On Saturday night a sellout crowd of 66,014 spectators footed between $240 (£183) and $3,500 (£2,665) to watch a pre-season friendly between Real Madrid and Barcelona at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, the pièce de résistance of the two-week summer exhibition tour featuring high-profile European clubs known as the International Champions Cup. The rights holder ESPN delivered the type of blanket coverage more typical of a Super Bowl or World Cup final, committing no fewer than 25 on-air personalities to south Florida and broadcasting live on location throughout the week.
This is to say nothing of the 35,728 fans who paid $20 to $30 – plus parking – to watch both clubs’ training sessions on Friday night.
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