Real Madrid and Barcelona meet today in a high-profile preseason friendly in the United States, where the clubs are on lucrative summer tours.
Real Madrid and Barcelona face off in a box-office preseason friendly in New Jersey today, in the fourth Clásico to have been played on US soil. A capacity crowd is expected at the 82,000-capacity MetLife Stadium, where tickets for the match are selling for between $230 and $10,500.
It’s a high-profile match-up that promises to be a money-spinner for its organisers, the Soccer Champions Tour, and for Madrid and Barça, who are both in line for a significant pay day.
The two LaLiga clubs travel to the US every summer, as part of their efforts to rival English teams for popularity in the States, where the Premier League continues to dominate TV audiences. However, they also cross the pond with an eye on the financial gains available.
How much will Madrid and Barça’s Clásico payout be?
While the precise figures that clubs are paid for these summer tours are not made public, AS learned last year that Madrid pocketed around $15 million for playing four friendlies in the US ahead of the 2023/24 season. This represented a return to the pre-pandemic finances of summer tours, and this year the two LaLiga giants are again expected to enjoy a significant bank-balance boost.
For their Clásico in New Jersey today, Real Madrid and Barcelona are understood to be in line to bank around $5.5 million each.
Barça’s Stateside tour also includes games against Manchester City in Orlando (which they played on Tuesday July 30) and against AC Milan on Tuesday August 6. The Blaugrana are expected to return to Catalonia having earned between $3 million and $3.5 million from each fixture.
As European champions, Madrid’s cachet is slightly higher than their arch rivals’, leading to a larger anticipated payout. It is estimated that Los Blancos will net somewhere around the $13 million mark from their three fixtures in the US: some $4 million for their match against Milan in Chicago on Wednesday July 31, and the same again for their clash with Chelsea in Charlotte on Tuesday August 6.
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Real Madrid vs Barcelona: start time, how to watch
Real Madrid face Barcelona today, Saturday August 3, 2024, with kick-off at MetLife Stadium scheduled for 7pm ET/4pm PT. Viewers in the US will be able to watch the game on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Enjoy the action on ESPN+.
You can also follow AS USA’s live-text coverage of the Clásico, which will get underway about an hour ahead of kick-off in East Rutherford.