Karim Adeyemi Joins FC Barcelona Training
Karim Adeyemi’s wait is over. More than a week after landing in Barcelona and hovering on the fringes of his new club, the German winger has at last stepped onto the pitch as a fully registered FC Barcelona player under Hansi Flick.
The deal had been done in sporting terms, but not on paper. So Adeyemi stayed in the city, in limbo, watching and waiting while the final administrative details dragged on. He was around the squad, but not part of it. Close enough to touch the new chapter, not allowed to turn the page.
That changed on Thursday. Barcelona officially unveiled him, cameras flashed as he posed alongside president Joan Laporta, and he spoke to the media for the first time as a Barça player. The presentation made it real. Training would make it tangible.
First real day at work
On Friday morning, just before 8:45 a.m., Adeyemi arrived at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper with a different status and a different feeling. No longer a guest. No longer a player-in-waiting. This time he walked in as part of the squad.
He already knew the faces in the dressing room from his days of waiting in the city. Now he could finally share the pitch with them. The 24-year-old pulled on the club’s training kit, joined the group, and completed his first full session under Flick, starting the process of absorbing the German coach’s demands and sharpening his fitness for the season ahead.
The work has only just begun. One session is a handshake, not a full introduction.
No rush for Europa friendly
That is exactly why, despite the excitement around his arrival, Adeyemi is not expected to feature in Barcelona’s behind-closed-doors friendly against CE Europa on Friday evening, as reported by SPORT.
He has just one workout in his legs with Flick’s group. Throwing him straight into a game, even a low-key one, would be needless risk. With pre-season only just taking shape and competitive fixtures still some way off, Barça can afford patience.
The plan is simple: build him up, not burn him out.
The more realistic target lies in England. Barcelona will face Birmingham City in a pre-season friendly on July 31, a fixture that should offer Adeyemi a far better platform to make his first on-pitch impression in blaugrana.
Days after that, the club will meet Preston North End in another behind-closed-doors encounter. Two games, two chances for Adeyemi to show how quickly he can adapt, how naturally he can slot into Flick’s structure, and how forcefully he can stake a claim for a starting place before the new season begins.
For now, though, all signs point in the same direction: Adeyemi will watch from the sidelines as Barça take on the Primera RFEF side later today.
Absentees and individual work
He will not be alone on that list. The winger is set to join other absentees, including Ronald Araújo, Alejandro Balde and Hafiz Gariba.
Friday’s session offered its own clues about the state of the squad. Away from the main group, Balde continued his individual programme, still working his way back towards full integration. Araújo also trained separately, another key piece of the defence edging closer to full fitness.
While they grind through their recovery routines, Adeyemi begins a different kind of climb — from new signing on the training pitch to genuine option in Flick’s plans. The wait for his debut goes on, but now it feels like a matter of timing, not paperwork.
