Barça, Madrid to meet in preseason Clásico in NJ
Written by I Dig SportsBarcelona will take on Real Madrid in New Jersey in August as part of a preseason tour to the United States, the Spanish champions confirmed on Tuesday.
Barça will also play Manchester City in Orlando and AC Milan in Baltimore as part of their preparations for the 2024-25 LaLiga campaign.
- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
The Catalan club's tour of the U.S will begin on July 30 when they face English champions Man City, who are managed by the club's former coach Pep Guardiola, at the Camping World Stadium in Florida.
They will then head north to take on Madrid at the Metlife Stadium on Aug. 3.
It will be the fourth time the Clásico has been contested in the States as both clubs look to continue their growth across North America.
Barça have won all three previous games played between the two rivals in the U.S., winning 3-2 in Miami in 2017, 1-0 in Las Vegas in 2022 and 3-0 in Dallas last summer.
Following El Clásico, the Blaugrana will close their trip against Italian side Milan on Aug. 6 at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
It remains to be seen who will be Barcelona's manager in the summer, with coach Xavi Hernández recently announcing he will step down at the end of the season.
This summer's international tournaments -- Euro 2024, the Copa America and the Olympics -- could also mean certain players are missing from the tour.
Barça remain in contention in both LaLiga and the Champions League this season, although they are eight points behind league leaders Madrid with just nine games to play.
The two teams meet in LaLiga for the second time this season at the Bernabéu on Apr. 21.
Madrid won 2-1 when in the reverse fixture at the Olympic Stadium in October, while they also beat Xavi's side 4-1 in the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia in January.
In Europe, meanwhile, Barça will take on Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in April.