ORGANISERS OF THIS summer’s meeting between Barcelona and Celtic at the Aviva Stadium have promised strong squads from both clubs.
The current European champions face the Scottish Premiership holders in Dublin on 30 July, with Celtic captain Scott Brown and former Barcelona midfielder Edgar Davids in town to launch the game yesterday.
The match is part of the International Champions Cup, a pre-season tournament which will see the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool face off in North America, Australia, China and Europe.
There have been similar high-profile friendly friendlies at Lansdowne Road over the years and when Celtic took on Liverpool in the Dublin Decider three years ago, many fans complained that the teams were made up of reserves and youth team players.
However, speaking at the launch, promoter and Relevant Sports chairman Charlie Stillitano said the household names are likely to be present, with the exception of Brazilian star Neymar, who has decided to play at the Rio Olympics.
“Celtic will be in full swing for the season so I think they will have their entire team here,” Stillitano said.
“It’s important to know that Barcelona chose here because of the Copa (America) Centenario, they didn’t really want to travel too far. They said they would rather stay in Europe, this way they could guarantee their best team.
The only players that will be missing for either team will be players who are playing at the Olympics and that will really be it. Both teams should really have full-strength squads.
“Neymar has announced that he is not going to play in the Copa Centenario, but he will play in the Olympics. I believe that starts 6 August, so I don’t think he will be here for the game on the 30 July but his team-mates who are equally-important and famous will be here.”
He added: “This ICC ties together some of the biggest teams in North America and in Europe — Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Celtic, Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter Milan, PSG, Bayern Munich and the mighty Leicester, hopefully the champions of the Premier League.
“It’s really a remarkable group of teams we’ve brought together and what better place to celebrate than right here in Dublin.”
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