Montreal Impact academy product and rising Canadian national team prospect Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla is returning to North America this week, having earned a spot on FC Barcelona’s roster for their preseason tour of the United States.
A Homegrown standout for the Impact in 2016-17, Tabla transferred to the Spanish giants in January and joined their B team, where he put in some encouraging performances last season.
Now the Ivory Coast-born winger is one of 13 players from Barça B who have been included in the tour, due in large part to the club’s hefty contingent of World Cup stars who are resting in the wake of that tournament.
Barcelona flew to Oregon on Tuesday, where they will train for several days before opening their slate of three games in the International Champions Cup against Tottenham Hotspur at the Rose Bowl in Southern California on Saturday. The Blaugranes also face AS Roma at AT&T Stadium outside Dallas on Monday and AC Milan at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Aug. 4.
Full FC Barcelona roster, US tour
Andre Ter Stegen, Jasper Cillessen, Nelson Semedo, Denis Suárez, Paco Alcácer, Lucas Digne, Sergi Roberto, André Gomes, Aleix Vidal, Arthur Melo, Clement Lenglet, Rafinha, Munir El Haddadi, Marlon Santos, Jokin Ezkieta, Sergi Palencia, Marc Cucurella, Oscar Mingueza, Joan Isaac Cuenca, Juan Miranda, Monchu Rodriguez, Alex Collado, Riqui Puig, Abel Ruiz, Carles Pérez, Chumi Brandariz, Ballou Tabla.
