Atlético to participate in International Champions Cup

Yesterday the four-team field for this summer's International Champions Cup was announced. The global preseason competition's Australian leg will take place at Melbourne Cricket Ground and include Juventus, Melbourne Victory, Tottenham Hotspur...and Atlético Madrid.

Atleti will travel Down Under this summer (or winter, technically) and play Spurs on July 29 in the third and final match at the MCG. This summer will mark the fourth ICC tournament and the second that will feature fixtures in Australia; last summer, Real Madrid lost to Roma on penalties before besting Manchester City at a packed MCG.

A media released cited by the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Antoine Griezmann as saying, "Hopefully we'll have a packed out stadium cheering us on."

This is pretty big news for Atlético and speaks to the club's continuing evolution as a brand name with global appeal. Last year, Wang Jianlin purchased a 20% stake and Atleti went on a preseason Chinese tour in the summer. Playing Spurs in Melbourne should serve to reinforce the rojiblancos' rising status as one of the biggest teams in football and further increase the revenue coming into a club which was so financially unstable in the recent past.

Anyway, see you there, Cartilage Free Captain!