When Cross-Continental Football Becomes Reality: Milan-Como Move Draws 'Crazy' Reactions
7 October 2025
Key Points
Adrien Rabiot, Milan’s midfield star, described the decision to stage the Rossoneri’s match against Como in Australia as crazy after learning of the plan.
The Milan–Como game, originally scheduled for San Siro in February as part of Serie A, received UEFA approval to be moved to Australia, a precedent-setting move.
Rabiot told Tuttomercato Web that he was surprised we would play a Serie A match between Milan and Como in Australia and that the move felt crazy.
He added that these are economic and scheduling considerations outside the players’ control; discussing calendar integrity seems trivial, yet pausing all competitions for one Italian clash is certainly unusual and demands adaptation.
Rabiot, who joined Milan from Marseille last summer, joked that France excels in some things (like gastronomy) but Italy makes the best pasta in the world.
He concluded that, on a football level, Italy lives for football more intensely than France, with fans whose passion drives their clubs forward, while in France the energy is strong but different; football here is a kind of lifeblood.
UEFA announced on Monday that it approved two domestic league matches to be played outside their country: Barcelona vs Villarreal in the Spanish league to be held in Miami, USA, in late December 2025, and Milan vs Como in the Italian league to be played in Perth, Australia, in early February 2026.
Milan chose to move the match from San Siro outside Italy to align with the city’s preparations for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 6, 2026.
The Spanish league (La Liga) has pursued cross-border games for nearly a decade as a promotional strategy, following models from other US and international leagues.
UEFA stated that the executive committee approved this step reluctantly and exceptionally, noting that the overall framework for international competition is still under review and lacks full clarity.
Ceferin, UEFA President, argued that league matches should stay within the country of the competition to protect fans’ rights and avoid distortion, and stressed that this decision should not be seen as a precedent but as an exceptional measure to safeguard competition integrity.
Barcelona, in relation to the plan, would receive a financial bonus of around five to six million euros, while Villarreal would obtain a larger share to offset potential revenue losses from hosting the match outside its stadium.
The Spanish players’ union reportedly rejected the proposal during a tense meeting that Tebas did not attend, demanding thorough disclosure of the details and clarifying why this particular game was chosen for a cross-border venue. Club leaders were said to have been unaware of the plan beforehand.
Overall, the plan aims to promote cross-border matches as a promotional tool for leagues, though it raises questions about logistics, fan access, and national league identity.
The broader context shows a growing hunger for international exposure, balanced against concerns about tradition, travel burdens, and the ability of domestic leagues to retain their core audiences.
As the calendar evolves, football keeps testing the limits of where the action happens, and fans keep finding new ways to watch their teams chase glory, even if it means a long flight and a bigger passport. And if nothing else, this saga proves that even football has a globe-trotting phase now and then, yes, including pasta diplomacy on the side.
Punchline time: If the ball starts taking more holidays than the players, we’ll know who booked the travel agent—definitely not the referee. Punchline two: football may cross oceans, but the real travel agent is the calendar, and it always says: see you next time, in a city neither team expected to visit.
