Lucrative negotiations are under way between the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] and Saudi Arabia’s government to bring the Supercopa de Espana to the Kingdom, according to reports.

Spanish sports daily Marca have stated that a proposal worth 30 million per year is under discussion that would see the showpiece season opener – that contains the preceding La Liga and Copa del Rey winners – held in the Middle East for the next six editions. A longer-term deal and future changing of locations are also up for discussion, with nothing official yet signed.

Big changes to the match in 2018 saw it both played abroad – at Morocco’s Stade de Tanger – and over just one leg for the first time. Barcelona defeated Sevilla 2-1 in August’s clash.

Further alterations could be approved by the RFEF assembly on April 29 that move the fixture from its traditional spot to January, beginning in 2020. The average daytime temperature in capital city Riyadh for August is 36C with a high temperature of 43C, making usual scheduling problematic.

In February, RFEF president Luis Rubiales also proposed the competition being expanded to four teams.

The 2018 Supercoppa Italiana was held at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City on January 16, 2019. Serie A holders Juventus defeated Coppa Italia runners-up AC Milan 1-0, with Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo netting the only goal.