Real Madrid and AC Milan among European teams touring SoCal this summer
Champions League semifinalists Real Madrid and AC Milan will face off July 23 at the Rose Bowl in the first of three Southern California summer friendlies featuring five of Europe’s biggest soccer clubs.
The second game will see La Liga leader Barcelona play Arsenal at SoFi Stadium on July 26 while Italian rivals Juventus and Milan will meet July 27 at Dignity Health Sports Park. The games are part of an 11-day, eight-game series of exhibitions that will kick off July 22 in Santa Clara with Barcelona playing Juventus and will conclude Aug. 2 in Orlando with Juventus taking on Real Madrid.
The Soccer Champions Tour, being produced by in partnership between the global investment firm Sixth Street; Legends, a premium experiences company; and AEG, owner of the Galaxy, will also include England’s Manchester United, which faces Real Madrid on July 26 in Houston.
Angel City midfielder Madison Hammond is grateful she can be a role model for Native American girls, but admits it has been hard fighting for minutes.
“AEG is excited about the partnership with Soccer Champions Tour and Legends to bring the most successful soccer clubs in the world to fans across the U.S.,” said Tom Braun, the senior vice-president for soccer and business operations at AEG. Braun oversaw a five-game tour July that drew more than 93,000 fans to the Rose Bowl to see Real Madrid beat Juventus.
That was the largest crowd for a soccer match in the U.S. since July 2018.
Alex Waxman, co-founder and CEO of Sixth Street, said the company has plans to expand the tour to include women’s teams.
“While this year’s tour consists of men’s clubs, we look forward to expanding next summer to bring the world’s best women’s clubs to local audiences around the globe and to evolve this series into a format with real games of consequence.”
Presale tickets for the tour will go on sale on May 16 at SoccerChampionsTour.com with general on-sale access beginning on May 19 at the same website.
LAFC beat the Philadelphia Union 3-0 on Tuesday night to become the first MLS team this century to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League final twice.
Soccer Champions Tour
July 22: Barcelona-Juventus, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
July 23: Real Madrid-AC Milan, Rose Bowl, Pasadena
July 26: Arsenal-Barcelona, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood; Real Madrid-Manchester United, NRG Stadium, Houston
July 27: Juventus-AC Milan, Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson
July 29: Barcelona-Real Madrid, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Aug. 1: AC Milan-Barcelona, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
Aug. 2: Juventus-Real Madrid, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
