La Liga Player Against Barcelona Vs Villarreal In Miami

JAKARTA - The Spanish Professional Footballers Association (AFE) expressed their rejection of holding a league match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami in December 2025 after the captains of 20 La Liga clubs met on Thursday, August 21, 2025, local time.

AFE stated that the lack of dialogue and information provided by La Liga regarding organizing matches in the United States made the proposal impossible to support.

"Supported by the captains of La Liga clubs, AFE opposes holding league matches outside Spain."

"The captains of each team met on Thursday (21 August 2025) to discuss requests, as announced by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in early August 2025, for matches to be played abroad, which have been submitted to UEFA and FIFA."

"AFE asked for detailed reports from the league to inform the players about the situation and listen to their opinions."

"In response, the league only informed us about the development of the licensing process."

"Given this situation, given the lack of dialogue and information provided, the start of the project promoted by La Liga and approved without any information by the RFEF is an act that does not respect the players, as it involves changes at the sporting level, in addition to traveling abroad as workers within the framework of the domestic league," the AFE statement said.

La Liga has been trying to bring matches to the US since 2018, with Barcelona, Villarreal, Girona, and Atletico Madrid among clubs that have been open to playing league matches abroad at various times.

A major hurdle appeared to have been overcome earlier this month when RFEF finally agreed to submit a request to UEFA and FIFA - the governing body of football in Europe and the world - so Villarreal's home game against Barcelona, which is scheduled for the weekend starting December 20, 2025, is played at Hard Rock Stadium.

The plan still requires support from UEFA and FIFA, with the two organizations not yet commenting, as well as the United States Football Federation (US Soccer) and Concacaf.

The lawsuits settled between Relevant Sports--La Liga's business partner in the US--as well as US Soccer and FIFA seem to pave the way for foreign leagues to play domestic matches in the US.

However, AFE's statement, which comes after Real Madrid also strongly opposed the plan, shows there is still resistance to the project in football.

"We are united. We want respect and transparency. With this message, AFE demands that Spanish institutions involved provide all information about projects that will change competition."

"Ini adalah sesuatu yang membutuhkan dialog, negosiasi, dan kesepakatan sebelumnya dengan semua pemangku kepentingan, pada dasarnya, dengan para pemain utama, yaitu kami," bunyi pernyataan AFE melanjutkan.

Apart from the players, Real Madrid Manager, Xabi Alonso, also loudly refused Villarreal and Barcelona's match to be held in Miami.

He also supported Los Blancos' statement arguing that the move would provide unsuitable sporting advantages for the teams involved.

"I agree with the club's statement. At the start of the season, we all know the rules. If the rules change, there must be a unanimous agreement between all parties," said Alonso.