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The last time Birmingham City played FC Barcelona was in the 1960 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final, when the European giants thrashed the Blues 4-1 at the Camp Nou. That year, Barça won their second consecutive Spanish league title, while Birmingham had just scraped clear of the relegation zone…
You can probably expect a similar match-up between these two legendary teams (Birmingham City was founded 24 years before Barcelona) again this summer, when the La Liga champions elect head to St. Andrew’s to face the mid-table Championship side for pre-season.
An exact date for the fixture has yet to be confirmed, but we expect it to be around early August. Hansi Flick’s teams arrive at England’s national training centre, St George’s Park in Burton Upon Trent, where players and coaching staff will set up base for approximately two weeks from July 27.
Photo by Sally Rawlins, Getty Images)
Around this time, Barcelona will also play two further friendlies, one in Kenya and another in Morocco, against “a major European opponent.” These fixtures have been set up to account for the lack of a proper pre-season tour this summer, thanks to the World Cup held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
A lot of the squad is expected to be on holiday following the tournament (June 11 – July 19), including many of its mega-stars—like Spain’s Lamine Yamal, England’s Marcus Rashford and the Netherlands’ Frenkie de Jong—so don’t expect many famous faces to touchdown in the Second City, but there’ll still be plenty of talent on show.
In the meantime, Barcelona can secure the La Liga title against arch-rivals Real Madrid on Sunday, May 10, 2026. While Birmingham City has already wrapped up its season with a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth on Saturday, May 3, securing a top-ten finish—no further pre-season fixtures have been announced yet by the Blues.