Barca in race against time to have £775m stadium ready – or have just 6000 fans

BARCELONA are under the cosh to have their new £775million stadium ready – or they will be forced to play in front of just 6,000 fans.

The Catalan side have a 10 DAY race to complete all the new work and obtain the necessary permits.

If Barca do not submit the documents in time or authorities refuse to grant approvals then they could play in either Montjuic, RCDE Stadium or Estadi Johan Cruyff.

Barca President Joan Laporta promised that they would not return to Montjuic while RCDE Stadium is the home of Espanyol, Barca’s bitter rivals.

Estadi Johan Cruyff is the most likely venue as the second team’s stadium, with just 6,000 seats.

The first step towards this will be the Certificate of Completion of Works.

This document will confirm that the Tribuna and Gol Sur sectors are ready to receive 27,000 fans.

This will be the capacity of the Nou Camp until the Lateral and Gol Nord sectors are completed.

Barcelona wanted to sign the documents last week but needed various signatures and did not make it in time.

have found themselves in a sticky situation, considering they wanted to sign the document last week but they didn’t make in time.

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The new deadline for signing the certificate is now Monday before the Tribuna and Gol Sur can be deemed fit for use and for the stadium to hold matches.

UEFA has set August 28 as the deadline for clubs to confirm the stadiums where they will play during the Champions League league phase. 

The timeframe feels extremely tight for Barca to open the stadium to fans on September 13 or 14.

This means Marcus Rashford’s first home game for Barcelona could be delayed after he joined on loan from Man Utd.

Barca are already set to play their first three LaLiga games away from home, starting at Mallorca on Saturday.