The news came as a bombshell in the middle of a European night: the Villarreal-Barcelona match scheduled for Miami will not take place . For the yellow club, shock quickly turned to anger. According to AS , LaLiga's announcement, which came as Villarreal was facing Manchester City in the Champions League, was experienced as a profound lack of respect. The club's leaders do not understand the haste or disorganization surrounding the official announcement of this cancellation. The images of Roig Negueroles, general manager of the Yellow Submarine, learning the news in the middle of the match and leaving the stands in a fury, went viral and symbolize the exasperation of a club that had bet everything on this project. Fernando Roig, president of Villarreal, did not hesitate to fervently defend this initiative, going so far as to promise to reimburse part of the season tickets and to finance the fans' travel to the United States. Seeing the American dream collapse today in the middle of European competition has caused frustration to explode within a club that feels betrayed and humiliated .
Behind this fiasco, LaLiga's entire decision-making process is being called into question. The organization of the match in Miami, presented as a "historic opportunity for the internationalization of Spanish football ," was carried out in haste and without real consultation with the main stakeholders such as clubs, players, and institutions. The meeting to approve the project, held urgently in front of the Federation, took place without the presence of Javier Tebas, vice-president of the RFEF, and without any real consensus. Several presidents, such as Aperribay (Real Sociedad) or Ángel Torres (Getafe), publicly denounced an initiative imposed from above, without consultation. The players, too, felt marginalized and reacted vigorously through their union, the AFE. Their message was clear: "Respect and transparency ." But LaLiga preferred to push through, thus triggering a chain reaction that would end up engulfing the entire project.
Villarreal furious like Spain
Faced with LaLiga's perceived contempt, the players displayed rare unity. After Javier Tebas repeatedly refused to engage in dialogue, the captains decided to stage a symbolic action: a fifteen-second stoppage at the start of the following season. This act, widely censored by the league, exposed the rift between management and players. Tensions then escalated, with Tebas even threatening the AFE with legal action. Meanwhile, the clubs directly affected by the trip to Miami demanded explanations and a temporary suspension of ticket sales, to no avail. In this volatile climate, LaLiga persisted in defending its plan, even as institutional support crumbled on all sides. Villarreal, in particular, saw the collapse of a project it had championed tooth and nail, and from which it hoped to gain unprecedented international recognition.
👀 La réaction du PDG de Villarreal, Fernando Roig, après avoir appris l'annulation du match contre Miami
— Blaugranation (@blaugranation_) October 21, 2025
pic.twitter.com/YC28cYRP8Z https://t.co/dOWG0Z2awn
But it was ultimately the combined pressure of several forces that got the better of the "Miami Plan." CONCACAF and the American Federation expressed their displeasure at an official match being held on their territory without their approval, while Real Madrid filed two successive complaints with the Higher Sports Council, denouncing a distortion of the competition. The virulent statements of Courtois and Carvajal, evoking a "betrayal of the sportsmanship ," finally buried the initiative. Caught between the anger of the clubs, the revolt of the players, political pressure from the government, and international disapproval, LaLiga had no choice but to back down. Spain now finds itself deeply divided, between those who saw this adventure as an opening to the world and those who perceive it as a commercial drift. One thing is certain: the cancellation of the Villarreal-Barcelona match in Miami will remain as a symbol of arrogance, disorder, and rupture in Spanish football.
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