LaLiga confirmed the date and time for the Villarreal-FC Barcelona match on matchday 17, which also ruled out the possibility of playing a friendly before Christmas. The clash at the Estadio de la Cerámica will be played on Sunday, December 21st at 4:15 PM, making it the last official match of 2025
The Barça board had received offers to play in Peru or Morocco, probably on December 22nd. However, although the friendly could bring in around 5 million euros for the Catalan club, there is no time to plan an extra match before the year-end break. The club will return to work on January 2nd to plan for the visit to Espanyol on the first weekend of 2026
The LaLiga-AFE Collective Agreement Prevents Playing on December 23
In this regard, the Collective Bargaining Agreement between LaLiga and the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), endorsed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), establishes that all players in clubs in Spain must have at least 10 days off during the Christmas break.
This season, the holiday period begins on Tuesday, December 23rd at midnight. In other words, if Barça had planned a friendly for that day, the squad would have had to return to Catalonia on the same Monday to start their holidays the following day.
The club, however, will keep the door open to playing a friendly in Peru or Morocco in 2026, perhaps before the squad goes on vacation in June. Before then, the calendar offers few windows to plan a trip with all the stars available.
Barça will close 2025 with the match that was supposed to be played in Miami
Thus, Barça will close the year 2025 with a visit to Villarreal, in the match that was initially going to be played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Although UEFA and FIFA gave the green light to the initiative, pressure from stakeholders such as the AFE and Real Madrid led the event promoter to cancel it last month, prior to the start of ticket sales
Barça could earn around 6 million euros for playing in the United States, an income that could cover the friendly before Christmas. Now, the board will have to look for other ways to compensate for this lost 'lever'. The return to Spotify Camp Nou, however, represents a key factor for the recovery of Barça's economy.