It's official: Barça will not return to the Camp Nou this season.

BarcelonaWhat was a public secret was confirmed this Thursday. Barça will finish the season in Montjuïc. Therefore, the long-awaited return to Camp Nou has been postponed for a few months. The club informed members of this via email, offering them the possibility of extending their season tickets for matches scheduled in May.

Barça had said around Christmas that it would try to reopen the stadium in May, coinciding with the Clásico against Real Madrid. However, delays in the renovation work and the difficulty in obtaining the necessary permits have prevented this from happening. Although the renovation was progressing at a good pace and the preliminary work to install the turf was already underway, the club has found that it was not worth the effort to play just two matches (three, if the team ultimately reaches the Champions League semi-finals). Thus, the new planned date is August, coinciding with the start of the 2025/26 season, although internal club sources cannot confirm this 100%.

The club needed to make a decision because a Barça-Madrid match is one of the most profitable matches of the season with ticket sales. A hypothetical return to Camp Nou would have served precisely to make a splash in this regard and increase revenue—Montjuïc has a maximum of 50,000 seats, compared to 60,000 at the stadium for the provisional return. There was even the possibility that Barça would be crowned champion that date. In any case, the ticket sales process had to be activated, so they needed to know where the match would be played.

Having confirmed that the match would be played at Montjuïc, the club has activated all the machinery to sell tickets. First, season ticket holders extend their season ticket for all May matches, with prices ranging from €27 per goal to €67 in the stands (the sideline is €38 and the corner is €34). Furthermore, Barça always gives priority to members for purchasing any remaining seats, so these non-season ticket holders cannot yet be purchased. However, the offer has gone on sale. VIP, which was instantly packed, to the point that some of the cheapest options were already sold out. Prices are astronomical and can reach 3,000 euros per seat. With canapés included, of course!

The return date to Camp Nou, a topic of internal debate and tension between Barça and Limak

The stadium's return date had been a topic of internal debate within the board of directors and the Espai Barça team, and also a point of contention with the construction company Limak. Initially, it had been said that the Camp Nou would be available in November 2024, coinciding with the club's 125th anniversary, with 60% capacity. But it quickly became clear that the deadline could not be met. Although Barça publicly denied this—even putting season tickets for the second half of the season on sale, although it ended up not charging for them—logic prevailed. The possibility of reopening the stadium in May remained open, and Limak, according to board sources, had committed to making it possible. Ultimately, it has been postponed for a later date.

Beyond the fact that the works will not yet be finished and that, therefore, the return would have been made with temporary access and with the structure of the third tier half-finished, the main reasons for postponing the return are economic and logistical. The turf had to be laid and the lighting and television installations completed in a hurry. The problem is that, after the two or three matches in May, most of the existing work would have had to be removed to continue with the final work. This meant an additional cost for works that, in themselves, are already under great strain due to the various unforeseen events that have arisen. Furthermore, the changing rooms and many of the services necessary for playing official football matches would not have been finished.

The question is whether the return will actually take place at the start of the 2025/26 season or if we will have to wait a little longer. Official Barça sources confirm that the next season will begin at Camp Nou with a provisional capacity of 62,000. However, how he explained the NOWUnofficial sources consulted by this outlet cast doubt on this and do not rule out the possibility of a further delay, postponing the return to January or February 2026. However, this will be at almost 100% capacity. Only time will tell.