“Nevertheless, the club will consider readjusting the leg of the summer tour in South Korea if certain conditions are met by the promoter.
“If these conditions are met, then the club will travel to South Korea in the coming days.
“Barcelona regrets this incident and the impact it will have on the many, many Barca fans in Japan.”
BBC Sport has contacted Yasuda Group for comment.
J1 League champions Vissel Kobe said: “We sincerely apologise for any concern this may cause to the many fans and related parties who were looking forward to this match.
“Our club is working in collaboration with relevant parties to gather necessary information and take appropriate measures.”
Barcelona, who won their 28th La Liga title last season, are scheduled to play South Korean sides FC Seoul and Daegu on 31 July and 4 August respectively.
D-Drive, which is promoting the games in South Korea, said it is doing its “utmost to deliver unforgettable matches”.
The 27-year-old completed his loan move to Barca with an option for the switch to be made permanent next summer.
England forward Marcus Rashford said Barcelona was a club where “dreams come true” as he joined the La Liga champions on a season-long loan from Manchester United, with an option to buy at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Media reports said that Barcelona would cover Rashford’s wages this season after the player accepted a pay cut, with the option to buy set at about 30 million euros ($35.25m) for the 27-year-old.
“Very excited. I think it’s a club where people’s dreams come true. They win big prizes. And what the club stands for really means a lot to me as well. So it feels like I am at home,” Rashford told reporters following his unveiling on Wednesday.
“Another factor is because the conversations I had with the manager [Hansi Flick] were positive. What he did last season was terrific.
“To lead such a young team to a very successful season and come back to preseason and still want to do more, it shows me everything I thought I knew about the club, and it’s everything I wished.”
Once seen as a club icon and homegrown star, Rashford had a dramatic fall from grace at United, marked by a falling out with manager Ruben Amorim that paved the way for him to move to Aston Villa on loan in February.
“[Manchester United] is in a period of change, and they have been for a while. I don’t have anything bad to say as it has been an important part not just of my career but my life, so I was grateful for the opportunity,” he added.
“But like life, not everything goes as simple as you thought, and this is my next chapter, and I’m fully focused on improving myself and helping the team win trophies.”
Barcelona said Rashford had signed his contract earlier on Wednesday afternoon. “Rashford can play anywhere in attack. Right footed, he can take players on and is an excellent finisher, talents he can now show in a Barca shirt,” the club said in a statement.
Marcus Rashford moved from Manchester United to Aston Villa during the mid-season transfer window in February [File: Chris Radburn/Reuters]
Second time lucky with Barca loan deal
The move to Barcelona came after Manchester-born Rashford, who made 426 senior appearances and scored 138 goals for United in all competitions, fell out of favour with Amorim, who called his work rate into question.
Rashford, who won two FA Cups, two League Cups and a Europa League title with United, joined Aston Villa on loan after Amorim said he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
United issued a statement wishing Rashford well as they announced the deal with Barcelona.
“Everyone at Manchester United wishes Marcus good luck for the season,” the club said.
The forward, who has scored 17 goals for England in 62 appearances, said he was feeling fitter and better after joining Villa, where he netted two goals in 10 league games, while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Rashford said he had wanted to move to Barca during the mid-season transfer window when he joined Villa.
“I was clear on my preference [to join Barcelona] from the beginning. Actually, from maybe in January. It didn’t work out in January, so I went to Villa and enjoyed a good period there,” he said.
“It was time to make another decision. My choice was easy. [Barcelona] is a family club, something I’m used to from my past. It feels like home.”
Barcelona are set to play three preseason friendlies in Japan and South Korea, starting on July 27.
Barcelona agree deal to sign England international Marcus Rashford on an initial loan deal from Manchester United.
Barcelona’s already impressive front line is about to be boosted by the signing of Marcus Rashford.
Rashford is in Barcelona to complete a move from Manchester United, a person with knowledge of the transfer told The Associated Press news agency on Monday.
The person was not authorised to speak about the transfer publicly and did not want to be named.
The loan deal would give the 27-year-old England forward, once considered among Europe’s top talents, a chance to revive a career that has stalled in recent years after he fell out of favour at United and ended last season on loan at Aston Villa.
Spanish media said the one-year loan would give Barcelona an option to buy Rashford for about $35m.
Barcelona had the best attack in Spanish football and one of the most prolific across Europe last season but had been trying to add another piece to the front line to go along with young star Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and veteran Robert Lewandowski.
Rashford has spent his entire career at United, scoring 138 goals in 429 appearances and winning five major trophies, including two FA Cups and the Europa League.
But he struggled to consistently live up to the hype that surrounded him when he burst onto the scene as a teenager in 2016 – managing 20 goals or more only in three seasons. In his past two seasons at United, he scored a combined 15 goals and added another four in 17 games on loan at Villa.
