Barcelona, Real Madrid Propose Dec. 18 as Date for Rescheduled Clasico

Barcelona have proposed Wednesday, December 18 as the new date for their postponed El Clasico against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou. 

The fixture was supposed to take place on October 26, but the Spanish FA called the game off due to ongoing protests in Barcelona.

In a statement released on Friday, Barca said they wanted the game to go ahead at the Camp Nou and refused the option to switch it to Santiago Bernabeu, but having accepted the decision to postpone, they have now proposed December 18. Real Madrid later issued their own statement, also proposing December 18 for the rescheduled Clasico.

However, La Liga responded to the suggested date with one of their own, proposing a December 4 meeting to protect the television rights of other clubs in the league, per Marca.

By their lofty standards, Barcelona made a poor start to the 2019-20 La Liga campaign:

However, they have now won four games in a row in all competitions and are two points behind Real at the top of La Liga.

Now the international break is over, Barca travel to Eibar on Saturday, a match they should win, and the Clasico could have then given them an opportunity to overtake Real with a victory.

The Blaugrana have had the edge in the recent editions of Spain's biggest fixture, winning four of the last six and drawing the other two.

After the postponement, though, the season will have almost reached the midway stage by the time Barca and Real face off for the first time.

That could make the stakes even higher if the two clubs are still battling for supremacy going into the Christmas break.