Barcelona now trying to leave for Japan tonight after initially postponing trip – report | OneFootball

The soap opera surrounding FC Barcelona’s pre-season tour to Asia continues to take fresh twists and turns with each passing hour.

Last evening, Barcelona cancelled the friendly against Vissel Kobe, citing breach of agreement from the promoters before performing a U-turn and deciding to carry on with the trip to Japan after Rakuten stepped in to clear the €5 million unpaid dues to the club.

Just as everything appeared set for the team to fly to Japan today, it emerged that there was still some dispute between Barça and Rakuten regarding the payment. That, coupled with issues with airlines, led to the club postponing the trip at least until tomorrow.

Barcelona want to fly to Japan tonight

But, now, according to Victor Navarro, Barcelona are now trying to fly to Japan tonight itself and are working to make necessary arrangements for the same.

The Blaugrana’s idea is to fly to the Asian nation at 10 pm tonight, despite having previously ruled it out due to logistical issues beyond their control.

A lot of drama surrounding Barcelona’s trip to Japan. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

The report mentions that the financial dispute between the club, the organisers and Rakuten have been fully resolved now.

As such, Barcelona want to save the friendly match against Vissel Kobe, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, no matter what.

To that end, the La Liga champions are trying to make arrangements for them to leave for Japan by 10 pm tonight.

Meanwhile, journalist Javi Miguel adds that, as of 04:48 pm, the players’ WhatsApp group has not received any fresh information regarding the trip to Japan tonight.

As of now, the Barcelona players have been scheduled to report to the Ciutat Esportiva at 08:30 am on Friday.