Kuala Lumpur, July 22: Real Madrid's Asian tour will not take in Malaysia as planned, officials said today, with media reports saying the Spanish giant's demand for a 2.9 million dollar appearance fee was proving too expensive. Real Madrid had been scheduled to play the Malaysian national team on August 10 at the national stadium in Kuala Lumpur, and regional television stations had already advertised the game.
But Football Association of Malaysia assistant general secretary Yap Nyim Keong told reporters the game had been cancelled. "The terms were not acceptable," he said, without elaborating. The new straits times said Real Madrid had wanted 11 million ringgit (2.9 million dollars) to play in Kuala Lumpur, while the total cost of staging the match would have reached 18 million ringgit.
"While sponsors can help defray some of the costs, ticket sales are the major revenue earner but even a capacity crowd of 80,000 at the national stadium would not help meet the costs," the paper said.
Real Madrid, keen to cash in on Asia's love of soccer, are due to showcase David Beckham, Ronaldo, Raul and all their other stars in a series of exhibition matches across the region next month.
Bureau Report.