Although Barcelona higher-ups insist the plan is for the team to return home to the Spotify Camp Nou before season's end, a contingency plan has gone in motion that could result in May's El Clásico being played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
Barcelona's lease of the city's Olympic Stadium was due to end on April 23, with the team still slated to play two more La Liga home games and potentially a UEFA Champions League semifinal in May.
The club were previously unable to extend their lease to cover the final month of the season because the Rolling Stones were supposed to have a concert at the stadium the same weekend Barcelona are scheduled to play a possibly title-deciding Clásico on May 11. The concert got pushed back and the club jumped at the opportunity to ask for an extension of the lease until their final home game of the season on May 20.
In a statement released by the club, they announced they will contact Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (BSM)—the body in charge of the city owned stadium—to secure the lease extension until the end of the season, whilst also making their true intentions very clear.
"The club wants to highlight that the main objective is to play matches near the end of the season at Spotify Camp Nou and efforts will intensify to achieve this objective," the statement said.
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Prior to the start of the season, Barcelona originally intended to return to a partially renovated Camp Nou in Nov. 2024. The timeline was later pushed back to Feb. 2025 and now, it appears May is the new target return date. Although Barcelona remains confident in a Camp Nou return this season, the emergency measure would officially end the rumors of Barça possibly having to face Real Madrid outside of Spain.
The full renovation of the Camp Nou is slated to be finalized in the summer of 2026. The stadium will have a capacity to host 105 thousand fans, which will make it the largest soccer venue in Europe.
In the meantime, Hansi Flick's Barcelona will play their next home game at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys when they host Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Feb. 17.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as El Clasico Could be Moved From Camp Nou in May Between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
