Barcelona were due to be back at the newly renovated Camp Nou in November of 2024 in order to celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary, but three months down the line, there is no clarity on when that will happen. The club and president have consistently promised that the return is coming this season, but now that looks out of reach too.
After initially pushing the return date back to February, it has been reported in recent months that the Blaugrana were keen to leave Montjuic before the end of the season, allowing them to host the final few games of the year at Camp Nou. The date marked in red was the Clasico clash with Real Madrid, scheduled for the weekend of the 11th of May. It would allow Barcelona to increase their hosting capacity to 60,000, and also make a significant difference in terms of income.
However Sport now say that Barcelona have now given up hope of hosting games at Camp Nou this season. As construction group Limak try to install the third tier, it even remains uncertain whether they will be able to return to Camp Nou at the start of next season. They also report that Barcelona have subcontracted out the building of their VIP boxes and the director’s area to local businesses rather than Limak.
Barça have started contacts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE to find a way out for Ansu Fati, as he is not in Hansi Flick’s plans. The club aim to offload his salary rather than seek a significant transfer fee. @sport
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 4, 2025
Work on the third tier is incompatible with hosting games, and Barcelona are keen to have the structure in place before next season, so that they can use the summer of 2026 to add the roof on top. Ultimately it is a move that will hit the club’s finances hard, with the budget for the season predicated on a significant boost in stadium income this season. This will in turn have an impact on their squad spending power this summer too, creating more headaches for Director of Football Deco.
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