Real Madrid would be open to playing El Clasico at a neutral venue – report

Real Madrid have been disappointing against their arch-rivals FC Barcelona this season, having lost by a huge margin in both the El Clasico encounters so far – once in La Liga and once in the Spanish Super Cup final.

As such, they will be gunning for redemption when the two teams will lock horns again in May in the reverse fixture in La Liga.

With the title race expected to go down to the wire, it could be a game with a lot of repercussions.

Scheduled to be played on May 11, it will be an away game for Real Madrid, but at the moment, there is an element of uncertainty surrounding the venue of the game.

Clasico could be moved to a neutral venue

Barcelona are currently playing their home matches at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys with the Spotify Camp Nou undergoing major renovation work.

The idea, though, has been for the Catalans to return to their home ground at the end of April, so that the Clasico can be played on their own backyard.

But delays in construction have become a norm for Barça and as such there are doubts as to whether Camp Nou will be ready in time for the final month of the season.

As a result, Barcelona are considering relocating the Clasico to a major stadium in Europe if things do not go according to plans.

Real Madrid open to playing Clasico at a neutral venue

Now, SPORT reports that Barcelona believe Real Madrid would be open to playing the Clasico at a neutral venue in Europe if Camp Nou return is not possible.

Up until now, Real Madrid have been the most reluctant club to move a La Liga match abroad whenever Javier Tebas has proposed the idea.

In this case, however, Los Blancos understand that the initiative would come from Barcelona, and they even see potential advantages for themselves in a match that could be crucial for the outcome of the league title.

Real Madrid believe that playing in a theoretically neutral venue would reduce the pressure from the atmosphere that would have been at Barcelona’s home and could, in fact, be a good business opportunity for the club’s image.

In such a scenario, both Real Madrid and the other teams playing away at Barcelona during this period would need to approve the change of venue, along with La Liga and the RFEF, with the Blaugrana covering the costs of the travel arrangements.