Barça ends its relationship with D-Drive after the chaos in preseason

FC Barcelona's Asian tour was a success in terms of sports: 3 matches, 3 victories, at least 15 goals, and most of the players demonstrating the great form they are in.

However, the same cannot be said for the organization of the preseason for the blue and garnet team, which at one point was thought to be completely canceled, causing the club to not want to have any further relationship with the company that organized the tour.

D-Drive, sacrificed by Barça

The organization of the preseason was in charge of the South Korean company D-Drive, which faced setbacks from the very beginning for Barça, as they began even before the expedition led by Hansi Flick embarked on its journey to Japan.

On July 23, in the afternoon, the club announced the cancellation of the first match scheduled against Vissel Kobe, citing a “serious contractual breach” by the event promoter.

However, the company got to work to ensure that the commitment took place and, through Hiroshi Mikitami, president of the Japanese team and CEO of Rakuten, the amount that had not been paid by the Yashuda Group, the main promoter of the match, was covered.

Despite the fact that after the aforementioned setback the matches were finally played normally, the disorder that D-Drive should have avoided at all costs has not been well received at all by the management of the Barcelona team.

Therefore, although the club does not rule out returning to Asia in the coming summers, considering that the 2026 World Cup will take place between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, it does not want to work again with D-Drive after what happened, which also disrupted the roadmap of coach Hansi Flick, according to recent reports.

The team, the main victim of D-Drive's inefficiency

Initially, Flick had designed an intense preparation for Barça upon their arrival in Japan, with double training sessions planned for Friday the 25th and a single practice on Saturday the 26th. However, the logistical issues of the trip forced a complete modification of the established plan.

As a result, the blue and garnet team was only able to conduct a single training session on Japanese soil before facing Kobe. Furthermore, the annoyance of the management and coaching staff with D-Drive grew after the last match.

And the management of the return trip to the City of Barcelona was also inadequate, as the culé expedition had to return by road from Daegu to Seoul to catch the flight to Barcelona. In addition, the squad had to train in high humidity and elevated temperatures.