Barcelona are back at Camp Nou. Well, kind of.
On Friday morning, Hansi Flick’s first team players trained under the Catalan sun, kicking a ball on the famous pitch for the first time since the end of the 2022-23 season. Barcelona had hoped to be there at the end of last year, but the date was shifted back four times.
The club are now hopeful of playing games from the end of this month starting with a La Liga match against Athletic Club in front of 45,000, but it has yet to be confirmed. Friday’s sell-out test event saw 23,000 fans watch the team and visit the place they will call home once again.
Fans were optimistic and happy. Players kicked balls into the stands at the end and the club president Joan Laporta posed for selfies with fans and signed autographs.
Average home attendances halved from 88,000 when the team moved to the city’s Olympic Stadium in 2023 and many season ticket holders didn’t make the move with them.
There was not space, people got out of the habit or baulked at the initial prices, which were later scaled down.
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