What’s the story?
FC Barcelona Legends will take on Real Madrid Legends in a friendly match in Lebanon at the Camille Chamoun Sports Stadium in Beirut during the month of April. The match, which will see the debut of Ronaldinho for the Barcelona Legends team and will also see former players from the El Clasico taking part in the exhibition match for charity.
Managed by former player Jose Mari Baker, the game will see Ronaldinho don a Barca shirt again for the first time in years, however, other than the 35-year-old, news about the other players is currently unknown.
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This will be the second star-studded match to be played in Lebanon after the “Game of Legends” event in September ‘16. That match was played between Lebanese Football Stars and a Legends side that featured Paul Scholes, Luis Figo, Marco Materazzi and Roberto Carlos.
In case you didn’t know...
This will be the second match that Barcelona Legends will play, after they made their debut on the first of April last year in Mexico, against a group of former Mexican football legends.
The first Legends match at Camp Nou was recently announced and will take place on the 30th of June against a Manchester United Legends team, with the return fixture at Old Trafford scheduled for the 2nd of September.
The heart of the matter
The Barcelona Legends games are the result of an FC Barcelona program to honour the footballers that once played for the club and allow fans to watch them in action one more time. The games will be held all over the world with the first one having already taken place in Mexico. This will be the second game and will take place in Lebanon, towards the end of April, with the third and fourth games being played at Camp Nou and Old Trafford respectively.
The match will see Ronaldinho, who reached an agreement with the club to return as an ambassador, play, but other than the Brazilian legend, there has been no confirmation of who else will feature against Madrid.
The match against Mexican Legends last year saw former players like Hristo Stoichov, Eric Abidal, Ronald De Boer, Gaizka Mendieta, and even Vitor Baia turn out for the Catalans. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid boast a glittering cast of alumni who would be eligible to play, meaning fans can look forward to a catalogue of stars.
Meanwhile, the first match at Camp Nou will be against the Manchester United Legends team, which was originally scheduled to take place last July but postponed due to the Euro 2016. No players have been confirmed for the fixture as yet, although the hopes are that Ronaldinho may play against Manchester United as well.
What’s next?
With further Legends matches still to be announced, there is a good chance of many former Catalan stars featuring, with Liga BBVA ambassador Gaizka Mendieta possibly dusting off his boots and lining up alongside some of his teammates for the match in Mexico.
Sportskeeda’s Take
As two of the biggest teams in world football, both Barcelona and Real Madrid’s widespread appeal will be a brilliant tool for both the clubs to expand their reach beyond what they already have.
It will also be a brilliant opportunity for young supporters of the clubs to watch the players that played much before they were even born, players who made their beloved clubs the force that they are today.
