Soccer-Real Madrid to play exhibition matches in Melbourne

Reuters

MELBOURNE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - European champions Real Madrid will play exhibition matches with an English Premier League side and a Serie A club at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground next year, organisers said on Monday. The teams will play each other in three fixtures at the 100,000-seat MCG from July 18-24 as part of the International Champions Cup, a series of pre-season matches involving top European clubs, Victoria state sports minister Damien Drum told reporters. The other teams will be named in coming weeks. Manchester City, who own Melbourne City in Australia's top-flight A-League, are expected to participate. Local media have speculated Inter Milan will be the third. (Writing by Ian Ransom; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)