The grief of Barcelona fans may continue with new news that represents another shock for the debt-ridden club, the closure of the club's iconic "Camp Nou" for at least a year. Barcelona is set to play outside the famous "Camp Nou" stadium for a full year due to the planned renovation of the historic venue. The Barcelona management has been looking to expand their stadium for several years, but they have had to delay the process, which will provide a new capacity of 110,000 seats, a more modern design, and changes to the surrounding areas.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium underwent renovations, resulting in the club playing at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, which has a capacity of only six thousand spectators, taking advantage of the absence of fans. President Joan Laporta hopes to begin the renovation process, which will last 3-4 years, in the summer of 2022, and Barcelona is likely to play their home matches at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.
The Johan Cruyff Stadium has a capacity of 6,000 spectators and is affiliated with Barcelona's academy. Planning for the Camp Nou expansion project began in 2016 and is a very costly endeavor. Due to Barcelona's massive debts, the team will need to borrow funds from external sources such as banks. Negotiations are ongoing between Barcelona and the American investment bank Goldman Sachs to finance the Camp Nou development project for 1.5 billion euros.
