Rabat – FC Barcelona have cancelled plans to play a pre-season friendly in Casablanca on August 7, deciding the extra trip would overload a squad already facing a two-week Asian tour and the Joan Gamper Trophy three days later.
According to Mundo Deportivo, head coach Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco told president Joan Laporta that the team’s rest and recovery are more important than earning new match fees. The Asian tour in Japan on July 27, then South Korea fixtures on July 31 and August 4, is projected to earn around $10 million, but also involves 12 days of travel and three high-intensity matches.
Both Flick and Deco felt returning to Barcelona on August 5, only to board another flight to Morocco 48 hours later, and then face the Joan Gamper at Spotify Camp Nou on 10 August, would risk fatigue and injury just as Flick was trying to prepare for the La Liga opener.
Barça will open their tour against Vissel Kobe at Kobe’s Noevir Stadium, followed by games versus FC Seoul and Daegu FC, which are all part of “The Blaugrana Tour, Asia Edition, by Philips Ambilight TV” campaign. The itinerary marks the club’s first Asian pre-season in six years.
Then they’ll be back home, to play the traditional Joan Gamper Trophy likely against the Italian club Como, coached by former Barça star Cesc Fàbregas, to play their first game in the new renovated stadium Spotify Camp Nou.
Barcelona had reached “advanced negotiations” with a local promoter to stage the Casablanca match, which would have been the Catalans’ first appearance in Morocco since 2018’s Super Cup. While the deal is off for 2025, both parties left the door open to reschedule “in a future off-season when the calendar is lighter,” Mundo Deportivo notes.
