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Is LaLiga’s American dream over? Why Barça vs. Villarreal in Miami was canceled
Less than two weeks after LaLiga announced it would stage its first-ever regular-season match outside of Spain, with champions Barcelona taking on Villarreal at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Dec. 20, it confirmed on Tuesday that the game was off.
Oct. 21 was meant to be when the presale window opened for match tickets, but instead there came a statement on social media that this had been delayed. That was followed a few hours later by confirmation form LaLiga that the game would not go ahead. It was the latest in a long line of setbacks for the league in its attempts to host a competitive fixture on foreign soil, but certainly the most chastening and high profile.
While top European clubs playing matches against each other abroad is nothing new — with heavyweight clashes on preseason tours and even Super Cup matches now annual events across the globe — so far they have yet to follow the lead of U.S. sports leagues like the NFL and NBA in staging regular-season league fixtures beyond their own borders.
LaLiga’s aborted scheduling of Barcelona vs. Villarreal in Miami was as close as any of Europe’s top leagues have gotten to taking their show on the road. So why did it fall through? Will LaLiga and other leagues keep trying? And why are Real Madrid among the big winners? ESPN’s Alex Kirkland, Sam Marsden and Lizzy Becherano explain what happened and what comes next.
– Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: Stream El Clásico LIVE 10/26 on ESPN+ (U.S.)
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LaLiga announced on Oct. 8 that the Miami game was going ahead. How much time and effort did it take to get them to that point?
LaLiga first announced formal plans to hold a regular-season game in the U.S. back in 2018, when it signed a 15-year partnership with Relevent to promote and grow the league in North America. The first failed bid involved Girona vs. Barcelona in January 2019; since then, there have been multiple attempts, including with Villarreal vs. Atlético Madrid in February 2020, and Barça vs. Atlético in December 2024. But it had never gotten as close as this.
Previously, opposition from world governing body FIFA, the Spanish football federation (RFEF), and U.S. Soccer was a major roadblock. But that vanished following Relevent’s successful lawsuits against FIFA and U.S. Soccer, and a post-Luis Rubiales change of leadership at the RFEF led to relations thawing with LaLiga. That left a potentially viable path to making the game happen.
One big hurdle was cleared in August, when the RFEF agreed to pass the Miami game request on to UEFA; then, on Oct. 6, European football’s governing body “reluctantly” approved it, citing issues with FIFA’s under-review rules on the subject. A source told ESPN that U.S. Soccer approved the match being hosted in the United States, while regional confederation Concacaf received a request from the RFEF on Oct. 9 for the match to be played on its territory. As of Tuesday, Concacaf was still deliberating on that request, but LaLiga had long since announced that the game would be going ahead, despite widespread opposition and a lack of clarity from Spain’s sports ministry (CSD).
And now, two weeks later, it’s off. What changed?
Opposition to the project had become more visible, more vocal and more organized in recent weeks. Real Madrid’s stance was no surprise — they said in August they would do what they could to block the plans, asking FIFA, UEFA and the CSD to step in — and in any case they are at odds with LaLiga on a long list of issues ranging from referees and match officials to the club’s continued push for a European Super League.
But in recent days senior players such as Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois have spoken out against the game, with Courtois saying it would “totally affect the integrity of the competition” by unbalancing the format of every team playing each other once at home and once away over the course of the season. Meanwhile, coach Xabi Alonso said: “We’re against the game, because we believe it influences the competition. There isn’t unanimity among all the participating clubs. We haven’t been consulted.” Even Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and coach Hansi Flick said they didn’t like the idea.
Last weekend’s leaguewide protest, when players paused for the opening 15 seconds of their matches, was organized by club captains and the players’ union AFE. It was an attention-grabbing initiative “to denounce the lack of transparency, dialogue and coherence of LaLiga regarding the possibility of playing a game in the United States.” and it got even more coverage thanks to match broadcasts on the league’s world television feed cutting to exterior shots as the players made their demonstration.
Beyond those dissenting voices, which could possibly have been ignored, there was also the “uncertainty” cited in LaLiga and Relevent’s respective statements. There was the threat of legal action from Real Madrid, and the fact that the CSD — susceptible to political pressure — was yet to formally pronounce on the issue.
