Getty Zidane will be without Ronaldo for the American Clasico.
Miami is the site of the first Clasico outside of Spain since 1982, and even though it’s preseason, neither team wants to lose a Clasico. Barcelona and Real Madrid are both missing players for Saturday’s matchup, but both have enough spare talent to give a packed Hard Rock Stadium a worthy showcase of talent.
Before the lineups were announced, there were known absences from both teams. Players coming from the Confederations Cup have been exempt from the International Champions Cup, and that includes Real Madrid megastar Ronaldo. He and Barcelona’s Andre Gomes represented Portugal in the tournament, while Barca keeper Andre Ter Stegen represented eventual champions Germany. All three will be absent on Saturday.
Both teams are defined by their all-star attacking lineups, however as noted in this ESPN article, those lineups could soon be changing. The biggest story this offseason has been the future of Neymar, who is reportedly working on a deal to join Paris Saint-Germain for over 200 million euros. Real Madrid’s “BBC” combination is also in jeopardy, as Gareth Bale has been inching away from Spain for the better part of the last year.
Here are your starting lineups for El Clasico Miami:
Barcelona: Cillessen, Pique, Rakitic, Sergio, Iniesta, Suarez, Messi, Neymar, Alba, Vidal, Umtiti
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Benzema, Modric, Bale, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kovacic, Asensio