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Why Manchester City Have Agreed To Play Barcelona In Charity Game During EPL Season

Barcelona and Manchester City will meet in a charity game at the Camp Nou on August 24, two and a half weeks after the Premier League season starts.

Robert Summerscales

Why Manchester City Have Agreed To Play Barcelona In Charity Game During EPL Season
Why Manchester City Have Agreed To Play Barcelona In Charity Game During EPL Season /

Barcelona and Manchester City will meet in a charity game at the Camp Nou on August 24.

The friendly will be sandwiched in between matches with Newcastle United and Crystal Palace on Man City's Premier League fixture list.

City manager Pep Guardiola traveled to the Camp Nou on Monday to promote the event, which is being organized by former Barcelona coach Juan Carlos Unzue.

Unzue was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in 2020 and has been committed to raising awareness of the condition ever since.

Funds from the friendly game will go to Fundacion Luzon - an organization devoted to investigating motor neurone disease.

Pep Guardiola (right) poses with Joan Laporta (left) and Juan Carlos Unzue (center) to promote a charity match between Barcelona and Manchester City, dubbed "The Match Against ALS" :: Twitter/@FCBarcelona

Unzue told fcbarcelona.com: "I hope we are all able to fill the Camp Nou. This has been made possible to the commitment and vow of two great clubs and the people who work at them.

"I felt so satisfied the day I sat down with them, from the first minute I got the feeling they were saying yes, they will help. Football is about commitment and friendship, that's something you can't pay for."

City boss Guardiola added: "This is an honor for us. We want to thank Barca for inviting us to this wonderful venue.

"We shall tell our players why this matters so much. It is admirable, and Unzue's words show that. I am very happy to come.

"By doing this, FC Barcelona has once again shown why we are the best."

Guardiola spent more than a decade of his playing career at Barca, winning six La Liga titles and two major European trophies.

He then won 14 trophies as Barca manager between 2008 and 2012, including the Champions League twice.

City are Barcelona have met each other in six competitive matches to date, with the Spanish side winning five of those and losing once.

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Robert Summerscales
ROBERT SUMMERSCALES

Robert Summerscales launched FanNation Futbol in February 2022. Rob is a British journalist who previously spent two years on the sports desk at the Daily Mail in London, having earlier served as editor of CaughtOffside.com. He has been to the last two FIFA Men's World Cups, in Russia and Qatar, and is looking forward to completing his hat-trick in North America in 2026.

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