Real Madrid vs. Chelsea Will Be Played in Michigan at Big House

The University of Michigan won't be the only football team playing in the Big House this year. In fact, American football won't even be the only type of football to take place in the famed stadium.  

John Taylor of CollegeFootballTalk noted Thursday "the University of Michigan formally announced that it will host a match between a pair of widely recognized soccer clubs—La Liga’s Real Madrid and the English Premier League’s Chelsea."

The July 30 showdown between Real Madrid and Chelsea is part of the 2016 International Champions Cup, which shared the entire schedule on Twitter on Tuesday:

Charlie Stillitano, the chairman of Relevent Sports, released a statement in advance of the match, via Taylor:

"

We are ecstatic to be coming back to the University of Michigan. In 2014, Real Madrid and Manchester United set the record for largest attended soccer game and we expect another great crowd, as Real Madrid and Chelsea are two of the biggest and best teams in the world. This will be a marquee match of the tournament and we are excited to bring the ICC back to Michigan.

"

As the statement from Stillitano mentioned, this is not the first time Real Madrid will play inside Michigan Stadium in front of American fans.

They squared off with Manchester United in 2014 and proceeded to set the United States attendance record for a soccer game with 109,318 fans. Manchester United knocked off Real Madrid, 3-1, and drew far more people than the previous U.S. record of 101,799 during the 1984 Olympic final between Brazil and France at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

While this will give soccer supporters in Michigan and throughout the Midwest the opportunity to see two of the most famous soccer clubs in the world, there were actually concerns with the surface last time Real Madrid was in the Big House.

Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal discussed the natural grass surface that was in place at the time after a practice session, per Michael Niziolek of MLive.com: “The pitch is not so good, and that’s a pity. We have fantastic teams, and we have to play on a bad pitch. The ball is not rolling, it’s not bumping as usual.” 

Despite those prior concerns, the International Champions Cup appeared to be excited for a return to Ann Arbor:

Real Madrid will likely be a significant draw considering Cristiano Ronaldo is the face of the club. He is one of the best soccer players in the history of the sport and one of the most recognizable athletes across the world as a three-time FIFA Player of the Year.

Read Madrid also features Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez and was named the most valuable soccer team in the world for the third consecutive year in May of 2015 by Forbes.

As for Chelsea, notable players such as Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Oscar promise to attract American fans to the International Champions Cup during the summer.

Perhaps Michigan Stadium can break its own United States soccer attendance record with such superstar players set to take the field in July.