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Barcelona and Real Madrid have been working for several weeks to organise a Clasico friendly match in the United States this summer, sources have told ESPN.
Barcelona are aware Las Vegas and Los Angeles are interested in hosting them and The Washington Post have previously reported that a game between the Spanish giants could be the first sporting event at Allegiant Stadium, the future home of the NFL’s Raiders franchise.
Barca and Madrid have taken part in previous editions of the International Champions Cup in the United States and faced each other in 2017, when a crowd of 66,014 watched a 3-2 win for Barca in Miami.
When contacted by ESPN, a spokesman for ICC organisers Relevent would only say that the schedule for this year’s event has not been finalised.
Sources have told ESPN there is still work to be done before confirming the game, due to the tight window between the end of the European Championship and Copa America taking place on July 12 and the start of the Spanish season. Although no date is yet confirmed for the 2020-21 season, the 2019-20 campaign began on Aug. 16.
Footballers in Spain are entitled to a month’s holiday following an international tournament, therefore those who have been selected for their national teams will have 30 days of rest following participation in the Euros and Copa America.
Barca plan to do the majority of preparation in Europe, playing two or three friendlies, but do not want to miss the opportunity to meet Madrid in America. There is a desire to avoid a repeat of last year’s poor preseason, which saw Lionel Messi miss the U.S. leg through injury and led to a slow start in La Liga.
Madrid have been travelling to the U.S. during preseason for some time. Former manager Jose Mourinho regularly took the club to California and successors including Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and Julen Lopetegui have continued the trend.
ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle contributed to this report.