By David Gold
November 9 – Following calculations that 60 million Chinese fans tuned in live to see Real Madrid’s 7-1 win over Osasuna on Sunday (November 6), China’s media want the Clasico between the league leaders, Real, and the current champions, Barcelona, to be played at midday.
The Spanish agency, EFE, reported the 60 million figure for the game, in which Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick helped Real to move three points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga after it was played at 12pm Spanish time, an unusually early start.
Barcelona travel to the Santiago Bernabéu on December 10 and the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, led the calls for the game to be played at 12pm as well in order to reach as many fans in the country as possible.
“The Real-Barca game should be played at the same time,” they said.
“It would have a massive audience in China – Spain wants to take care of its Chinese fans and this is why it has changed the kick-off times of the games.”
The proposal is likely to receive short shrift from the Barcelona President, Sandro Rosell, who told the International Football Arena in Zurich on Monday (November 7) that he would “never put a game on at 12 noon for the Chinese.”
12pm in Spain is 7pm in China, meaning Real Madrid’s win over Osasuna was shown at the peak viewing time in the Far East.
La Liga has introduced the early kick off time to increase the country’s exposure to Asian audiences.
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