McAtee excited by Barcelona clash | OneFootball

James McAtee has highlighted a particular opponent he can’t wait to face during City’s pre-season tour of the United States.

Pep Guardiola’s men face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea across July and August as part of our preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.

Those encounters are set to take place in Chapel Hill, New York, Orlando and Columbus respectively, as City set our sights on retaining the Premier League title for a fifth successive season.

All four opponents will offer a stern test of our credentials, but McAtee admits one in particular caught his eye when the fixtures were announced.

He said: “We've got Barcelona. I've always wanted to play them. They've been a team I've always watched and I’ve always admired how they played so it will be a great game.

“Their fans will definitely love Pep [Guardiola], so it should be a good game.

“It's been good [to be back at CFA], I've had the chance to see some of my old friends and that's always good and just trying to get sharp now and get fit for pre-season.”

Midfielder McAtee worked his way through the ranks at City before making his senior debut in a 2021 Carabao Cup win over Wycombe Wanderers.

Two successful loan spells followed at Sheffield United, including last season when the 21-year-old was a regular for the Blades.

While he was unable to prevent his loan club from relegation, he insists the lessons he learned having been exposed to regular Premier League football will stand him in good stead moving forward.

McAtee even grabbed his first goals in the English top flight, including a stunning long-range effort in a 1-0 win over Brentford at Bramall Lane in December 2023.

He reflected: “I remember when I hit it [against Brentford] I knew it was going in. Obviously, it was 0-0 so I was more excited going into half-time 1-0 up to be fair.

“We had a tough season, but it's a lesson I've learned. Just really about the environment, coping with sometimes not doing so well and just trying to keep my emotions steady.

“It's a completely different game in my opinion [to youth football]. I think the speed and the strength of the men's game is totally different.

“It's more the pressure as well, the pressure going into a game it's a lot more than what it was like playing in the EDS and the Academy.”

USA Tour 2024

City face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.

Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.

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