There were other minor issues, brushed off by LaLiga sources to ESPN as not being significant, but factors that were cumulatively enough to sow more seeds of doubt. After receiving the application to host a game in the U.S. from the RFEF, Concacaf began to consult key regional and global stakeholders. During the review process, the confederation went to the RFEF with a list of questions before receiving heavy pushback on a variety of topics, including a FIFA rule that pertains to the refereeing for the match, a source told ESPN.
FIFA regulations state: “The host Confederation and FIFA may replace the proposed appointed referees at its sole discretion. Once authorization has been granted, the host Confederation shall notify the host Member, FIFA and the non-host Confederation(s).” Concacaf questioned the RFEF on how officials would approach the officiating of the match, insisting that the confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean be in charge of appointing the referees for the game. A source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN that the RFEF did not agree with the policy. Still, despite pushback from the RFEF, Concacaf had neither approved nor denied the request made to host a game in the United States.
There was also the possibility of a congested schedule at Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins play an NFL game on Dec. 21, and there is also the chance that the University of Miami will have a game there in the first round of the College Football Playoff, due to take place on Dec. 20. However, while the packed schedule would not have been ideal for the parties involved, stadium sources told ESPN they were confident that the field would be able to accommodate all events.
Therefore, the full picture isn’t yet clear, but with just two months to go, the clock was ticking — “there is insufficient time to properly execute an event of this scale,” Relevent said on Tuesday — and with so many questions still unanswered, organizers couldn’t risk putting tickets on sale this week, only to later suffer what would have been an even more embarrassing retreat.
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Atletico Madrid and Osasuna protest against Miami game
Atletico Madrid and Osasuna’s players stand still after the kick-off whistle in protest against the Villarreal vs. Barcelona game in Miami.
Was anyone actually in favor of this game, besides the organizers and the clubs involved?
Good question. Of course, LaLiga, Relevent and the two clubs were in favor, but there was very little public support from elsewhere. UEFA’s statement spoke of being opposed to domestic games being played abroad, but effectively suggested its hands were tied until it is able to make changes to the regulations. Once UEFA had “reluctantly” approved the game, a source told ESPN that FIFA would not step in to override the decision, suggesting it was one which had to be taken by European football’s governing body. However, according to a source, U.S. Soccer approved the match being hosted in the United States, while Concacaf had not yet turned it down.
All that said, the general opposition to taking the game outside of Spain was quite weak. Even the AFE’s public statements focused on the desire for more information to be made available from LaLiga. They demanded confirmation that the players’ working rights would be respected.
“We were neither for nor against the game being played [in Miami],” Atlético Madrid’s Koke said on Tuesday. “We were asking for transparency.” The AFE president, David Aganzo, had suggested taking the issue to politicians and the CSD, but the general feeling was he had not gone as hard as he could.
Who are the biggest winners and losers here?
Real Madrid have come out of this very well. They will feel their public stance on competitive integrity has been vindicated, and chalk this up as a significant win in their battles for power and influence with LaLiga and its president, Javier Tebas. It’s also a victory for many players, fans and pundits who opposed the Miami game on fairness grounds — with genuine concerns about the integrity of the home/away format being permanently compromised — and those who worried about the longer-term implications for local, match-going fans.
As for losers: the big ones are LaLiga and Tebas, having pushed so hard this time, at the fourth attempt, and lost credibility with this latest withdrawal. It’s not great news for Villarreal either, who took a risk — alienating some fans — with their acceptance of the plan. Ultimately, they were rewarded with nothing in return. They are deeply unhappy with how this was handled, using a club statement to declare their “deep displeasure with LaLiga” over their poor of the match. Barça, meanwhile, miss out on a payday that club president Joan Laporta had said on Sunday would “make up for having to play two games at the Estadi Johan Cruyff,” earlier this season, when having to play at a 6,000-capacity stadium severely dented their matchday revenue while the renovation of their Camp Nou home continues.
And what about the fans? Whether they are winners or losers here may depend on what side of the Atlantic they are on. Barça say they “regret deeply that U.S.-based supporters are denied the opportunity to see an official game in their country.” However, for Villarreal fans, and especially season-ticker holders, it means one of their two biggest home games of the season (the other being Madrid’s visit) is now back at the Estadio de la Cerámica. There were plans in place for supporters to travel to Miami, and for others to be compensated for the loss of a home fixture, but the overriding feeling will be of relief at being able to see their team tackle the Spanish champions on home soil.
Is this the end of the matter? What will it take now for the game to happen?
