Birmingham & Preston – Barcelona’s unlikely UK camp
Barcelona have set up an unusual pre-season training camp at St George's Park in Staffordshire, opting for the Midlands over the long-haul tours favoured by many Premier League rivals. Manager Hansi Flick's squad will play two friendlies against Championship opposition, facing Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Friday and Preston North End behind closed doors at St George's Park the following Monday, with the World Cup schedule shaping both the venue choice and squad availability.
Eight World Cup winners, including Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Ferran Torres, remain on a break, while new signing Karim Adeyemi and a mix of senior players, Barcelona B and under-19 squad members make up the 30-man travelling party. Several senior internationals are also missing, among them England's Anthony Gordon after his £80m move from Newcastle, plus Brazil's Raphinha, France's Jules Kounde and Uruguay's Ronald Araujo. Notable inclusions are Frenkie de Jong, despite a knee injury sustained at the World Cup, and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, whose expected loan move to Ajax has yet to be finalised. Birmingham, who have promotion ambitions under chairman Tom Wagner and co-owner Tom Brady, had courted Barcelona for months, while the Catalan club previously used St George's Park in 2014 and 2016.
- Barcelona train at St George's Park instead of touring abroad
- Friendlies set against Birmingham City and Preston North End
- World Cup absences and Ter Stegen's Ajax uncertainty shape the squad
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Barcelona, one of Europe's biggest football clubs, have chosen to base their pre-season training in England's Midlands rather than undertaking the long-haul overseas tours that most rival clubs favour. The Spanish club are using St George's Park in Staffordshire, with friendly matches against domestic opponents scheduled as part of their preparation.
The squad Barcelona have brought to England includes new signing Karim Adeyemi and a mix of senior and younger players, though many established names are absent due to the World Cup schedule. Eight players who won the World Cup, including promising young talents like Lamine Yamal and Pedri, are still recovering from the tournament, and several other international players are unavailable.
Manager Hansi Flick's decision to keep pre-season preparation in Europe rather than travel far afield marks a shift from Barcelona's traditional approach to summer tours. Birmingham City, operating under new ownership with ambitions of promotion, actively pursued the arrangement, and Barcelona have previously used the same training facilities for pre-season camps in 2014 and 2016.