Barça changes its mind and plans to travel to Japan on Friday for the tour.

BarcelonaWhatever happens, Barça's 2025 Asian tour will go down in history. After canceling the flight to Japan on Wednesday due to non-payments from the promoter, the club has been working against the clock all day Thursday to try to find a solution. Finally, everything seems to indicate that the expedition will take the flight to Japan on Friday morning. However, at this point in the game, no one at the club dares to say with 100% certainty.

The plan is to take the charter flight to Japan at 11 a.m. on Friday, exactly 24 hours later than originally scheduled. The final time depends on the airline. In fact, the expedition was able to travel this Thursday, but it was the airline itself that, due to logistical reasons, had to postpone it. Players, coaching staff, trainers, and management were waiting at the Ciutat Esportiva de Santiago (City Sports Center) waiting for news. In the end, they went home, as did the buses waiting at the gate to take them to the airport.

The news broke on Wednesday night, coinciding with the presentation of Marcus Rashford, the latest Barça signing. But long before then, activity was already frantic in the club offices. "We've been chasing payments for weeks, even months, that ultimately never arrived," club sources at ARA maintain. What's more, they admit that they've "already suspected for a couple of months" that this could happen. They had indeed received the money for the matches in Korea—against FC Seoul (July 31) and Daegu (August 4)—but not the money for the match in Japan—against Vissel Kobe (Sunday, July 27)—or the travel expenses.

D-Drive shakes off the blame

The company responsible for everything is the Korean company D-Drive, whose CEO is Seul Ham and which includes two directors: Albert Luque—a former executive of the Spanish Football Federation—and former extension player Fernando Soler. Luque is a close friend of Enric Masip, advisor to president Joan Laporta at Barça. But Masip has denied having any direct involvement in the organization of the tour or having given Luque any preferential treatment. The fact is that this was the first time Barça had turned to this company to organize a preseason tour.

After Barça claimed "serious breach of contract," specifying that it was a non-payment, D-Drive responded with a message in the name of Seul Ham, confirming that this was the problem but placing the blame on the Japan-based Yasuda Group, the company subcontracted to organize the match. They also explained that they had paid the 10 million euros they were owed, but that the Japanese company had not only failed to pay their 5 million euros, but had "attempted to commit fraud."

Rakuten steps in to save the match against Vissel Kobe in Japan

On Wednesday, Barça stood firm and decided not to travel to Japan. They also threatened to cancel both matches in Korea. But D-Drive didn't want that and set about hiring a charter company to transport the entire Barça team to their country, also covering the cost. While they were working on this, Rakuten appeared on the scene, according to reports. JijantesThe Japanese-owned company had been Barça's main sponsor and was willing to pay the outstanding amounts. Thus, the situation took a turn, and the Japanese trip and the match against Vissel Kobe, which had been given up for lost, were once again possible. "That takes time. A transcontinental charter isn't just rented," Barça explained, given the uncertainty of whether they would ultimately fly on Thursday, Friday, or not at all.

The club had already collected the 10 million euros for the matches in Korea and at one point considered not traveling, keeping the money and claiming compensation. In fact, coach Hansi Flick was already happy to stay so he could work better during the preseason, despite the fact that financial reasons weighed more heavily. "Forgoing this tour is a luxury we can't afford," maintained one of the sources consulted. The reason? That, apart from the fees for playing, there was a plan to expand the Barça brand in the Asian continent – which they had not visited for six years –, which included possible commercial and sponsorship agreements.

It was a parallel business to the preseason matches. The initial agreement was that Barça would charge at least 15 million and the promoters would take care of everything. D-Drive would handle the matches in Korea (10 million) and Yasuda would pay for the one in Japan (3) plus travel costs and other related expenses (2). Pending official confirmation, Rakuten will be the one to pay these 5 million. For its part, the club also kept a percentage of the ticket sales, so the final emoluments could amount to 25 million.

If the trip ultimately proves impossible and the tour is canceled entirely, Barça's preseason could be reduced to a single match, the Gamper match, scheduled for August 10 against Como. However, an additional match could be scheduled for the coming days. ARA has learned that Olot has contacted the club and offered to play a friendly this weekend, behind closed doors.