Players are opposing playing league games abroad

Fans have one point of view — they want spectacle. Coaches will talk about the process. Players will speak about skill and the public’s overly high expectations. Clubs, on the other hand, think only about one thing — money. Always and forever. And that’s how we ended up with the league match between Villarreal and Barcelona being played on December 20th — in Miami. There’s no doubt the stadium will be full and that sponsors will happily cover the costs, but if you ask Frenkie de Jong, he simply can’t share in that excitement.

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Because playing in Florida goes completely against his understanding of football — and he says that not only because the players will have to deal with jet lag.

"It's not fair for the competition. Now we're playing an away game on neutral ground. I don't like it and I don't think it's right for the players. The clubs are going to get paid for this, but I don't agree with playing a league game in Miami. I understand that other clubs don't agree" said Barca midfielder.

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UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin also objected, but Javier Tebas, the head of La Liga, insisted on such exhibitions, saying that “La Liga is followed by millions of fans around the world, and they too deserve to experience it live at least once” After all, it’s not just La Liga — in February, Italian clubs Milan and Como will play in Perth, Australia. And Milan newcomer Adrien Rabiot also complained about the game.

“I was surprised when I heard that Milan will play a Serie A match against Como in Australia! It’s completely mad. These are financial agreements to give visibility to the league, so it’s over our heads. There is so much talk about fixture lists and maintaining the health of the players, but it all seems absurd. It’s crazy to travel that far for a game between two Italian teams in Australia. We just have to adapt, as always” Rabiot told Le Figaro.

But former Juventus and Marseille midfielder was quickly shut down by Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo.

“Rabiot forges, like all footballers who earn millions of euros, that they are paid to perform a job, that is to play football. He should have more respect for the money he earns and be more accommodating towards his employer, Milan, who agreed and pushed for this match to be played abroad. We are talking about something complicated, but not impossible. We are trying to do it in a spirit of harmony, especially if it’s seen as an exceptional event. The organisational challenge is complex, the flight hours are many, but they’ll be travelling business class to the other side of he world, something teams do regularly. Top-level players, whose salaries reflect the effort they put in, should understand better that anyone that this is a sacrifice that can be made” De Siervo told reporters after a Lega Serie A meeting on Wednesday, via La Repubblica.