The situation
It sounds very far away, but it was not so long ago that relations between LaLiga and Barça were so cordial that the Barça club sided with Javier Tebas when the president of the employers insisted on taking Spanish League matches outside of national territory. Specifically, to the United States . Everything, by virtue of an agreement with the American company Relevant that, in principle, was going to last fifteen years. On September 11, 2018, LaLiga announced that the Girona – Barça game corresponding to matchday 21 of the 2018-19 season would be played in the United States . Specifically at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami . The clubs adhered to the idea of LaLiga and even some organizations such as Aficiones Unidas and the Asociación del Deporte Español sided with a controversial initiative since, as AFE and FEF claimed , they removed the competition from Spanish territory. Xavier Thebes ,Josep Maria Bartomeu and Delfí Geli , presidents of La Liga , Barcelona and Girona , respectively, signed a joint letter requesting that the match be played in Miami . The device so that Girona fans could go to the game was also put into operation. 1,500 plane seats would be made available to Gironis members. The only requirement would be to put a fund of 500 euros that would be recovered after the trip. Yes, however, you had to pay 600 euros for accommodation on the days of the trip. Those who did not want to travel were offered two alternatives. Tickets for Barça – Girona for the first round plus a discount of 20% of the total payment; or, if the Girona subscriber did not want to go to the Camp Nou either , pay him 40% of the total subscription since it was understood that the Barça matchIt was one of the most important of the season. FIFA , after a Rubiales – Infantino meeting , was against the idea .
The details
Tebas went ahead with the idea and even plastered the front page of the Miami Herald with posters announcing the game with a slogan that played on words (“ Bring US the game ”). The president of LaLiga went so far as to say that there was a 90% chance that the game would be played in the United States.