Around a week ago, Barcelona were reportedly in talks with Arsenal over hosting a friendly at Emirates just before the restart of club football. The friendly was to be hosted not only due to sporting reasons but also due to financial reasons, as the club had hoped to raise around €1.5 million.
However, the move never materialised. Barcelona continued their hopes of holding a friendly by indulging in talks with Juventus, but that did not work either, primarily due to the Italian club’s managerial crisis.
In light of the failed deals, Barcelona are now trying to find alternatives. They are looking for a club they can play a friendly with, shortly before their derby game against Espanyol at the end of the month, reports Diario AS.
The club believe the friendly could be essential in helping the players get up to the speed of the game, especially after spending a month representing their respective nations in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Barcelona are also aware of the fact that Espanyol players may have a couple of weeks break as not many of their players are participating in the World Cup.
With that in mind, the Catalans are keen on arranging a friendly, even though they are unsure of the availability of the large chunk of players. Spain, for example, may have eight players unavailable for the friendly on December 20, if they reach the final of the World Cup.
Nevertheless, the club are scouting candidates for the best team that can give the players a tough competition before they can play Espanyol at the end of the month