Why is Xavi not allowed into the United States?

19 Jul 2022 15:53 BST
3 min read

Barcelona coach Xavi is set to miss his side’s opening pre-season game in the United States against Inter Miami due to an unresolved visa issue.

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Xavi has been unable to travel with his team, and has missed training sessions with his side while they have been in Miami over the last few days.

This is due to the fact that Xavi travelled to Iran several times when he was playing with Qatari side Al Sadd, and that has affected the Catalan boss.

Travel advice in the USA indicates that if a person has visited one of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya or Somalia after 1 March 2011, then their application on an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation is rejected.

This was ignored by Barcelona for a long time, and that has resulted in Xavi missing out on the early days of pre-season training across the pond.

Xavi's brother takes up training

Xavi’s brother, Oscar, has been taking up training while the coach has been missing it, and he has been working with the new group of players featuring Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, who joined last week.

The first-team flew out to the United States on Friday, and will take on Inter Miami on 19 July, before a Clasico against Real Madrid in Las Vegas, and then games in Dallas against Juventus and New York against the New York Red Bulls to wrap up their tour away.

𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
🇺🇸 USA Preseason Tour: Day 3 pic.twitter.com/vZCMd0pjiD
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 19, 2022

This is Xavi’s first pre-season trip with Barcelona, having returned to the club in November from Al Sadd, and he spurred the team on to Champions League qualification.

When he joined, the side were ninth in La Liga, but he helped them to a second place finish, with the highlight being a 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona will be hoping to better that in the upcoming campaign, and have been busy reinforcing the squad in the summer, with more arrivals expected in the coming weeks.

Read more about: La Liga, Barcelona