Hours before the highly anticipated El Clásico friendly match between rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona, a Spanish report shed light on the popularity of both teams in the United States, where they are set to clash for the third time in six years.
In the previous two matches held in 2017 and 2022, Barcelona emerged victorious with 3-2 and 1-0 scores, respectively. The third match will take place at midnight (Mecca Time) at the AT&T Stadium.
According to the Spanish newspaper Sport, the Barcelona versus Real Madrid match is one of the most sought-after encounters by fans in the United States, attracting tens of thousands of supporters to the stadiums.
The newspaper compared the two clubs to determine which team is more popular based on several criteria, primarily the attendance in their last five matches in the United States, which were held during the current and previous year.
Barcelona sold out all five of its matches, considering that the spectator capacity of these stadiums was lower than usual. The matches were as follows:
- Barcelona 6-0 Inter Miami, Lockhart Stadium (Full attendance: 19,113 spectators).
- Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Full attendance: 61,299 spectators).
- Barcelona 2-2 Juventus, Cotton Bowl Stadium in Texas (Full attendance: 58,000 spectators).
- New York Red Bulls 0-2 Barcelona, Red Bull Arena (Full attendance: 25,252 spectators).
- Arsenal 5-3 Barcelona, The Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles (Full attendance: 70,223 spectators).
As for Real Madrid, three matches witnessed full-capacity attendance, with one of them attracting nearly 94,000 spectators. The matches were as follows:
- Real Madrid 0-1 Barcelona, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Full attendance: 61,299 spectators).
- Real Madrid 2-2 América, Oracle Park in San Francisco (40,630 spectators out of 42,300).
- Real Madrid 2-0 Juventus, Rose Bowl Stadium in California (Full attendance: 93,702 spectators).
- Real Madrid 3-2 AC Milan, Rose Bowl Stadium in California (Full attendance: 70,814 spectators).
- Real Madrid 2-0 Manchester United, NRG Stadium in Houston (67,801 spectators out of 72,220).
The average attendance for Barcelona’s matches was 46,777 spectators, while Real Madrid’s matches saw an average attendance of 66,849.
Notably, Real Madrid faced Manchester United in 2014 at Michigan Stadium in front of 109,318 spectators, setting the record for the largest football match attendance in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, Sport confirmed the existence of 14 officially recognized supporters’ clubs for Barcelona in various American states, compared to nine for Real Madrid.
