Heron Talk presented by Gallagher
Inter Miami recently announced that it will host FC Barcelona for a friendly at DRV PNK Stadium on Tuesday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Midfielder Victor Ulloa, who started for the first time this season in Inter Miami’s last match, shared his thoughts on the recent announcement.
“[Barcelona] is one of the biggest clubs in the world. Growing up I watched Barcelona play, especially when they had those years winning every single trophy that they could achieve and they had the likes of [Lionel] Messi, [Andrés] Iniesta, Xavi, [Sergio] Busquets, [Gerard] Piqué. It's gonna be a very fun game for us. Very cool experience, hopefully we give the fans a great match, and then hopefully we beat them. We are competitors and it's gonna be a chance for us to showcase our skills and to see how we match up against them and we're looking forward to it for sure. There'll be no friendly about it.”
Head Coach Phil Neville also expressed his excitement for his squad’s exciting times ahead, including the friendly against the LaLiga powerhouse this summer.
“I think in that period where we've got some really big games, I think maybe Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United are the only three teams, probably as a head coach, I would have agreed to play against because for this fútbol club, that's massive, it’s groundbreaking. The work that's been going on behind the scenes to bring Barcelona, a team of that magnitude, to our stadium, to South Florida. They’ll be training at our facility. We will be mixing with some of the best players, and best managers in the world,” said Neville.
The coach shared that he’s excited for the opportunity to face a club of such stature, and that expects players and fans to share the sentiment.
“I think it's groundbreaking for this fútbol club, a club that's really three years old and it’s drawing one of the biggest clubs in the world to our stadium and it's going to be sold out, it's gonna be watched worldwide. The reach of Barcelona itself will mean that Inter Miami will have to compete for that game and we're going to take it really seriously. I think it'd be brilliant for our fútbol club, for our fans, and it’s going to be brilliant for the players to compete against the best. That's what we want to do, and I'm sure sandwiched in between those games, there'll be none of the players in that locker room who will want to be rested for that game because they want to compete against the best, that's what FC Barcelona is.”
Tickets for the match will go on sale on May 25 for Inter Miami CF Season Ticket Members. More details will be shared via email in the coming days. Non-Season Ticket Members interested in signing up for priority access should register here. Fans that register will be eligible for an exclusive pre-sale beginning on Thursday, May 26 while supplies last. In the case of remaining tickets, the general public will have access beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, May 27. Broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
