"FC Barcelona announces that it has been forced to suspend its participation in the match scheduled for next Sunday in Japan due to a serious contractual breach by the promoter." This is the surprising statement that Barça published once Marcus Rashford's presentation ended, around 8:20 p.m. Nobody expected it, generating surprise among Barcelona fans and canceling a flight that was scheduled for this Thursday morning.
In this regard, the statement continues: "Barça will consider readjusting the part of the summer tour in South Korea, where two matches are scheduled against FC Seoul (July 31) and Daegu FC (August 4), as long as certain conditions are met by the promoter. If these conditions are met, the Club will travel to South Korea in the coming days. FC Barcelona regrets this incident and the impact on the large community of blaugrana fans in Japan."
Why was the friendly in Japan suspended?
Barça sources have confirmed to Madrid-Barcelona that the match against Vissel Kobe was suspended for a clear reason. This, specifically, is related to the money to be received for playing the friendly. In the contractual agreement with the tour's promoter, D-Drive, there was a clause stating that part of the financial amount would be paid before traveling.
Although it was included in the contract, D-Drive hasn't paid a single euro, which has caused Barça's anger. Given the situation, the decision was made not to travel to Japan due to the lack of trust caused by the contract breach.
There are also doubts about what will happen with the rest of the tour, to be played in South Korea. If everything moves forward positively, Barça's players would leave the Catalan capital next Monday. However, as of today, nothing is clear, with D-Drive being the promoter of the two remaining matches.
Barça has lost a fortune
For the entire tour in Asia (3 matches), Barça had agreed with D-Drive to receive €15 million. Dividing this amount among the three matches to be played, with this match in Japan suspended, the team will have missed out on €5 million.
Right now, Madrid-Barcelona can confirm that Barça is quickly looking for a team to play a friendly with next weekend. Most likely, it will be a Catalan club, serving as preparation and helping to solve a complicated situation that exists right now.
A few weeks ago, it was decided to rule out a friendly in Morocco at the express request of Hansi Flick, which would have brought in many millions. This could be reactivated after what happened...