FC Barcelona is about to start the pre-season with a few friendly matches. The first one was set to happen on Sunday in Japan against Vissel Kobe (former club of the Barça legend Andrés Iniesta). However, "due to serious contractual breaches on behalf of the promotor", the match has been cancelled.
The club did not go into details, but according to Spanish outlet As, the promotor did not pay the promised amount, so the club decided not to go. And the rest of the matches in Asia, in South Korea, against FC Seoul (31 July) and Daegu FC (4 August) might be "readjusted" unless "certain conditions are met by the promotor".
FC Barcelona was expected to earn around 15 million euros in these three friendly matches in Asia, after years of doing a pre-season in the United States. But if the relationship with the promoter breaks, they may need to find "in extremis" a new promotor to play some friendly matches next week. Friendly matches in the pre-season are a big economic boost for any club, but they also have sporting interest, as coaches, in this case Hansi Flick, can start experimenting with new tactics and let the new players (like Marcus Rashford) get used to the team.