Barcelona, Real Madrid to Play El Clasico in United States for 1st Time in 2017

The Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid will come to the United States for the first time in 2017, as the two rivals will meet as part of the International Champions Cup on July 29 in Miami.

Barcelona announced the news on Twitter:

The ICC has managed to attract top clubs from the European continent in previous editions, but they've never managed to put the two Spanish giants on the same pitch, per ESPN FC.

El Clasico is widely considered the biggest and most iconic match in the sport, with more than 400 million viewers tuning in for the 1-1 draw in December, per the report.

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While this match will only be a pre-season friendly, the animosity between both clubs means this could be the feistiest ICC mach yet.

Per the report, the match will take place at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Both teams have played at the venue before, with Real Madrid beating Chelsea 3-1 in the 2013 ICC and Barcelona losing 4-1 to Guadalajara in the 2011 World Football Challenge.

Former NFL star and massive football fan Chad Johnson was ecstatic when he heard the news, and he's already proposed a challenge to his fans:

Per ESPN FC, the two La Liga rivals have played just a single match on foreign soil, a 1-0 win for Los Blancos in Venezuela in 1982.

As a pre-season tournament, the ICC gives clubs the chance to play some of their younger players and tinker with formations, but managers tend to give minutes to a handful of stars as well to boost their image overseas.

With no European championship or Copa America taking place, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi should be with their teams barring injury. They likely won't feature all that much, but in a match as prestigious as El Clasico, expect both to get some minutes at least.