If we focus on what we know at this early stage, it’s unlikely to be the end of LaLiga’s plans to take a game abroad. Firstly, Tebas has spoken many times about this being a multiyear project. It has failed four times now and he was more fuming than ever after this latest failure. Posting on social media, he made not-so-subtle references to Madrid and the AFE, two of the biggest critics of the proposals.
Tebas wrote, without explicitly naming Madrid: “The ‘integrity of the competition’ argument is invoked by those who have been questioning that same integrity for years, pressuring referees and leaders, constructing distorted narratives, or using political and media pressure as a sporting tool.” His line about others “being drawn into debates about information that was already addressed in 2018 was just an excuse to kill the project” was a nod to the AFE’s demonstrations. “We will keep trying,” he signed off. “This time, we came very close.”
Relevent’s statement, meanwhile, suggests that, in addition to the friction in Spain, the lack of time left to organize the game was a significant hurdle. That can be fixed next time quite easily with better planning.
Dig a little deeper, though, and it’s worth wondering what the consequences of this latest setback will be. Villarreal are especially unhappy with how everything has played out. Coach Marcelino García Toral said it was “disrespectful” how the official announcement was made during his side’s UEFA Champions League defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday. Sources at the club bemoaned the management of the game from start to finish, saying they never got a straight answer about anything.
It begs the question: Would Villarreal be prepared to sign up for another game in the U.S.? And what will other clubs looking in from the outside be thinking? There had already been confusion this week when Barça president Laporta said the club would receive a payment for the Miami game, in contrast to his counterpart at Villarreal, Fernando Roig Negueroles, who had said the opposite. It will leave the other clubs with plenty of questions should LaLiga ask them to move a fixture abroad in the future. What’s really in it for them?
Meanwhile, the issue cannot be parked due to the cancellation of the LaLiga game; Italy’s Serie A is planning to play a match between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, in February.
A working group set up by FIFA is expected to announce recommendations to rule changes regarding the governing of international matches in the coming months. The working group includes representatives from member associations, confederations, European Football Clubs (EFC) and global players’ union FIFPRO, among others. LaLiga will be attentive to any rulings which could make or break their plans moving forward.
Defending champions Lahore Qalandars secured a commanding 69-run victory over Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) opener, powered by Fakhar Zaman’s fluent fifty and a disciplined bowling performance at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Set to chase a daunting 200-run target in their maiden PSL appearance, the Kingsmen’s batting unit faltered and could accumulate 130 before getting bowled out in 20 overs.
Captain Marnus Labuschagne remained the top-scorer for the Kingsmen with a cautious 26 off 22 deliveries, followed by No.9 batter Riley Meredith, who made an unbeaten 19 off 25 deliveries.
Besides them, opener Saim Ayub (17), experienced all-rounder Hammad Azam, and tailender Mohammad Ali, 10 each, were the only other batters to amass double figures.
For the Qalandars, Haris Rauf, Sikandar Raza and Ubaid Shah bagged two wickets each, while Mustafizur Rahman and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s decision to bat first paid dividends as the holders racked up 199/6 in their 20 overs despite a brief top-order collapse.
The three-time champions made a flamboyant start to their innings, courtesy of an 84-run partnership between their openers, Fakhar and Mohammad Naeem.
The crucial partnership was eventually broken by Hassan Khan on the second delivery of the ninth over when he got Naeem caught at long-on by Rizwan Mehmood. The right-handed opener walked back after scoring a 19-ball 30, comprising four fours and a six.
Qalandars then lost two more wickets in the next two overs as top-order batter Abdullah Shafique (four) got run out, while Fakhar fell victim to Hassan shortly after bringing up his half-century.
The left-handed opener remained the top-scorer for the Qalandars with 53 off 39 deliveries, studded with nine fours.
Following the back-to-back setbacks, Haseebullah Khan and Parvez Hossain Emon (14) put together an anchoring 37-run partnership for the fourth wicket, which culminated with the latter’s dismissal in the 16th over.
Haseebullah was then involved in a brisk 45-run partnership with all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who played a quickfire 24-run cameo off just 10 deliveries, featuring two sixes and as many fours.
The wicketkeeper batter remained unbeaten with a 28-ball 40, while Asif Ali and captain Shaheen made handy contributions at the backend, scoring nine and 12 not out, respectively.
For the Kingsmen, Riley Meredith and Hassan picked up two wickets each, while Mohammad Ali made one scalp.
