Barcelona Sets Date for New Season Preparations

FC Barcelona has outlined the work plan for the first team in preparation for the 2026/2027 season competitions. The players will return to the club's headquarters on July 13 to start the preparation period under the leadership of coach Hans Flick, initially undergoing the usual medical and physical tests.

After completing the initial procedures, the team will begin training at the Joan Gamper Sports City before traveling to England for a preparatory camp aimed at getting the players ready for the new season.

The Spanish newspaper 'Mundo Deportivo' reported that the Barcelona delegation will stay at the St. George's Park center from July 27 to August 3. This center is one of the premier football facilities in England and regularly hosts the English national team's camps. It also previously hosted a preparatory camp for the Catalan team in the summer of 2014.

Players returning to training on July 13 include Wojciech Szczesny, Alejandro Balde, Gerard Martin, Andreas Christensen, Fermín López, Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, and Rony Bardghji, while the status of loaned players remains under observation, including Marc-André ter Stegen, Hector Fort, Iñaki Peña, Ander Astralaga, and Ansu Fati.

The Spanish newspaper added that Barcelona will play a closed friendly match against either Watford or Stoke City during the preparation period, noting that both teams finished last season in the sixteenth and seventeenth places respectively in the English Championship.

Additionally, the Catalan team will face Birmingham City on July 31 in an open friendly match for fans at St. Andrew's Stadium, which has a capacity of about 30,000 spectators. Birmingham City finished the season in tenth place in the English Championship under the leadership of their coach Chris Davies, missing out on the race for promotion to the Premier League.