Tom Brady reacts to big Birmingham City, Barcelona news | OneFootball

Blues will welcome the Catalan giants to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park next month

Birmingham City's recent trajectory has certainly caught the eye of many, and those associated with the club will be hoping for a successful 2026/27 Championship season under Chris Davies.

Last year, Blues returned to the Championship at the first time of asking after a record-breaking campaign in League One, during which 111 points were amassed in what was also Davies' first term as a full-time manager.

As a result, his side were heavily fancied to mount a run towards the play-off places over the course of the 46-game season, but in reality, they weren't really in such conversations for a prolonged period of time.

That was despite the fact that Davies, yet again, was backed significantly in the transfer market by American investment group, Knighthead Capital Management, with a raft of high-profile signings made in both windows.

After seeing their play-off dream effectively ended by late March, Birmingham were still able to end the season in impressive form, even though some were still underwhelmed by a final 10th-placed finish - which is still the club's highest placement in the division for a decade.

The Championship, though, is undergoing some rather major changes both on and off the pitch, with the division's 24 clubs now having to adhere to Squad Cost Rules, as well as an expansion of the play-offs, which will now include the sides who finish between third and eighth.

Given their investment from across the Atlantic, eyes will certainly be cast on what unfolds at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, and such a trend will, for once, continue into pre-season.

Tom Brady reacts as Birmingham City confirm high-profile friendly vs FC Barcelona

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Indeed, pre-season is often seen as a period where the majority of matchday aspects are not important, especially the result, with managers hoping that it is used to improve fitness levels, patterns of play and integrate new signings into the squad.

That said, there is always a natural excitement from supporters of clubs, who hope that their side will arrange friendlies against sides who they very rarely come up against in domestic action - be that league or cup - or a potential 'away day' against a European side.

However, there will certainly be a degree of huge excitement in this part of the Second City on the evening of Friday, July 31st, when La Liga champions and European giants, FC Barcelona, take on Blues as part of their own preparations for 2026/27.

Confirmation of the encounter comes after previously strong speculation, with Hansi Flick's team set for a two-week training camp at England's St George's Park base near Burton-Upon-Trent, which will begin four days prior.

A strong crowd will no doubt be expected, and could include Birmingham's Advisory Board President and NFL 'GOAT', Tom Brady, who has previously jetted in for high-profile matches against Wrexham, as seen on the 2025 Amazon Prime docuseries which added further focus to the club.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner has also been present at the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will also impact the strength of the squad at Flick's disposal in pre-season, and took to social media issuing his instant reaction to the news.

"Welcome to Birmingham," the American wrote, followed by a handshake emoji.

Birmingham City release further details ahead of FC Barcelona clash

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Remarkably, this will be the sixth time that Blues have faced off against the Catalan giants, with one of those being the 1960 final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

The club have confirmed that season ticket holders for both the club's men's and women's teams will be given initial priority access to purchase tickets from Monday, June 22nd, before they reach general sale on Wednesday, July 1st.

Blues themselves are just days away from starting their pre-season preparations with a training camp in the Algarve region of Portugal, where they prepared for 2025/26 including a 3-1 victory over Barca's divisional rivals, Sevilla.

This time, the club's first pre-season opponents on foreign soil will be Huddersfield Town, before returning to the UK to take on the likes of Burton Albion, Crewe Alexandra and Northampton Town also.