MORGAN PRICE STANDS at the kitchen table next to older sister Frankie, trailing her fingertips over the front panel of a well-worn leather vest. The faded, black material is dotted with colorful patches that offer a glimpse at the life of its owner: their father, Chris.
“I mean, shoot, this was the real him,” Morgan said after spotting a particularly playful patch, which read Bad Ass Brother. Seconds later, Frankie swallows a laugh as she finds another.
Chris Price played for the Kansas City Royals in the late 1990s. But when the sisters reach for memories of their dad, he’s often driving off on one of his custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Morgan remembers watching from the laundry room. Frankie is closer, in the garage.
“He would always look back and wave and have the biggest smile on his face,” she said.
But both agree the roaring rumble of the exhaust is a sound they’ll never forget. It punctuates one of the few memories the Prices have of their dad, who died after a 2009 motorcycle accident at age 36. Frankie was 6 years old, Morgan was 4, and their sister Kristin, 2.
Frankie and Morgan say it took several years before they truly understood the impact of the loss. By then, gymnastics had become the outlet through which they honored their father’s memory.
“Chris was very much behind that,” Marsha Price said of the girls’ interest in the sport, “making sure that every day it was, ‘What are you going to do to be better tomorrow?'”
The mantra is a lodestar, left by Chris for his daughters.
“My ‘why’ is representing my last name,” said Frankie, who spent the last four years overcoming injuries and honing her resilience as an Arkansas Razorback. Morgan, meanwhile, repeatedly made history in her three years with Fisk University, which launched the first HBCU gymnastics team in 2023.
But at the end of last season, the sisters came to a crossroads. With a final year of college eligibility left, they each questioned whether or where to spend it.
Individual reflection ultimately led them to the same place: Frankie and Morgan would finish their careers together in Fayetteville.
“We hold it with a lot of pride to be a Price Girl,” Morgan said.
IT’S NINE HOURS before Arkansas’ home meet against fellow SEC foe Kentucky. The Gymbacks warm up on the floor of an empty Bud Walton Arena, sliding over foam rollers as a group before breaking off to perform their own pre-meet rituals.
Frankie heads to a corner of the floor where she will later begin her routine for thousands of Arkansas faithful. For now, she only marks the moves. But her eyes hold an intensity that helps bring to mind the iconic notes of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode,” featuring Snoop Dogg — a song that has been part of Frankie’s floor routines her entire Razorbacks career.
“I am Frank Dogg,” she said. “Like, I got that dog in me, you know what I mean?”
Frankie Price’s @SnoopDogg floor routine never disappoints 🤩 @RazorbackGym pic.twitter.com/LEyDt00pLh
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 25, 2025
Frankie verbally committed to Arkansas at age 14. She spent high school dreaming of her collegiate debut. But in 2021, just before arriving on campus, she tore her ACL. The 18-month-long recovery process meant she would have to redshirt her freshman season, putting off competition for yet another year.
When she finally entered the Razorbacks vault and floor lineups — with a brace on her right knee, worn ever since — she brought big skills, and an even bigger personality.
“Frankie has this way of just captivating fans and captivating people, even her teammates,” said head coach Jordyn Wieber, who has spent the past seven seasons building Arkansas into a top-10 program. And Frankie has helped make it happen.
In 2023, during her redshirt freshman season, Frankie became the fourth Razorbacks gymnast to tally a 9.975 on floor, good for Arkansas’ highest score since 2014. The following year, she helped Arkansas earn its first 198-plus team score in program history, as well as a spot in the NCAA championship.
Last season, the Gymbacks were in pursuit of a repeat championship appearance. They had already qualified for the regional final when Frankie took the floor in the last routine of the last rotation. But at the end of her first pass, she landed her double layout short and immediately collapsed.
“It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life,” she said.
Frankie was carried off the floor, later learning she had ruptured her Achilles tendon. Two days later, she cheered from the sideline as Arkansas competed in the regional final — “for Frankie,” Wieber said after the injury. But the Razorbacks finished in the fourth spot, failing to progress to the national championship.
A few weeks later, Frankie, then a senior, found herself in Wieber’s office. “What do you think about one more year?” her coach asked.
“After my injuries that I’ve been through, I had to just kind of take a step back and focus on my ‘why,'” Frankie said. “My ‘why’ is representing my last name. And that goes back to my dad, because I know that he would want me to push through the hard times and do what I can to represent being a Price Girl.”
The answer to Wieber’s question was simple. She would return to Arkansas to spend her fifth and final season as a Gymback.
