Two of European football’s heavyweights are set to go head to head in a pre-season friendly early next month, featuring the added spice of a showdown between the greatest players of the last two decades.
Gamper Trophy
The sides in question come in the form of Barcelona and Juventus.
Both are of course fresh off the back of altogether underwhelming seasons in 2020/21, with the former having managed just a Copa del Rey triumph.
Juve, on the other hand, did bag both the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup, but ultimately lost their Scudetto crown to fierce rivals Inter Milan, before scraping into the top-4 on the campaign’s final day.
As such, it goes without saying that the giants of Spain and Italy will be eyeing a more prosperous term in 2021/22.
Pre-season preparations in both Cataluya and Turin, meanwhile, are already well underway, with efforts to regain full fitness set to ramp up courtesy of a number of friendly outings over the weeks to come.
And, as outlined above, one such fixture will in fact see Barca and Juve face off, early next month.
As per announcements on the respective clubs’ social media platforms, the continental heavyweights will meet at the Camp Nou on August 8th, in front of a 20% capacity crowd:
One last time?
Whilst the announcement of such a high-profile fixture is of course a reason for fans to get excited in and of itself, adding significant spice to the Camp Nou showdown will of course be a potential face-off between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both players remain on summer holiday following their respective efforts with Argentina and Portugal this summer, but will likely return to play at least some part in next month’s matchup.
And such an outcome, realistically, could well mark the final occasion on which Messi and Ronaldo go head to head, with the world’s greatest players inching ever closer to the close of their respective careers.