Barcelona cancel friendly in Morocco, miss out on €4.5 million payday

Barcelona cancel friendly in Morocco, miss out on €4.5 million payday As reported by Mundo Deportivo , FC Barcelona have officially decided not to go ahead with the proposed friendly match in Tangier, Morocco, which had been scheduled for August 15. According to sources close to the organisers, the circumstances are no longer considered suitable following the events that took place in Ceuta last week. The Catalans had planned to play a friendly in Morocco, with the idea being confirmed during last week’s board meeting . Ittihad Tanger, a local team, were chosen as the opponents. However, the plan is now off the table. Safety takes priority The decision comes at a financial cost for Barcelona. By cancelling the fixture, the club will forgo an appearance fee worth around €4.5 million. Even so, Barça have chosen to prioritise the safety of the players and coaching staff given the current circumstances. The move follows the events in Ceuta, where more than 70,000 Moroccan citizens entered the Spanish autonomous city illegally, creating what the club considers an unsuitable environment to proceed with the planned fixture. Barça exploring alternative plans With the Morocco fixture now off the table, Barcelona will assess the situation alongside Hansi Flick to determine whether another friendly can be arranged before the team’s La Liga opener. The coaching staff are keen for the squad to play another match as part of their preparations ahead of the new season. Flick wants another pre-season friendly. (Photo courtesy: FC Barcelona official website) So far, the La Liga champions have played two friendly matches, one against CE Europa at home before facing Birmingham City last week during their training camp in England. A behind-closed-doors friendly against Preston North End was planned for this Monday but ended up being cancelled due to the English club not having enough first-team players available. For now, the Catalan giants are scheduled to face Nottingham Forest and Udinese on August 8 before the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Al-Ahly on August 19. There were plans to play a friendly in Nairobi, Kenya, previously but it was ruled out as well before the Morocco game took shape. So, it remains to be seen how Barcelona decide to proceed following this development.