FC Barcelona will bid for Miami MLS team

Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona will submit a formal request Wednesday to bring an MLS franchise to Miami. FC Barcelona, the world-famous Spanish soccer club, will submit a formal bid Wednesday to bring professional soccer back to Miami. Barcelona wants to expand its brand in the United States and is applying to co-own a Major League Soccer franchise that would begin play in 2011. Barcelona announced on its website that it would partner with Miami resident Marcelo Claure, a Bolivian cellphone magnate and owner of FC Bolivar, to launch a team in Miami. Claure is the CEO of Brightstar Communications, a multibillion-dollar company that is one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States. Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona, and Joan Oliver, the club's general director, plan to be in Miami Wednesday to present... [read full story]