Laurens gives an update on Barcelona's finances as well as their pursuit of Silva. There is a time and a place for it. Despite both clubs having kicked off their 2022-23 seasons weeks ago, Manchester City and Barcelona will play each other on Wednesday. Barcelona will play their third game of the season on Sunday against Real Valladolid, while City will play their third match of the season on August 7th. In the U.S., it is on Disney's cable channel, Disney+. Both clubs traveled to the US for preseason tours and played six games across the Atlantic. They have found time in their schedules to play in Wednesday's match, which is for a worthy cause that is close to the hearts of everyone involved with the club. Since City last played at Barcelona, there has been a lot of change. Lionel Messi scored a hat trick and added a fourth late in the game to give Barcelona a 4-2 win over City in a group stage game of the European Championship. Since that time, the clubs' trajectory has gone in different directions. Four of the past five seasons have seen City win the premier league, but they haven't won a trophy in Europe. Barcelona have fallen away from Europe's top tier of clubs and racked up more than 1 billion in debt in the past three years. There is hope, though, after a summer of more spending, that they're ready to reestablish themselves as one of the continent's best sides. You can watch LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more on the US version of the network.
- O'Hanlon: What's wrong with Man City this season? (E+)
The friendly was put off due to the coronaviruses epidemic. The clubs wanted the game to be played in a full stadium and the attendance limit was capped at 30,000.
Juan Carlos Unzue, who was diagnosed with the condition at the start of 2020, will benefit from the money raised from the game.
The summer tours abroad made finding a day that worked for both teams impossible. Even though both sides have begun their domestic seasons, they decided to hold the match this Wednesday.
Most of Unzue's career was at Sevilla. He was the club's backup goalkeeper between 1988 and 1990 and is most well-known for his work as a coach. After retiring, he became the goalkeeping coach for Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona.
He became Luis Enrique's assistant at the time. He moved to Barcelona a year later and they went on to win the trophy.
He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 2020.
Unzue, who is rarely seen without a smile and is currently in a wheelchair, has been raising money for research into the disease. City was an obvious opponent and a glamorous one in terms of generating interest.
Barcelona have developed a habit of playing friendly matches in order to raise money for their own purposes.
They played an A-League All-stars team in Australia at the end of the season. The fixture was worth 5 million, according to reports.
The Diego Maradona Cup was held in Saudi Arabia after the death of an Argentine player. He didn't get invited to two clubs where he spent more time than Barcelona. The club made money from it.
Barcelona played a game in South Africa at the end of the season. The fixture is still blamed for costing the side a perfect season. They lost their final game of the season, which was a loss to Levante, by a score of 4-5. The coming trip and contract stipulations about certain players having to play in South Africa was said to distract.
The Joan Gamper Trophy is hosted by Barcelona every year at Camp Nou, but it is the week before the start of the season. In the past few weeks, guests include Elche, Boca Juniors, and the team from Brazil.
In his time at Manchester City, Erling Haaland has a lot of room to improve.
Xavi might view this game favorably because of the bloated squad of Barcelona. It's a chance to give more minutes to the new signings, as well as Jules Kounde, who is not yet registered to play in LaLiga because of the spending cap.
Some of the players who have not featured in the two LaLiga games played thus far may be given a chance to play.
It's a positive that it's played at Camp Barcelona, as it means no midweek travel for Real Valladolid ahead of their game on Sunday.
He may not have a good view of proceedings. City had an inexperienced bench as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Newcastle United on Sunday, although they were still able to leave out players such as KalvinPhillips.
This fixture is likely to be used by Guardiola to get a better look at some of the players he has signed in the last few months.
At the presentation of the game back in June, Guardiola said he would field a strong side and City arrived in Girona with all of their star players on Sunday.
There will be a lot of attention on Bernardo Silva. At the presentation in June, Joan Laporta made a joke of the fact that Barcelona wanted to sign the player, but he will be wearing a blue shirt on Wednesday. Barcelona's financial position suggests they may not be able to test City's stance regarding the future of the Portugal international.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
