Karim Adeyemi Joins FC Barcelona: First Training Session

Karim Adeyemi finally pulls on Barça colours – for real this time.

After more than a week hovering in a strange limbo, training alone and waiting on paperwork, the German winger stepped onto the pitch at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper on Friday morning as an FC Barcelona player in every sense, not just in announcement videos and photo ops.

From presentation suit to training kit

On Thursday, Barcelona had done the formalities: official unveiling, handshakes with president Joan Laporta, the traditional pose for the cameras, and Adeyemi’s first words to the media as a Barça footballer. The 24-year-old had been in the city since last week, stuck on the sidelines while the final administrative details of his move were ironed out.

That ended early on Friday.

Shortly before 8:45 a.m., Adeyemi arrived at the training ground, no longer a guest watching from the outside but a fully registered member of Hansi Flick’s squad. The introductions were already done; he’d met most of his new teammates during his days of waiting. This time, though, he joined them properly, pulling on the club’s training gear and stepping into Flick’s first full session with him on the grass.

For the German coach, it’s the start of a process: adapting Adeyemi to his methods, sharpening his fitness, and working out exactly where and how this rapid, direct winger can stretch La Liga defences in the months ahead.

No rush for Europa friendly

The temptation with a new signing is always to show him off as soon as possible. Barcelona are resisting that urge.

Despite completing his first workout, Adeyemi is not expected to feature in the behind-closed-doors friendly against CE Europa on Friday evening, as reported by SPORT. One session under Flick is a taster, not a platform. Throwing him straight into a match, even a low-key one at the training ground, would be a shortcut the staff clearly don’t trust.

So the wait for his first minutes will go on a little longer.

With a trip to England on the horizon, Barcelona have picked a more logical stage for his debut. Adeyemi is set to get his first real chance to impress when Barça face Birmingham City in a pre-season friendly on July 31. It’s a fixture with more rhythm, more structure, and a better chance to see how he links with the forwards around him.

Days later, another opportunity awaits: a behind-closed-doors game against Preston North End. Two matches, close together, in which the new arrival can begin to carve out his place in the side before the season opens for real.

For now, though, he is expected to join the list of absentees for the CE Europa clash, alongside Ronald Araújo, Alejandro Balde, and Hafiz Gariba.

Fitness work and quiet urgency

Friday’s morning session wasn’t just about the new face. While Adeyemi took his first steps inside Flick’s training structure, Balde continued working away from the main group, still on his own programme as he edges back. Araújo also trained individually as he pushes towards full fitness, a storyline that will matter just as much as any new signing once the competitive games begin.

So Barcelona move through pre-season with a mix of patience and urgency: easing key players back, integrating a high-profile attacking signing, and trying to give Flick enough time and information to shape his first Barça side.

Adeyemi is finally on the pitch. The next question is simple: how quickly can he turn that long wait into real impact in a shirt that suddenly fits him for more than just the cameras?