FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confirmed the amount of players he will cut from the squad to … More
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confirmed the amount of players he will cut from the squad to head on an upcoming preseason tour of Asia while speaking at the Joan Gamper CT on Thursday morning in Catalonia.
Members of the press including myself were invited by Barca to watch the first team train as its current 35-man squad continues preparations for the upcoming 2025/2026 campaign.
As the players warmed up, Flick spoke to us politely and receptively. He predicted that the upcoming season will be more difficult than his first, when Barca won all three trophies on offer in Spain at the expense of Real Madrid, which it beat in no fewer than four Clasicos including two cup finals.
Amid also praising Marc Bernal, Flick confirmed that he is very happy with the work of the youngsters that have been given the traditional summer boost from La Masia or the reserve team to train with the seniors in preseason.
Not all of them will be able to go to Asia, however, which is where Barca will face Vissel Kobe (July 27), FC Seoul (July 31) and Daegu FC (August 4) ahead of the Joan Gamper Trophy match.
The Gamper was expected to be held at the partly-renovated Spotify Camp Nou, but as explained by various outlets this week, the ground is unlikely to be ready which might result in the season-opening fixture against a non-Spanish foe being held at the 6,000-holding Johan Cruyff mini estadi.
Back to Flick, he currently has Landry Farre, Toni Fernandez, Guillermo Fernandez, Jan Virgili, Juan Hernandez, Ibrahim Diarra, Jofre Torrents, Pedro Fernandez, Dani Rodríguez and new signing Roony Bardghji, who was training hard, under his orders.
Cuts will be made from that group to take just 26 players in total to the Far East, meaning nine will be discarded overall, and players that could be transferred also have their seats on the plane at risk.
These FC Barcelona players are at risk of being sold
Transferable FC Barcelona players include Inaki Pena, Oriol Romeu, Pau Victor and Andreas Christensen. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who continues to train away from the group, could also be sold if he decides to leave and pursue interest from Turkey, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
