For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter
Thank you for subscribing!
For the latest from the pitch sign up for our football newsletter
We have more newsletters
Barcelona have been branded ‘broke broke’ after the Catalan giants took the drastic step of flogging grass from the Nou Camp.
Barca’s iconic home has been largely demolished to make way for a state-of-the-art new Nou Camp, with the capacity to rise beyond the 100,000 mark. As a result, the team is playing at the city’s Olympic Stadium before returning home, initially with a reduced capacity.
The extra capacity, including enhanced corporate facilities, will boost Barca’s fragile finances in the long-term. However, the £1.4bn stadium project, a huge wage bill and big debts have left the club with accounting issues in the short-term.
And fans reckon the club’s decision to sell patches of grass underlines their desperation for cash, with prices ranging from £17 to a staggering £360.
READ MORE: New footage inside Nou Camp renovations leave football fans heartbroken
“They’re broke broke [crying face emoji],” posted one fan on X (formerly Twitter). Another said: “I know Barca are struggling financially but this is extreme.”
A third added: “Man, the desperation of a bankrupt club!” A fourth asked: “First they cut the youth team’s breakfast, now this. What’s next?” A fifth said: “A broke club doing everything they can.”
Is the Nou Camp the most iconic stadium in football? Tell us in the comments section below
After a season at city rivals Espanyol’s former home, which holds 55,000, Barca are due to return to the Nou Camp for 2024/25, albeit with a 50% capacity. The rebuild is not due to be completed until the 2026/27 campaign.
Manager and legendary former player, Xavi, said of the move last season: “Camp Nou feels like my home. But it is for a good cause, to have an even better stadium where the fans will feel even better. It's for a common good.
“My feeling is it won't be easy in Montjuic [where Olympic Stadium is]. We have to move to a new ground and we will need the fans with us.
“That atmosphere that's been generated since I have been in charge, we will need that in Montjuic. The fans need to know that we are going to need them a lot there.”
- Barcelona FC
- Footballblog
Source: Read Full Article
