As confirmed by FC Barcelona themselves, the Catalan side will be taking part in a preseason tour of the USA over the summer. The team will face the likes of major European sides such as AC Milan, Arsenal, Juventus, and Real Madrid over the course of the tour.
To promote the tour, FC Barcelona has released a promotional poster, and there may just be more to it than meets the eye. Primarily containing several landmarks from the destinations that FC Barcelona are set to visit during the tour, such as the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
It also showcases all 4 stadiums that FC Barcelona are set to face their planned opponents in: Levis Stadium (Juventus), SoFi Stadium (Arsenal), AT&T Stadium (Real Madrid), and the Allegiant Stadium (AC Milan).
Most intriguing, however, is the choice of players that FC Barcelona have deliberately chosen to include in the poster as noted by Mundo Deportivo. The players that Barca News Network previously reported as being untouchables for Xavi have all but one been included in the promotional poster.
Apart from Andreas Christensen, the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Ousmane Dembele, Frenkie De Jong, Ronald Araujo, and Marc Andre Ter Stegen have all been included in the poster alongside Gavi.
The absence of Raphinha, as well as Ferran Torres, is an interesting choice. Given that both players may find themselves soon out of the club could be the most probable cause.
With offers from the likes of Newcastle United and Aston Villa still on the table, both forwards alongside maybe even Franck Kessie will not be Barcelona players by the time that the club goes on tour, with the matches set to take place between July 22nd and August 1st.
Andreas Christensen is an intriguing absentee as well, given that FC Barcelona do consider him one of the “nontransferable”.
However, it does seem that given the abundance of cover Xavi has at the center-back position, if a massive offer were to arrive for the Danish defender, Barcelona may just consider it since his arrival as a free transfer would, in turn, guarantee a 100% profit on his sale. This, consequently, could be massively impactful in the club’s struggle against Financial Fairplay.
