Barcelona back out of agreement to play a friendly in Libya, return €5 million payment | OneFootball

Barcelona’s financial struggles in recent years have seen the club take part in several friendly fixtures in addition to the already hectic schedule, sometimes even mid-season to rake in much-needed revenue.

The friendly in Sydney in 2022 and Kobe in 2023 both happened at the end of the seasons, whereas the club notably played a similar game in Saudi Arabia in the middle of the 2021-22 season against Boca Juniors.

Now, there was talk of the Catalans playing a friendly fixture in Libya, with agreement also reached with the nation’s Minister of Investment and a member of the Libyan House of Representatives.

The club is backing out

Now, however, Barcelona are backing out of the agreement owing to the war situation in Libya, reports Mundo Deportivo.

Barcelona were to earn €5 million in exchange for their appearance in the African country, and they have, in fact, already been paid that sum.

Barcelona decide against going ahead with friendly in Libya. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

However, the La Liga champions see it right to not move forward with the fixture, citing security reasons. Needless to say, the club have returned the €5 million sum promptly.

The stipulated friendly was expected to be played next week, precisely on October 10th, against Inter Milan at the International Stadium in the city of Benghazi.

Instead, it will now be Atletico Madrid who take their place in the friendly, and Los Rojiblancos will thus face off against Inter Milan in the upcoming international break.

While it is a good development for Hansi Flick and Co. in terms of handing players a rest from the game and associated travel, Joan Laporta and Co. will see it as a blow from a financial standpoint.

At this point in the season and given the injuries the squad is already battling with, it is clear that the sporting aspect trumps the economic front.