Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid to face Barcelona, Juventus, Man United in pre-season friendlies
Real Madrid have confirmed that they will play the likes of Milan, Manchester United, Juventus and Barcelona during their pre-season tour of the United States this summer.
It has been made official that they will first square off against Milan, on July 23, in Los Angeles, followed by a fixture against Manchester United on July 26 in Houston.
Then there will be the much-awaited El Clasico, scheduled on July 29 in Dallas before the team travels to Orlando to take on Juventus on August 2.
It must be noted that the El Clasico will be held at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
The venue has a capacity of 80,000 spectators, and it acts as the headquarters of the NFL side Dallas Cowboys. Interestingly, this is a venue that a certain Barcelona side is quite familiar with, having played Manchester United in 2011 and Roma in 2018.
Here is Real Madrid’s schedule of their pre-season friendlies:
Real Madrid vs Milan (July 23, Rose Bowl Stadium in Los Angeles)
Real Madrid vs Manchester United (July 26, NRG Stadium in Houston)
Real Madrid vs Barcelona (July 29, AT&T Stadium in Dallas)
Real Madrid vs Juventus (August 2, Camping World Stadium in Orlando)
👋🇺🇸 Join us in the USA this summer! ⚽#Madridistas pic.twitter.com/rDgvpySWp7
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 12, 2023
The aforementioned four matches against arguably the most demanding teams in Europe will be played in the span of 11 days.
Meanwhile, Madrid’s setting with Barcelona in pre-season friendlies on North American soil hangs in the favour of the Blaugrana, as they have won each of the last two matches.
Their first meeting was at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in 2017 which ended in a 3-2 win for Barcelona. Their most recent result was a 1-0 win for Xavi’s team at the Allegiant Las Vegas Stadium in 2022, with the goal coming from Raphinha.
Real Madrid have a host of talent coming through their youth setup, with the likes of Sergio Arribas, Vinicius Tobias, and Nico Paz impressing the club through their performances with Real Madrid Castilla.
Paz, especially, has been touted as one of the biggest talents coming through the Madrid academy. He is considered ‘the’ talent from the youth setup, with a lot of expectations around him.
A midfielder by trade, Paz has seemingly impressed two of the biggest names in world football, according to MARCA.
One of them is Toni Kroos, who has watched Paz closely during training with the senior team. The German complimented him, as well, saying, “This boy should train with us every day because he is terrific.”
He has also seemingly created an impression on none other than Lionel Messi, while the two were training with Argentina together.
Carlo Ancelotti has also joined the praise parade for Paz, “He has projections to play in the first team. He is doing very well with Arbeloa and the times he was used by Raúl he has also done very well at Castilla.”
Paz has already been included in the squad list for two games so far this season, and will continue to train with Real Madrid’s senior squad. He is also expected to be a part of los blancos’ pre-season tour, after which he could get minutes next season.
Real Madrid have renewed the Argentine’s contract up until 2027, as they wanted to lock him down quickly for the long-term. There, is however, a chance he could leave Madrid on lock next season to get minutes with a senior division side.
