Messi in Beijing during the 2010 Asia Tour / Photo: Archive - FCB
During this afternoon’s press conference, President Sandro Rosell confirmed that FC Barcelona will tour Asia this summer. Rosell didn’t reveal the teams Barça will face, but he did confirm the dates and locations of the team’s three exhibition matches. The first shall be played in Shanghai (China) on August 4, three days later, August 7, Barça will fly to Bangkok (Thailand) for the second match of the tour, and the third match will be held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on the10th.
Second Asia Tour
This won’t be FC Barcelona’s first visit to the Far East. In the summer of 2010, the Blaugrana played exhibition matches in Seoul (South Korea) and Beijing (China). In the first match of the tour, FC Barcelona defeated the K League All Stars by 2-5 thanks to goals from Ibrahimovic, Messi (2), JonathanSoriano, and Víctor Sánchez. In Beijing, the Blaugrana took on Guoan FC at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as The Bird’s Nest, and won 0-3 thanks to strikes from Sergi Roberto, Nolito, and Ibrahimovic.
It should be noted that FC Barcelona’s first confirmed pre-season match will be against Josep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich on July 24.