Barcelona consider Morocco friendly as Hansi Flick steps up pre-season plans

Barcelona are weighing up playing an additional pre-season friendly in Morocco as new head coach Hansi Flick intensifies preparations for the coming campaign with a training camp in England.

The squad travelled on Monday to St George’s Park, the Football Association’s national football centre, where Flick will continue to ramp up both physical conditioning and tactical work in the weeks leading up to the start of the season, according to Spanish newspaper Sport.

Flick is understood to see this phase as crucial for sharpening the team’s tactical cohesion and accelerating the integration of new arrivals into the first team set-up.

Almost all available first-team players have been included in the travelling party, along with a sizeable contingent of academy prospects.

New signing Karim Adeyemi features in the group, as does Ronald Araujo, who has returned after taking part in the recent World Cup. Fermin Lopez is also with the squad as he continues his rehabilitation programme while working within the dynamics of the group.

Frenkie de Jong and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are both in the camp despite what are described as particular individual circumstances, while Brazil international Raphinha is scheduled to join up with his team-mates in the middle of the week once his holiday period ends.

Morocco friendly under consideration

Away from on-pitch training, Barcelona are still finalising their pre-season fixture list.

Journalist Ashraf Ben Ayad has reported that the Catalan club are studying the option of arranging another warm-up game in Morocco before the start of La Liga.

The potential fixture is seen as offering both sporting and commercial benefits. Barcelona enjoy a substantial fanbase across North Africa, and staging a friendly on Moroccan soil is viewed inside the club as a way to strengthen their global presence while also generating additional revenue.

No decision has yet been made on the identity of the opposition or the exact date of the proposed match. The club’s sporting department and commercial arm are working to identify a suitable window in what is already a congested schedule, with negotiations expected to continue in the coming days, Ben Ayad added.

Busy pre-season schedule

While discussions over the Morocco game continue, Flick’s players remain focused on a packed run of confirmed fixtures.

Barcelona will round off their stay in England with two friendlies: against Birmingham City on 31 July and Preston North End on 3 August.

The team will then head to Italy for a three-team tournament in Udine on 8 August, where Barcelona are scheduled to face Nottingham Forest and Udinese.

Pre-season will conclude with the traditional Joan Gamper Trophy at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, where Barcelona are set to host Al Ahly on 19 August.