Another missed opportunity at Barça

Barça will inaugurate the new Camp Nou this Saturday. The news is fantastic. After more than 900 days at Montjuïc, the Culés will once again experience the thrill and suffering of a football pitch – it should be noted that Olympic stadiums are primarily for athletics – and cheer on players who, for the most part, have only worn the Barça colors in exile. The league match against Athletic will be memorable, even though the return is neither complete (half the stadium is under construction) nor definitive.We will have to march again (when the dome has to be installed). It's necessary to celebrate and remember important dates, even if they're a year late. Of course!

Saint Cecilia's Day, the patron saint of musicians, will forever be linked to a reopening that Barça has worked hard to achieve behind the scenes, and which won't exactly be a celebration for everyone or every budget. The members who have followed the team at Montjuïc and who have kept their season tickets for this year (23,000) will be the only ones who will keep their wallets intact. Members who legitimately chose to freeze their rights during the Camp Nou renovations, on the other hand, have had to pay between 159 and 472 euros for one of the 16,000 tickets available for 24 hours, which, obviously, didn't sell out. Now that this window has closed, it's every man for himself for the general public, who can buy tickets in the side stands and the grandstand for between 369 and 689 euros. A bargain.

With these prices, it's understandable that more than one member is wondering why they're paying their annual fee. Seeing these figures, it's logical to think the intention is to discourage them from buying a seat that will end up in the hands of casual visitors more interested in tarnishing their memory. smartphone Rather than a source of excitement, the return to Camp Nou will be a missed opportunity to reunite loyal Barcelona fans after two and a half years of relative indifference at Montjuïc. Everything suggests it will be just another match to fill the coffers and, in doing so, reassure the Goldman Sachs executives, who are far more concerned about their investment—and the club's precarious finances—than whether grandpa Joan or aunt Maria, members since the days of Cruyff and Sotil, will have enough money to bring back the excitement.