IT’S THREE HOURS before the meet begins, and the Razorbacks have returned to the arena floor.
This time, however, the subdued mood of the morning has given way to a lighter energy, as teammates pose for photos and recruit each other to record TikToks.
Amid the activity, Morgan pulls Frankie aside for pictures. For a few moments, they stand hip to hip, an arm around the other’s waist, before breaking off once again.
“If you walked in the gym, you wouldn’t be able to tell they’re sisters,” Wieber said, “because in the gym, they’re teammates.”
The separation is subtle. Yet the Price Girls know each has been destined to chart their own path.
In 2021, shortly after Frankie began her freshman year, Morgan also committed to Arkansas. She says her sister did not factor into her decision, citing instead an excitement to be part of a growing program. The following year, however, Fisk announced it was launching a gymnastics team. Morgan saw this as an even greater opportunity to contribute. She decommitted to Arkansas in favor of Fisk.
“I knew that the decision that I was making was bigger than just gymnastics,” she said.
By becoming a Bulldog, Morgan was making history. In 2024, as a sophomore, she won the all-around title at the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitation Championship (then known as the USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships), an end-of-season tournament for limited-scholarship teams. And in 2025, she became the first HBCU gymnast to score a perfect 10.0, before taking home a second WCGNIC all-around title.
After climbing to such heights, she couldn’t help but hear the echoes of her father’s ethos.
“I know my dad would want me to strive to be the best,” she said. “I set and reached all my goals that I wanted to at Fisk, and so I was like, ‘You know what? For my last year, I really want to challenge myself.'”
Several weeks after Wieber asked Frankie about another season in Fayetteville, the head coach received a similar question from her sister.
Morgan says she never forgot how supportive Wieber was of her decision to attend Fisk.
“She cares about us as a person first, and then an athlete,” Morgan said. So Morgan decided to reach out and see how the Razorbacks staff would receive a second commitment. “They were just super excited, fully open arms, and so I knew it was the right decision.”
Morgan would transfer to Arkansas to spend her fourth and final season as a Gymback. In May, the sisters shared the news on social media with a photo in which they stood back-to-back, arms crossed and faces focused. It would be the first of many they’d take in matching cardinal leotards. The following month, Fisk announced it was discontinuing its gymnastics program after the 2026 season, a move that shocked members of the inaugural team.
“I think the fact that we’re able to be together, train together, live together, go through our last year of college together,” Frankie said, “is just a great chance for us to bond even more and just stay connected through life.”
IN THE MINUTES before the meet begins, many of the Gymbacks have already taken the floor, their silhouettes outlined by roving spotlights and the jumbotron’s gentle glow. The voice of the PA announcer fills the darkened arena as he begins to name Arkansas’ upperclassmen.
When Morgan, then Frankie, is introduced, they each take a turn atop the podium in the center of the floor, waving back at the swell of cheers.
“They just carry this swagger about them.” Wieber said. “When we walk into an arena with Frankie and Morgan on our team, that gives the whole program, the whole team, just an extra level of confidence.”
This couldn’t have been more evident in Arkansas’ performance against Kentucky. The Razorbacks began on vault, Morgan in the anchor position. With Frankie, Marsha and Kristin cheering her on, Morgan executed a flawless Yurchenko 1.5, scoring the first perfect 10.0 in Arkansas history. Seconds after the score was announced, Frankie wrapped Morgan in an embrace.
THE FIRST PERFECT 10 IN ARKANSAS HISTORY ON VAULT GOES TO MORGAN PRICE‼️🔥#NCAAGYM x 🎥 SECN+ / @RazorbackGym
— NCAA Women’s Gymnastics (@NCAA_Gymnastics) February 21, 2026
Several Gymback sticks followed on the uneven bars, balance beam and floor, where Frankie scored a 9.925, tying her season high. Morgan was the first to congratulate her, bounding onto the floor to share an enthusiastic double high-five.
Though the regular season meet ended in a tie, Arkansas finished ahead of Kentucky at the SEC championship, placing seventh. The performance helped the Razorbacks secure the No. 9 seed in the postseason, automatically qualifying them for the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Price Girls have spent their entire gymnastics careers in pursuit of “being better tomorrow.” As they reach the close of their final collegiate season, both say they hope it culminates with Arkansas at the NCAA championship.
“The end of it all is that we’re a family,” Frankie said of the team. “No one’s doing it alone — we’re doing it together.”
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