La Liga’s plan to stage the Villarreal vs Barcelona match overseas has officially been scrapped after the organising vendor decided to pull out of the deal following widespread criticism in Spain.
While the idea faced significant backlash from fans, clubs, and political figures, its cancellation has dealt a financial setback not only to La Liga but also to Villarreal and Barcelona.
For the Catalan club, the overseas fixture was seen as an opportunity to generate much-needed revenue amid their ongoing financial struggles.
Club president Joan Laporta had recently confirmed as much, admitting that the game could have offered a valuable financial boost.
“We don’t know how much we’ll earn from the Miami game. We don’t have all the information from LaLiga.
“But there will be revenue, for sure, and it will make up for what we won’t have at the Estadi Johan Cruyff,” Laporta said last week.
How much money was on the line?
Joan Laporta, FC Barcelona president
Barcelona will now miss out on the financial benefits. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)
According to a report from AS, Barcelona had projected earnings between €5 and €6 million from the match, money that would have gone towards easing some of their short-term financial pressures.
Now, that expected amount has disappeared entirely. While not catastrophic, it still represents a blow to a club that continues to walk a tightrope with its finances.
The decision by Relevent to cancel the Miami game reportedly caught Barcelona off guard. However, unlike Villarreal, who had been preparing extensively for the trip, Barcelona took a more measured tone.
The club accepted the decision respectfully but did not hide their disappointment, commenting that it is a “missed opportunity to expand the competition’s image in a strategic market.”
With the club continuing to rebuild both on and off the pitch, losing out on even a few million euros is a reminder of how fragile Barcelona’s economic recovery remains, and how every source of income still matters in their ongoing effort to stabilise the project.