Barça's 2021-22 pre-season plans revealed

This Saturday marked the first day of Barça's 2021-22 pre-season, disturbed by the European Championships, the Copa América and the Covid-19 pandemic, which for the second year running will prevent the club from going on an international tour. Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman's Project 2.0 begins this weekend with the customary medical, physical and PCR examinations. The players are due to begin training on Monday 12 July at the Joan Gamper Training Ground.

The first team players in attendance on Saturday were Ter Stegen, Coutinho, Ansu Fati, Dembélé, Dest, Piqué, Pjanic, Riqui Puig, Neto, Sergi Roberto, Wagué and Umtiti. The first four are currently injured, and will train separately from the group until they have recovered. Monchu, Ilias, Gavi, Comas, Ramos Mingo, Nico, Arnau Tenas, Álex Collado, Iñaki Peña and Yusuf Demir, all of whom are Barça B players, will also complete pre-season with the first team squad. Ilaix Moriba and Alejandro Balde, meanwhile, will undergo pre-season with the reserve team until their contractual situation is resolved.

The other first team players will return on a staggered basis following their participation in this summer's various international tournaments. Koeman has given each player a three-week rest following their last fixture for their respective countries. Pedri, Mingueza and Eric García, who are due to represent Spain at the Olympic Games, will be the last to join the group, who are set to be put through their paces on five days this week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Friendly matches

Barça's first two pre-season friendlies will be held at the Johan Cruyff Stadium. Just like last season, these matches will be against Nàstic de Tarragona (21 July at 7 PM) and Girona (24 July at 7 PM) as part of their preparations for the upcoming LaLiga season, which is set to kick-off with a tough match against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou on 15 August. Despite not being officially announced, the club are also planning to complete a training camp in Germany in early August, during which they will play an additionaln pre-season friendly against Stuttgart. They are also scheduled to play a friendly against Beitar Jerusalem, although the latter is in doubt due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.

On 8 August, Barça will play Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus in the Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou. Koeman's outfit will then play one more friendly match in the week beginning 23 August, with the domestic season having started the weekend before. This will be against Manchester City in a charity match in honour of Juan Carlos Unzué, with the proceeds going towards ALS research.