Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Why players will wear jerseys with Chinese names

Barcelona players will have their names written in Chinese above their number, for Wednesday’s El Clasico at the Nou Camp, the UK Mirror reports.

They Spanish champions have taken the step, to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

It is also part of Barca’s strategy to buy into the Asian market, as they will travel to China and Japan in the summer to meet their fans.

If Lionel Messi’s name will be written in Chinese remains to be seen.

Barca have named the Argentine superstar in their squad for the semi-final first leg, but will “wait until the last moment” to decide if he takes to the field.

The game kicks off 9pm West African time.