After intense talks between UEFA and the organising authorities in Qatar, it was announced that, due to the current political situation in the region, the Finalissima between Spain, winners of Euro 2024, and Argentina, winners of the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America, will not be able to take place, as expected, in Qatar on March 27. It is a great disappointment for UEFA and the organisers that the circumstances and timing have deprived the teams of the opportunity to compete for this prestigious trophy in Qatar, a country that has time and again demonstrated its ability to host top international events in state-of-the-art facilities. UEFA wishes to express its deep gratitude to the organising committee and the relevant authorities in Qatar for their work in trying to host the match, as well as its certainty that peace will soon return to the region. The Finalissima was introduced as part of the close collaboration between UEFA and CONMEBOL and brings together the champions of Europe and South America in a celebration of international football at the highest level. Current world champions Argentina won the inaugural edition in 2022 with a 3-0 victory over Italy at Wembley Stadium in London. With the firm determination to save this important match, and despite the understandable difficulties of relocating such an important match at such short notice, UEFA explored other viable alternatives, but all of them were ultimately unacceptable to the Argentine Football Association.The first option was to hold the match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on the original date, with a 50% split of the fans in the stadium. This would have provided a world-class setting, befitting such a prestigious event, but Argentina refused.The second was to play the Finalissima over two legs: one at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 27 and the other in Buenos Aires during an international window before Euro 2028 and the Copa America, again offering a 50% fan split for the match in Madrid. This option was also rejected.Finally, UEFA asked Argentina to commit that, if a neutral venue in Europe could be found,the match could be played on March 27 as planned and announced on December 18, 2025, or on the alternative date of March 30. This proposal was also rejected.Argentina presented a counter-proposal to play the match after the World Cup, but since Spain does not have available dates, this option had to be ruled out. Finally, and contrary to the initially agreed plan for the match to be played on March 27, Argentina declared its availability to play exclusively on March 31, a date that proved unfeasible.As a result, and much to UEFA's chagrin, this edition of the Finalissima has been cancelled.UEFA would like to express its sincere thanks to Real Madrid CF and the organising committee and the authorities in Qatar for their support and cooperation in attempting to stage this match. In the case of Real Madrid, their efforts were made at extremely short notice.The Spanish Football Federation is also thanked for its flexibility in accommodating all options proposed throughout the process. Argentina sabotages the Finalissima for fear of losing According to sources close to the negotiations, the Argentine coach refused to play for fear of repeating the 6-1 defeat suffered just before the World Cup in Russia, which, they say, affected them in the tournament. It's all a matter of superstition Messi also prevented the match from being played, prioritising his own commitments. https://twitter.com/USER_ID/status/2033174390016209003 Argentina wanted to claim all the money The Argentine Football Federation (FA) demanded full payment for the rescheduled match, as if it were still being played in Qatar had sold 80,000 tickets - a large amount of money had already been invested in sponsorship for their country - all of which was lost. In contrast, Spain was flexible and accepted all the proposed changes without any problem. Knowing that in these times of war, a football match unites the world, and that there are things more important than winning or losing, or money.
