Barcelona to make historic first trip to Australia for exhibition match in May

Five-time European champions Barcelona will pay their first visit to Australia to play an A-League All Stars team in a friendly in Sydney next month, the club announced on Wednesday.

The match will take place at Sydney’s 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, 25 May, a few days before the A-League Men grand final.

“We are very happy to be able to announce this match in Australia today against the A-Leagues All Stars. This will be the first time the team visits this country, where Barca are generating great interest,” said FC Barcelona’s vice-president marketing area Juli Guiu.

“Being able to play this match will give us the opportunity to bring the club and its values closer to our fans and will also give us the opportunity for new audiences to get to know FC Barcelona and all that it represents, which has made it a reference entity on and off the pitch.”

Australia was a regular stop for major European clubs before the country was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea attracting huge crowds for lucrative friendlies.

A video of more than 95,000 fans singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before an exhibition match involving Liverpool at the Melbourne Cricket Ground went viral in 2013.

United and fellow English club Crystal Palace will play friendlies in Melbourne in July this year but plans for a first Glasgow derby outside Scotland were scuppered when Rangers pulled out of the Sydney Super Cup after complaints from fans.