It really does feel like there is no week at FC Barcelona that goes on seamlessly without some kind of drama. When the Marcus Rashford deal was agreed like clockwork and he was announced in the next few days, fans would have been forgiven for thinking that this week might progress smoothly.
Yet, the biggest drama of the week comes in the form of Barcelona’s pre-season trip to Japan, where they are expected to take on Vissel Kobe. The “will they, won’t they” saga has been going on for the past couple of days, but the squad still remains in Spain.
It initially emerged on Wednesday that Barcelona would not travel to Japan due to the promoter of the match causing a breach of contract. Hansi Flick then scheduled normal training for the squad on Thursday morning, and by then, the financial issue had been resolved.
The twists and turns
This then raised the possibility of Barcelona travelling to Japan on Thursday evening, looking at options of an 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm flight. However, that was then ruled out due to a lack of airline availability. Now, as per Mundo Deportivo, the Barcelona squad has arrived at the Ciutat Esportiva, ready to travel to the Asian country on Friday.
Even though an official announcement from the club is yet to arrive, the squad is expected to have breakfast together and then catch the flight to Kansai at 11:00 am. Ultimately, it is the same initial plan that they had for Thursday, but they are executing it 24 hours later.
The expectation now, if this saga doesn’t take its next wild turn, is for the Barcelona squad to travel to Japan today and settle in and play the pre-season tour as planned. It is important for Flick’s players to get minutes under their legs.
Ultimately, all is well
Funnily, with everything that is happening at Barcelona, it feels like the club always ultimately ends at the right decision, but the path they take to get there is full of twists and turns. It felt the same way during the Marcus Rashford signing as well.
It remains to be seen if nothing changes in the next few hours and Barcelona indeed board that plane to Japan. With the Catalan club, you can never take things for granted, and let’s wait and see how things play out.
