league competition and has huge international prestige.
“We’ll study the possibility of playing certain games outside of Spain but at present this initiative doesn’t form part of our international expansion plans.”
But Tebas’ statement only applies to league matches, with La Liga having no authority over friendlies.
If the fixture does go ahead, it is almost certain that ESPN would have television rights, but there is a question over which stars would be available to play.
Barcelona would have a full squad at their disposal, meaning the US audience would almost certainly get to see Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in action.
But Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Toni Kroos are set to play in the Confederations Cup in Russia throughout June, with the tournament finishing on July 2.
Just a week ago, fierce Argentine rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate met in a pre-season fixture that was anything but friendly.
