There has been plenty of anticipation ahead of Manchester United’s tours of Norway, South Africa and China tours over the summer and supporters now have something else to rub their hands over. The club have now announced that as part of their extensive pre-season programme a fixture against European heavyweights Barcelona has been arranged, with the game due to take place in Gothenburg on August 8th.
The fixture, which will be played just ten days before United start their Premier League campaign against Everton, is sure to bring plenty of attention following some memorable clashes between the two sides over recent years. The 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals’ featured both sides, as did the semi-final in the same competition in 2008. It would be fair to say that Barca hold the upper hand in terms of recent form, although they are undergoing something of a transformation this summer following the departure of the hugely popular coach Pep Guardiola.
It appears as though this friendly fixture could come an annual occurrence, after the two clubs took part in a pre-season game in July last term. With the two outfits regarded as two of the biggest clubs in the world, the clash will certainly capture the attention of host city Gothenburg. David Gill seems to be thinking along the same lines as well, saying, “Manchester United against Barcelona is one of the top fixtures in world football and we are delighted to work with GotEvent to bring this match to the beautiful city of Gothenburg. We have a large following throughout Scandinavia and it’s great that this match will form part of our preparations for the new season.”
With some of United’s players handed extended holiday periods due to their involvement in international duties, they are all likely to be back ahead of this encounter.