<p>Atletico Madrid President Enrique Cerezo recently said that <em>Los Colchoneros </em>have <a href="https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/atletico-madrid/20241023/1002339070/cerezo-mostro-abierto-barca-atleti-miami.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreed to play Barcelona</a> in Miami this December. Given the potential implications of La Liga games in the USA, we asked former Real Madrid footballer Steve McManaman about the idea of La Liga matches being played abroad.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>“It doesn’t surprise me at all [about the news of Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid possibly moving to Miami],” McManaman told <em>World Soccer Talk</em>.&nbsp;“Javier Tebas is always on the front foot when it comes to making revenue. If he thinks he can make revenue by moving a match to America, he will do it.”</p>



<p>When asked whether a <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/el-clasico-on-usa-tv-streaming-real-madrid-vs-barcelona/">Real Madrid vs. Barcelona</a> league match could be played in the US, ESPN co-commentator McManaman said, “I think it could be.” It all comes down to who will be willing to give up their home match though, he said.</p>



<p>“I will be very surprised in the near future if Real Madrid agree to concede a home game,” ‘Macca’ explained. In his eyes, <em>Los Blancos </em>make too much money playing at the Santiago Bernabéu. Conflicts with Tebas and Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez are also an issue, says McManaman.</p>



<p>On the other hand, Barcelona, with their financial issues, and Atletico Madrid –who have smaller matchday revenue and a smaller global brand than Barcelona and Real Madrid – are perfect teams to bring abroad.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Whichever teams end up going, McManaman is confident that La Liga matches will be played in the US someday.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“The market is there, the money is there, and many fans can’t afford to go to Spain. If you can bring the team to them and you can bring a good crowd and good revenue, La Liga will do it.”</p>



<p>For the sake of everything that makes La Liga and European soccer great, let’s hope McManaman is wrong.&nbsp;</p>



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<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Barcelona&apos;s La Liga home match against Atletico Madrid could take place in Miami" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cCjjcIn-ehA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
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<h2>Another step in a worrying trend</h2>



<p>La Liga matches abroad would give potentially hundreds of thousands of fans in the US and other countries a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity to see Barcelona, Real Madrid, and other La Liga clubs play in person.&nbsp;</p>



<p>More importantly for La Liga and its clubs, fans are willing to pay a fortune to go to these matches. Games abroad would mean a massive payday for La Liga clubs.</p>



<p>Barcelona could <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/6-5-million-reasons-for-barcelona-to-play-atletico-game-in-usa/">earn up to $6.5 million</a> from a match in Miami this December. Other clubs would earn less, but it still would be more than a typical match. This is especially true if a team is technically the away side. There’s the money clubs could earn from attracting new fans from these matches. Foreign fans, especially fans in the US, tend to spend more than local ones. </p>



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<h2>Pros and cons of La Liga games in USA</h2>



<p>As good as this all sounds for La Liga, there are also significant downsides to moving La Liga matches abroad.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To start, moving a match to the US means robbing a game from local fans. In an era of increased globalization, home matches are one of the few things that still connect historic clubs to the communities that allowed them to become what they are today.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Moving matches abroad isn’t just taking one game away; It’s eroding the very thing that makes soccer clubs unique and the reason why fans support them as passionately as they do.&nbsp;</p>



<p>La Liga moving matches abroad would be a slap in the face to local fans in Spain. It could also open the floodgates for other leagues to the same. The Premier League has already teased a “39th match” idea where clubs would play one extra game after the season outside of the UK. Thankfully, the Premier League killed these plans shortly after they created them.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A trend of league matches outside of their home countries could also pave the way for things like the Super League. After all, if the clubs show that they are willing to degrade the importance of their national leagues by moving matches abroad, who’s to say they wouldn’t agree to join a more profitable competition at the expense of their leagues?&nbsp;</p>



<p>LaLiga games abroad are not a good deal for LaLiga and its clubs. Let’s hope that FIFA and the RFEF make the right call and block La Liga’s plans.</p>



<p><em>Photo: IMAGO / Uwe Kraft</em>.</p>

Steve McManaman: 'La Liga will bring games to the USA'

Are La Liga games USA-bound? ESPN co-commentator Steve McManaman believes that if anyone can do it, it's Spain's La Liga.

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<p>More news seems to be filtering through over the continued rumours that Setanta Sports are in financial difficulty here in the UK and are desperately trying to find some finance to help them through after they only won one of the six Premier League Packages for the next deal that starts in 2010. A desperate attempt at going to the Premier League, OFCOM and the European Commission arguing that bidding less for the Monday night packages than Sky and therefore not winning them is unfair. No really.</p>
<p>Yet here in UK, you’ve got take these stories with a pinch of salt, due to the massive media influence that Sky have, sharing an owner with two of the UK’s biggest Newspapers, The Sun and The Times. It wouldn’t take much co-ordination to orchestrate a collective campaign to create worrying speculation over Sky’s rival, yet it’s a story that has dogged them for a while and not just from Sky’s media bedfellows.</p>
<p>With a major investment in British football, with deals for both the English and Scottish Premierships, England matches and the F.A. Cup, Setanta is a major investor in the sport but is now apparently trying to re-negotiate it’s deal with the Scottish Premiership down from £125 million to £100 million. It’s also said to be in talks with the PGA to do the same with its American golf coverage.</p>
<p>Personally, I think it’s done a pretty good job for a new player in the game, though its roster of analysts and presenters could do with an overhaul. Steve McManaman is an unusual choice as the main pundit, Craig Burley a poor commentator. Yes, I have to pay £13 a month more for football, but I love football and not just from England.It gives me German, French, Portuguese, Scottish and Dutch football every week, its preseason friendly coverage is fantastic in its depth and breadth but it is a distant third for quality behind Sky and the undisputed kings, the BBC. I like watching football from all over Europe and Setanta gives me a choice I never had previously apart from the awful Eurogoals on dreadfully inept Eurosport.</p>
<p>One memorial episode featured no commentary for 25 minutes until the noise of someone rushing through the door, slamming it shut and breathing heavily for two minutes before beginning to speak will live long in the mind. Every week the commentator clearly hadn’t seen the footage and was flying by the seat of their pants. It never started on time, it was either early or late but never at the advertised time.It was easily the most infuriating football show on television.</p>
<p>The argument that Setanta feels unfairly done to though just doesn’t hold water. It misread the market and believed that with the last deal, the TV rights market had peaked. They were wrong and under bid by 20% of the deal they went with in 2007, Sky bid more and won it. They didn’t want the Saturday evening game rights as they consistently get the lowest figures of all football shown here in the UK on digital TV. Setanta went for them and won.</p>
<p>They made a massive error of judgement and already under subscribed by the 500,000 viewers it needs to reach it’s break even figure of 1.9 million subscribers, now faces a real prospect of people leaving their service. If Setanta do fail, the Premier League would lose around £159 million in revenue over a 3 year period, which would see each Premier League club lose around 2.7 million per season. It would be doubtful that the BBC or even ITV wouldn’t find the money from somewhere to come up with a suitable replacement.The FA on the other hand have a fallback position with ITV who will have to pay an extra £20 million for the England games if Setanta can’t show them. The FA Cup coverage is another matter.</p>
<p>My only experience of Setanta abroad is when I holidayed in the States and watched Sky’s coverage with Setanta logo on. So would we really miss them that much apart from James Richardson, Rebecca Lowe and Special One TV?</p>


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Steve McManaman: 'La Liga will bring games to the USA'

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Just How Much Trouble Are Setanta In?