Barcelona legend Rivaldo slams US LaLiga match | OneFootball

Former Barcelona great Rivaldo believes LaLiga’s plans to stage a Catalan derby in the United States is “wrong” and “seriously damages Spanish fans and players”.

It is now reportedly “90 per cent likely” that Barça’s January league clash with local rivals Girona will be played across the Atlantic in what will be a historic first for Spanish football.

Girona – who would have been the home team in that fixture – confirmed on Friday that they had accepted LaLiga’s proposal, but the move has been met with great opposition by fans, players and even the Spanish FA.

And Rivaldo – who won two LaLiga titles during his five years at Camp Nou – is firmly against the plans and believes the players should be allowed to decide where their matches are played.

“In my opinion, the decision to play La Liga matches in the USA is already a serious issue that raises lot of questions,” said the Brazilian, via his partnership with a betting company.

“I think that taking games to the US is wrong and seriously damages Spanish fans and players and most of the fans won’t be able to attend the game.

“Now with Girona v Barcelona, a Catalan derby, being played abroad I expect controversy as the situation with Catalonia/Spain is clearly delicate and I think should be kept in Spain and not taken abroad.

“This match won’t help to bring peace to this political issue, quite the opposite.

“I believe that all the players are against this American event, and they should be allowed to choose if they want to play there or not. It shouldn’t be down to one or two people.

“For that reason, I think that if they reach an agreement not to play, there is no alternative and the game doesn’t go ahead.”

Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish FA, has also voiced his disapproval towards LaLiga’s plans.

“(Javier) Tebas (La Liga president) spoke to everyone except the people he had to speak to,” Rubiales told the Guardian.

“It’s a total lack of respect, unfaithful and incomprehensible.

“He has totally ignored the players and even the clubs. His behaviour was terrible but very much like Tebas: very much lacking in respect.

”He has signed an agreement that it is not up to him to sign. It means nothing without our authorisation, so we’ll see what happens to this game.”