Barcelona forced to delay Champions League return to newly-renovated Spotify Camp Nou | OneFootball

At this stage, the plan is for Barcelona to return to their Spotify Camp Nou home in mid-December. The iconic stadium has been undergoing renovation work since last summer, and while it won’t be fully completed until 2025 at the earliest, it’s expected that 60% of its capacity can return at the end of this year.

However, even if football does return to the Spotify Camp Nou at this time, it won’t be every match that is played there. As reported by MD, Barcelona will not be able to host Champions League matches at their spiritual home until after the end of the 2024-25 league phase, which concludes in next January.

MD7 (21/22 January) and MD8 (29 January) will not be played at the Spotify Camp Nou, and if Barcelona are assigned at home on either of those matchdays, then they will have to play at the Estadi Olimpic. UEFA rules dictate that clubs cannot change their home stadium during a stage of European football – in this stage, the league phase.

It’s far from ideal that Barcelona won’t be able to play at the Spotify Camp Nou on these occasions, as the benefit of being in their actual home stadium is both sporting and financial.