Barcelona must play a friendly match against Club America to win five million euros, Friday (22/12/2023). This friendly match took place at Fair Park Stadium, Dallas.
However, the club will have to pay dearly for this match in regards to the fitness of the Blaugarana players. How could it not be, the day before they had just played the 18th week of the 2023-2024 Spanish League against Almeria, Wednesday (20/12/2023). Barca was lucky because they managed to win 3-2 over Almeria.
Then, two hours after the league match, at around 11 pm Catalonia time, Wednesday (20/12/2023), the team had to board a plane and travel across continents to Dallas. They flew 13 hours across the Atlantic, arrived in the morning, and played the game in the evening at 20.00 Dallas time.
They traveled from Spain for a friendly match, 32 hours after the league game. Time that players can use to rest and recover. Yet, for Barcelona’s core players, they had to play to carry out their contract agreement for a friendly match. This match ended in Club America’s 3-2 victory over Barcelona.
Barcelona’s two goals came through the actions of Lamine Yamal (6′) and Marc Guiu (28′), while Club America responded with Julian Quinones (12′, 50′) Henry (82′). This result has no impact on Barcelona in the 2023-2024 Spanish League standings, now the Catalan team is in 3rd place with 38 points. This defeat also ends 2023 for the owner of five Champions League winners on a negative note.
The friendly match played by Xavi Hernandez’s troops could not be separated from Barcelona’s internal financial condition. Looking back at 2021 based on the Barcelona CEO’s admission, that “the club technically is already bankrupt.” Reckless spending, mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic have left debts of more than $1 billion and endangered the club.
They sold 49 percent of the club’s in-house media and production arm, Barca Studios, to Socios.com, a Maltese blockchain company, and Orpheus Media, a local Catalan company. They sold 25 percent of La Liga’s broadcast rights for the next 25 years to a California-based investment company, Sixth Street. Barcelona’s next schedule is to face Las Palmas in Week 19, 4/1/2024.
