Posted on 15th October 2025
“Money ahead of fans” – players speak out on overseas games
Players from two of the clubs planning overseas competitive fixtures this season have spoken out against the plans with one World Cup winner describing the idea as “absurd”.
Earlier this month despite widespread opposition, UEFA allowed La Liga and Serie A to each move a competitive league fixture to overseas territories for the first time in European club football history.
Barcelona’s away game at Villarreal in December will now take place in Miami, Florida, while AC Milan’s game against Como in February will be played in Perth, Australia.
No-one listening – De Jong
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his international games with the Netherlands, Barcelona’s Dutch midfielder Frenkie De Jong said the overseas fixture in the USA would not be good for the players and erode the competitive integrity of La Liga.
“I don’t like it,” said De Jong. “I can understand the clubs financially, they will of course profit from it, and they can spread their brand further across the world. But I wouldn’t do it.
“It’s not good for the players. You have to travel a lot. It’s also not fair in terms of competition.
“For us, it’s now an away match on neutral ground. I totally understand if other clubs aren’t happy about that.
“But I don’t feel like anyone is listening to us.”
His concerns were shared by Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Unai Simon who said a game on neutral venue “adulterates the competition”
“Villarreal and Barcelona have put money ahead of their fans,” Simon said. “This harms the fans and adulterates the competition.
“It won’t be played on a neutral field because more than half of the stadium will be Barcelona’s.”
Serie A exec tell players to count their money
AC Milan midfielder and previous World Cup winner Adrien Rabiot described plans for overseas competitive fixtures as “crazy” and”absurd”.
“There’s a lot of talk about schedules and player health, but this all seems truly absurd,” Rabiot told French newspaper La Figaro. “It’s crazy to travel so many miles for a match between two Italian teams in Australia.
“We have to adapt, as always.”
Echoing Rabiot’s comments the club’s captain, French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, also criticised Serie A’s plans for the games.
“I totally agree with Adrien Rabiot,” Maignan said. “I don’t understand why we’re playing abroad.
“Many things are forgotten these days, we think too much about the financial aspect. It’s an Italian league match, I don’t understand why we’re playing abroad.
“We should have been playing at home, so we ‘lose’ a home game. Our goals are ambitious, we mustn’t leave anything to chance.”
The players’ criticisms drew the ire of Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo, who reportedly lashed out publicly against Rabiot, telling him to “count his money and be quiet about the decision.”
“Rabiot forgets, like all players earning millions of Euros, that they are paid to do something, and that is play football,” De Siervo said at a league meeting last week.
“He should have respect for the money he earns, complying with the wishes of his employer, Milan, who accepted and pushed for this match to be played abroad.”
The French players union (UNPF), however, backed its members and said the concerns aired by Rabiot are ‘shared by the vast majority of players‘.
“As the primary players in the game, they have the right, and even the duty, to make their voices heard.
“Freedom of expression for footballers is a fundamental principle that the UNFP will always defend, like FIFPRO, the world players’ union,” it added.
Supporters of AC Milan’s opponents for the Australian game, Como, have condemned the league’s plan for the fixture, accusing the club’s chairman of ignoring the club’s traditional supporters who stood by the club while they were in Serie D as recently as six years ago.
Curva Como 1907 said: “A match that should belong to those who live the stands, those who travel miles and sacrifice every Sunday, is being taken away and turned into a show on the other side of the world.
“Don’t come to explain to us what ‘sacrifice for the common good’ means. Because the good of Como is upheld by us — every time we enter the curva, raise a scarf, and sing even when we lose.”
