Massive Barcelona delegation arrives in Miami for beginning of preseason tour

Barcelona have already kicked off their preseason, following a 1-1 draw with Olot on Wednesday, but their plans are due to kick up a gear from this point on. On Saturday the Catalans travelled to Miami and arrived at their hotel at 19:36 local time.

Despite the long journey, training will begin at 10:00am the next day, as the team continues their fitness preparations. They will do so without Xavi Hernandez, who faced visa issues upon arrival at the airport. He will try to fly out as soon as possible, while new forward Robert Lewandowski will fly out on Sunday to join his new teammates for the first time.

#FCB 🔵🔴 #SPORTenMiami 🇺🇸

🏨 La expedición blaugrana aterrizó a las 19:36 (hora local) en el aeropuerto de Fort Lauderdale y ya descansa en su hotel de concentración

📹 @VALENRICH
✍️ @sanantheonehttps://t.co/PvMwiFtjWY pic.twitter.com/4kb9hXyj4H

— Diario SPORT (@sport) July 17, 2022

Barcelona will spend five days in Miami according to Sport, where they play David Beckham’s franchise Inter Miami on Wednesday at 02:00am CEST. Following that they will face Real Madrid next Sunday in Las Vegas at 05:00am CEST.

Diario AS also highlighted the size of the delegation – Barcelona have brought a party of 165 people to the USA. The club hope to use every minute of their time wisely in order to grow their brand stateside, with the calendar full of meetings, media events and interviews over the 17 days of their tour.

While Barcelona spend big in the transfer market, it seems clear the Blaugrana are intent on fighting their way out of their financial crisis through growth rather than an austerity policy. That makes these kinds of tours invaluable to the club as they seek to compete in the US market.