South Africans are showing a big appetite for the marquee international club friendly between Mamelodi Sundowns and FC Barcelona after it emerged on Thursday that match tickets were selling at the rate of 216 a minute. The Brazilians host Barcelona at FNB Stadium on Wednesday night in the Mandela Centenary Cup and coach Ernesto Valverde is expected to parade his superstars, among them Lionel Messi‚ Luis Suárez‚ Ivan Rakitic‚ Ousmane Dembélé‚ Andrés Iniesta‚ Gerard Piqué‚ Sergio Busquets and Samuel Umtiti. This is the second meeting between the South African and Spanish champions. They clashed at Loftus in Pretoria in 2007. The Catalans triumphed 2-1 in that match. Tickets are priced from R40 to R550 and after the South African Football Association revealed the pace of sales‚ it is a matter of time before they are sold out. FNB Stadium, where Spain won the World Cup in 2010, will have fond memories for Pique, Busquets and captain Iniesta, who struck the only goal in their 1-0 win ove...
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