La Liga 2016/17: FC Barcelona to have a high-profile pre-season in July 2017
What’s the story?
FC Barcelona have revealed that they will be travelling to the United States of America in the summer and will be involved in some high-profile friendlies against the likes of Juventus, Manchester United and arch-rivals Real Madrid. The Catalan giants are expected to take on Juventus on the July 22nd before facing Manchester United on 25th July and finish their tour of the USA by facing Real Madrid on July 29th.
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The heart of the matter
Over the course of the last few years, it has become a ritual amongst teams to travel across the globe in the pre-season so as to gain shape for the season ahead. The likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona themselves have taken their respective squads to the USA in the past.
Barcelona had previously visited the USA, however, what should make this tour memorable is the El Clasico fixture that is scheduled to take place in Miami on 29th July. This will be the first time since 1982 that the El Clasico will be played outside Spain and while it remains a friendly, sparks are destined to fly when these two sides meet.
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What next?
The announcement by Barcelona will please millions of its fans from the United States. After all, the chance to see their role models in flesh and blood is not presented to the fans of the country every other week and we expect the Barcelona players to receive a tremendous reception in the country.
With the likes of Juventus, Real Madrid and Manchester United to face them, Barcelona will be pressed hard through the pre-season and it could make for a perfect way to tune themselves into performing better than they have done in the current season.
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Sportskeeda’s take
The USA continues to be a huge untapped football market and it does not come as a surprise to us that several European heavyweights are travelling across the Atlantic Ocean in a bid to increase their fan base as well commercial visibility. Barcelona themselves have adopted this model in the past and will be looking to add to their presence in the nation in the upcoming summer.
While some Barcelona fans might be worried that such a hectic and high-profile pre-season might be detrimental to the side, we for one, believe that a side like Barcelona needs to be in the best of shapes from the very first minute of the competitive season and the scheduled pre-season should help them do so.