Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was unable to board the plane with his team on Saturday as they began their pre-season tour of the United States.
The Blaugrana left for the US to begin their 17-day tour of the country, which will include numerous training sessions and preseason friendlies, but their manager was unable to travel with them due to a delay in paperwork.
Due to his previous association with the Qatari club, Al Sadd as both a player and coach, Xavi has traveled to Iran three times in the past five years. As a result, the US government required him to submit additional documentation to support his justifications for making so many trips to the Middle Eastern country because of the country’s negative international relations with the US.
The required documents were supposed to arrive on Friday, but there was a delay, so the coach of the Catalan giants must now wait until Monday before he can go with his team to the US.
The club thought they had fixed the necessary bureaucratic requirements, so Xavi had gone to the airport in Barcelona with his teammates expecting to be a part of the trip. But the trip was not approved, so he was forced to stay in Catalonia.
❗Xavi will not be in Miami today to direct Barça’s first friendly of US tour against Inter Miami, the coach has not yet received approval to travel to the USA. ✈️
— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) July 19, 2022
Via (🟢): @FCBRAC1
On the other hand, five Barcelona players were removed from the tour as Xavi wants them to leave the club because they’re not part of his plans next season.
Goalkeeper Neto, defenders Oscar Mingueza and Samuel Umtiti, midfielder Riqui Puig and striker Martin Braithwaite were all left out of the traveling squad and they could leave the club this summer.
But top midfielder Frenkie de Jong who’s heavily linked with a move to the English Premier League this summer to join Manchester United is in the squad alongside Netherlands international Memphis Depay, who may leave the club very soon.
France international Ousmane Dembele recently signed a new contract with the Spanish giants and he’s in the traveling squad too. Barcelona’s new signings Raphinha from Leeds United, Andreas Christensen from Chelsea, and Franck Kessie from AC Milan were all included.
The Spanish giants will start their pre-season tour with a game against Inter Miami on 20 July before facing arch-rivals Real Madrid in Las Vegas four days later and then play Juventus in Dallas on 26 July.
They will finish their pre-season tour with a game against New York Red Bulls on 31 July.
Note that Barcelona has been one of the busiest clubs in the current summer transfer window and their president Joan Laporta has revealed that they will still sign more players. The club has already signed five players after they secured the services of Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski this week.
