Barcelona enter negotiations with Juventus to play in the Joan Gamper trophy

Contrary to previous reports which stated Barcelona and Manchester City would face off in the Joan Gamper trophy in pre-season, RAC1 have now reported that this match will be played as an entirely different friendly fixture altogether.

Instead, it is believed that Barcelona and Juventus have now begun negotiations to play in the Joan Gamper trophy matchup instead. The game would be played just before the start of the 2021-22 league season, as is customary.

Both the Barcelona men’s and women’s team would face off against the Juventus men’s and women’s sides in exciting clashes, the men’s side of which would curtail a thrilling reunion of the two superstar rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Barcelona women’s team would also have an exciting opportunity to play against strong opposition, coming off the back of a historic treble-winning season. In addition, the initially reported matchup between the Catalans and Man City would also be aimed towards promoting women’s football in what would be a repeat of this year’s women’s Champions League semi-final, a trophy that Barcelona Femeni eventually won.

Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona reunion will now be a different fixture which will work towards the primary objective of promoting the fight against ALS, dedicated to former Barcelona assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue who suffers from the degenerative disease.

The match against Juventus will also be exciting, after the two sides met twice in the group stages of last season’s Champions League, with both sides prevailing on one occasion. If fans are allowed to return to stadiums by then, they will be able to witness another chapter in the historic Messi-Ronaldo rivalry, albeit a friendly one.