La Liga President Javier Tebas has come out swinging after the cancellation of the infamous Miami game, which had been due to take place between Villarreal and Barcelona in December this year. He promised that there would be a fresh attempt to take La Liga to the United States in the near future.
After the announcement, Tebas categorised it as a missed opportunity, while Villarreal have also reacted angrily to the handling of both the plan and the announcement. Real Madrid on the other hand have celebrated the announcement, and after beating Juventus 1-0, Thibaut Courtois told Tebas that he had plenty to improve in Spain before moving La Liga abroad.
‘Listening to Courtois is like listening to Sanchez’ – Tebas
Some sources had suggested that the game had not gone ahead due to a lack of approval from Concacaf for the game to take place in their territory. Tebas told Marca on Thursday that they were confident this would not be an issue. He put it down to a number of circumstances, but also took aim at Courtois, claiming his discourse mimicked that of his boss.
“There are many things that add up. The Real Madrid players only know how to say ‘adulterated’, ‘adulterated’, ‘adulterated.’ I listen to Courtois and it’s just like [Real Madrid General Manager] Jose Angel Sanchez talking, they say the same thing. Of course, what are the Real Madrid players going to say, if they dare say anything against it?”
Tebas on criticism for censoring player protests against Miami game.
La Liga have been criticised for censoring a protest from the Spanish Footballers Assocation (AFE), with players not moving for the opening 15-20 seconds of the games this past weekend in La Liga. During the broadcast, images cut away from the pitch, and showed La Liga’s ‘Commitment to Peace’ campaign.
“The editorial line is that everything that happens during the match has to be related to the match itself. When there’s been an incident or a spontaneous event, we’ve never shown the images. Not even in the highlights. We’ve maintained that. We had to try to keep it hidden.”
Ronald Araújo could return to the starting XI against Real Madrid. @scapde_45
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 23, 2025
‘This is not a failure’ – La Liga President Javier Tebas
Perhaps the headline of his interactions with the media was that La Liga had no intention of giving up on the idea.
“The word “fail” doesn’t exist. I’ve tried, and we’ll keep trying. There’s a lot of ignorance. All of this stems from an issue between FIFA and Relevent in the United States. We’ll keep working; there must be an agreement, because that’s what the United States has asked FIFA to do. So there’s still a long way to go,” he told MD.
Some had cast Tebas as the big loser from the fallout, with his credit damaged. However Tebas rejected that idea, and noted that the Miami game was a minor issue for La Liga.
“It’s not even among our top 10 goals. There are people who are after me, and if I played Parcheesi and lost, it would also be public knowledge. I don’t consider it a loss; there’s still a long way to go.”
Tebas responds to differing answers on what the clubs earn
Another issue that had raised eyebrows was the differing discourse between Villarreal and Barcelona. While the Yellow Submarine assured they would not earn from the game, Barcelona President Joan Laporta told club members that they stood to make several million from the expedition, amounting to revenue from two matchdays.
“They say the same thing, but people are understanding it differently. The only compensation Villarreal receives for the match is its season ticket holders, those who travel, and the 30% of their season ticket holders for those who don’t travel. We estimate it to be between €5m and €7m. Barcelona, what Laporta is referring to, had many opportunities in the United States for sponsorships and to engage with its sponsors during the preparations and try to raise more money. Regarding the match itself, we don’t get involved in the money, he explained to Marca.
