Ronald Koeman has announced the line-up for Barcelona’s first exhibition game in preparation for the new season. Sergiño Dest starts in the friendly against Gimnàstic de Tarragona at the right back position. For Memphis Depay, who arrived this week, Wednesday evening’s practice match, which started at 7 p.m., is still too early. Also European Championship-goer Frenkie de Jong is still missing from Barcelona.
In addition to Depay and De Jong, European Championship-goers Antoine Griezmann, Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Clément Lenglet are also not yet part of the Catalan superpower, which will appear in the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Wednesday. Lionel Messi, who recently conquered the Copa América with the Argentine team, will also not make playing minutes yet. The 34-year-old attacker is on holiday and has yet to reach a final agreement with Barcelona on a new contract. His old contract expired on July 1, making Messi officially clubless at the moment. Ousmane Dembélé is missing due to injuries.
Riqui Puig, who already had regular playing time under Koeman last season, has appeared at the kick-off at Barcelona, as has Yusuf Demir. The talented winger was recently taken over from Rapid Wien on a rental basis. The Catalans have the opportunity to bring the wing forward permanently to Spain next year. Furthermore, the talents Jordi Escobar and Peque Polo are thrown to the lions by Koeman.
Barcelona line-up: net; Dest, Pique, Umtiti, Balde; Roberto, Puig, Pjanic; Demir, Escobar, Polo
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