'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Barcelona have traveled to the United States for their pre-season tour. They are set to participate in the International Champions Cup along with a number of top-notch European sides. They have, however, left out the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar from their roster for the friendly competition of preseason.
It was expected as both of them were heavily involved with their national sides in the Copa America 2015 competition during the summer. Others who also participated in the competition have also been exempted including Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves and competition winner Claudio Bravo.
Predictably, when Luis Enrique arrived in the United States, he was asked if he thought he owed the fans a chance to see superstars like Lionel Messi and Neymar play in a Barcelona shirt. The Barcelona coach: “That's simple to answer, we have to give a certain minimum number of days of vacation for players to recover from a season that is seemingly eternal.
“The bottom line is, these players need to rest.”
Agence France Presse reported Enrique's dislike for tours owing to the travel demands and the influence of time zones on the players. He said: “As a trainer, the truth is I would rather not do tours.
“Even though the countries can be great and it can be great to travel, things like the change of time zones can have repercussions and you can have fewer trainings and that can affect the team negatively.”
Barcelona have traveled along with new signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal who will not be able to make competitive appearances for the club till January when the transfer ban on the Blaugrana is lifted.
Barcelona’s pre-season schedule
The Catalan club begin their tour with a clash against LA Galaxy on Tuesday at the Rose Bowl. It will be the only clash against an MLS team that they will face, it precedes matches against Manchester United on July 25.
The last game in the United States that they are scheduled to play on July 28 is against English champions Chelsea.
They will go on to Florence, Italy to play Fiorentina on August 2 as part of the same competition. Apart from the competition itself, they are scheduled to have some high profile meetings with some NBA players including Kobe Bryant and players from Golden State Warriors.
The focus of the trip, however, remains firmly on the football.