Barcelona won the Spanish league title with 102 goals, 24 more than runners-up Real Madrid. The Catalan club also led the Champions League in goals with 43, five more than champion Paris Saint-Germain, before being eliminated by Inter Milan in the semifinals.
Joining Barcelona has been Rashford’s preferred option since he declared in December that he was ready for a new challenge after being dropped by United head coach Ruben Amorim.
The move will be Rashford’s second consecutive loan spell after a six-month stint with Aston Villa in the second half of last season.
The forward is expected to complete a medical with the La Liga club early this week, with the aim of being able to join Barcelona’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea on Thursday.
Should Rashford join the tour, he could come up against former United team-mate Jesse Lingard.
Lingard, 32, is in his second season with K League side FC Seoul, who face Barcelona on 31 July.
Rashford spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa where he made 17 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing six assists.
He is one of five United players – and the highest paid – told to train separately from Amorim’s squad amid a stand-off over their futures.
The 27-year-old does not believe he will play for United again while Amorim is at the club.
If the deal to Barcelona does go through, it would be a massive positive for United as they look to strengthen Amorim’s squad.
With over £130m committed to signing Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, further deals have to be funded through departures.
Even if Rashford’s exit was initially on loan, the saving off the wage bill would be significant given only Casemiro earns more than his £325,000-a-week salary.
Barcelona reportedly in talks with DR Congo over football sponsorship deal with war-hit central African country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has agreed to pay more than $46.37m in a sponsorship deal with Spanish football club Barcelona that would see a logo promoting tourism appear on some team apparel, according to a contract seen by Reuters.
The contract with Barcelona, seen on Thursday by the news agency, is dated June 29 and stipulates that a logo branding the war-hit Central African country as the “heart of Africa” will appear on the backs of training and warm-up jerseys for the men’s and women’s teams.
The logo will also appear in advertising for the club and in the club magazine and annual report, the contract says.
DR Congo will pay the club between $11.6m and $13.3m annually over the next four seasons, it says.
Details of the deal between DR Congo and Barcelona have not been announced.
AS Monaco and AC Milan last month also announced sponsorship deals with DR Congo without disclosing the amounts.
Arsenal Football Club in the United Kingdom is facing criticism for its sponsorship deal with the Rwanda tourist board [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]
DR Congo’s Sports Minister Didier Budimbu told Reuters the contract with AS Monaco is worth $1.85m per season. He did not disclose the amounts for the contracts with AC Milan or Barcelona.
A government source said the contract with AC Milan was worth $16.2m per season.
DR Congo’s Ministry of Tourism did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, while Barcelona told Reuters they had no comment at this time.
In February, DR Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner urged football clubs Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain to end their “blood-stained” sponsorship agreements with “Visit Rwanda”.
The appeal came less than a week after M23 rebels seized eastern DR Congo’s biggest city, Goma, as part of a lightning advance.
Rwanda denies backing M23, saying it is defending itself.
A report by a group of United Nations experts obtained by Reuters this month said Kigali exercised command and control over the rebels during their advance, gaining political influence and access to mineral-rich territory.
The statistics are remarkable, especially when you consider his age. And they keep improving.
Since making his debut, he has won two La Liga titles, although he featured just once during Barcelona’s 2022–23 title-winning campaign. Since then, he has missed only four league games across the past two seasons. He has also lifted the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup. On the international stage, he has already won the European Championship with Spain.
He wants everything: to lead, to score, to win. But there’s a calmness to his ambition. He doesn’t just dream of being better, he works at it.
Crucially, he knows he’s not there yet. That balance between confidence and humility is what allows him to play with such freedom, as if still in the schoolyard.
It all begins at home. His parents, often discussed publicly but rarely understood, play a crucial role in keeping his feet on the ground. His father is firm, tells it as it is, and is enjoying his son’s success very publicly – perhaps too exposed at the public judgement.
His mother and grandmother offer a different kind of strength – consistent, loving, and deeply rooted in values. They are the quiet force that underpins everything.
That’s how he appears not a teenager overwhelmed, but a boy enjoying the game. It’s not down to ignorance of pressure. It’s a mindset, one that believes the best is still to come, and if it doesn’t arrive, he’ll keep chasing it.
Before the Champions League final he said: “At my age, few have played as many games for a club like Barca, and that’s what I value most. Playing at this level and for a club like Barca isn’t something that anyone can do.”
When asked about the pressure or fear of failure involved with playing at the top level, he said: “I left that fear behind on the pitch in Mataro a while ago.”
He was referring to his old pitch in the district of Rocafonda, where he played as a kid with others three, four and more years older.
His celebration is a tribute to where he comes from – a densely populated, working-class neighbourhood in Mataro, known for its multicultural community, social challenges, and strong sense of local identity. The three last numbers of the postcode is the shape of his fingers when he scores, 304.
