Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Valladolid v FC Barcelona - Estadio Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain - May 3, 2025 FC Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong on the substitutes bench before the match REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
TA’QALI, Malta (Reuters) -Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong criticised plans to play a LaLiga match between his Spanish club and Villarreal in Miami later this year, saying he understood the commercial reasons but did not like the idea.
Villarreal's home fixture against Barcelona will take place on December 20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, LaLiga president Javier Tebas said on Wednesday, marking the first time that an official European league match will be played abroad.
"I can understand the clubs; they'll profit from it,” De Jong said about the controversial decision when he attended the Netherlands pre-match press conference before Thursday’s World Cup qualifier in Malta.
“But I wouldn't have decided it myself. I don't agree with it either. It's also unfair, competitively speaking.
“We will now be playing an away match on a neutral venue. But I don't feel like anyone is listening to us," De Jong added.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin called it a "regrettable" decision to allow two European league matches to be played abroad and insisted it "will not set a precedent".
In February, AC Milan's Italian Serie A match against Como will be played in Perth, Australia.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
