Friendlies in South Korea: Barça revs up for a new season

The 2025 preseason of FC Barcelona is heading to Asia to start preparing for what will be the 2025/26 season. According to 'Mundo Deportivo', the club is well on track to hold two friendlies in South Korea between the first and second week of July, taking advantage of the summer break of the K-League. FC Seoul and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are rumored as possible opponents for the team led by Hansi Flick, although there is also the option of facing a team of stars from the South Korean league.

The match against FC Seoul would be at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, a venue with a capacity of 66,704 spectators located in the capital of Korea, which hosted the opening match of the 2002 World Cup. The capital team features former Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard as captain. The Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, on the other hand, is the most successful team in the K-League (9 titles) and plays its matches at the World Cup stadium in Jeonju. Argentine Gustavo Poyet is currently their coach.

Barça hasn't visited Korea since the summer of 2010

The last time Barcelona held part of its preseason in South Korea was in the summer of 2010, after Spain won the World Cup in South Africa. The team then led by Pep Guardiola faced a team of stars from the K-League on August 4, winning 2-5 in favor of the Blaugrana. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who would leave Barça that summer, scored the first goal, while Leo Messi (with a brace) and youth players Víctor Sánchez and Jonathan Soriano completed the rout.

Additionally, the Blaugrana team does not rule out playing another friendly in Asian territory at the end of May. As we reported several weeks ago on FCBN, Barça could play a match against a European opponent in the last week of May, as long as the team does not advance to the UEFA Champions League final, scheduled for Saturday the 31st in Munich.