Birmingham City set to play Barcelona - but there’s a twist | OneFootball

Blues are set for a high-profile friendly against the Catalan giants this summer

Birmingham City have become one of the most talked-about clubs in the EFL in recent times, largely down to the public ambitions outlined by American investment group, Knighthead Capital Management.

Despite hailing from the second-biggest city in England, there haven't been many good times for locals in this part of Birmingham to shout about in recent years, although Tom Wagner is certainly doing his utmost to change that behind-the-scenes.

Blues have resided outside the Premier League since May 2011, when they were relegated on the final day of the season, just three months after causing one of the EFL Cup final's biggest shocks by defeating Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.

Since then, off-field issues have made plenty of headlines, until Wagner came in to buy the club in July 2023, being joined on the board by one of the NFL's most iconic names, Tom Brady, in the process.

After suffering relegation from the Championship to League One in his first season as chairman, Wagner has continued to back manager Chris Davies in the transfer market, with last year seeing the club bounce back in record-breaking fashion with 111 points.

Meanwhile, the 2025/26 season has proved to be one of mixed fortunes for Blues, as a 10th-place finish in the second tier is still the club's best for 10 years, although many expected more from Davies' team at the start of the season.

As a result, Birmingham will have to go again in the promotion mix-up next term, which includes an expanded play-off format introduced by the EFL, and there will no doubt be plenty of eyes cast on St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in pre-season.

While that was undoubtedly likely to be the case through transfer activity, that will now also be the case on the pitch after the confirmation of a high-profile friendly versus La Liga giants, FC Barcelona.

Birmingham City set to host FC Barcelona in a pre-season friendly at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

With the 46-game Championship season recently concluding, from Blues' point of view with a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, Davies and his players have since reflected on their efforts at the club's end-of-season awards at the ICC in Birmingham city centre, which was also yet another celebration of the club's 150th anniversary year.

At this point, pre-season preparations may not be fully on the minds of those in B9, but whilst not officially confirmed by the club, it has been widely reported that they are set to face off against the Catalan outfit on home soil ahead of their competitive campaign.

Hansi Flick's side are braced for a two-week training camp at England's training base of St George's Park in nearby Burton-Upon-Trent, starting on July 27th.

After departing England, they will also play two matches in Kenya and Morocco as part of a pre-season tour, although it is unclear what the strength of the squad at the German's disposal will be when facing off against Birmingham.

That is because, depending on the outcome of Spain's World Cup campaign, a selection of high-profile stars could still be on holiday, with the World Cup final pencilled in for July 19th.

Meanwhile, Birmingham's Championship campaign does not commence until the weekend of 14th - 16th August, with the EFL Cup first round to come beforehand, as the fixtures will be released at 12PM on Thursday, June 25th.

FC Barcelona friendly will only add to the feel-good factor at Birmingham City

A glamour pre-season friendly against a club of Barcelona's stature is likely to attract a big gate to St. Andrew's, and it will only add to the large feel-good factor that has surrounded Blues for the majority of the past two seasons.

Furthermore, a strong performance, irrespective of the result, would only bring confidence to the Championship side ahead of yet another gruelling campaign.

It also comes on top of two previous high-profile friendlies ahead of the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, in which Birmingham faced off against Rangers and Nottingham Forest to honour the life of Trevor Francis, who is still renowned as being the club's all-time great.