Like last year, FC Barcelona will be ending their season with a friendly abroad. Last year it was Sydney for a game against a team of the best players from the Australian League, while this time Xavi Hernández and his men are off to Tokyo for a game on June 6 at 7.30pm local time in the Japan National Stadium, capacity 66,000, against Vissel Kobe, the side featuring former blaugrana players Andrés Iniesta and Sergi Samper. Spotify, as main partner, will be helping to celebrate the club’s visit to Japan.
The team will be travelling east, leaving directly from Vigo as soon has they have finished their final league game against Celta and they will be returning to Barcelona straight after the friendly. The date of departure for Japan is not yet known because it will depend on the date assigned by La Liga for that match, which will depend on whether or not the outcome affects the final positions in the table.
The game with Vissel Kobe is the first for FC Barcelona in Japan for almost four years. The last was for the preseason tour in 2019 when Ernesto Valverde was manager, and also against Vissel Kobe, the first time that Andrés Iniesta had played against his former club.
Next month therefore brings another chance for Andrés Iniesta plus another ex-Barça man Sergi Samper to play against Barça, wearing the colours of Vissel Kobe, current leaders of the J-league ahead of the defending champion Yokohama Marinos.
Tickets go on sale in Japan on May 16 from Rakuten Tickets in collaboration with Stage Front.
