Barcelona to leave Camp Nou again as major redevelopment decision now revealed amid £2.2bn debts

Barcelona will once again be forced away from Camp Nou as the club prepares for another major phase of redevelopment work.

The decision comes alongside a fresh £437m borrowing package, with the club's total debt potentially rising beyond £2bn.

Barcelona to play half of 2027-28 season away from Camp Nou

Barcelona will complete the 2026-27 season at Camp Nou before temporarily returning to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys for around half of the following campaign.

Vice-president Ferran Olive confirmed that the club expect to leave Camp Nou in May 2027, with work on the stadium's huge new roof requiring construction materials to be positioned on the pitch, via The Athletic.

Barcelona have already agreed a deal with the city council to use the Montjuic venue, where they played their home matches during the earlier stages of the redevelopment.

They are targeting a return to Camp Nou in January 2028, although Olive said the club have deliberately built in additional time to guard against further delays.

The move comes after Barcelona spent the entire 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons away from Camp Nou before returning in November 2025 at a reduced capacity.

The stadium currently holds around 62,000 spectators, with the third tier expected to progressively reopen from early 2027.

The completed stadium is planned to hold 105,000 fans, with Barcelona expecting it to be fully operational by the start of the 2028-29 season. UEFA has already selected Camp Nou to host the 2029 Champions League final.

Members have also approved a further €510m (£437m) of borrowing, including €300m (£258m) for Camp Nou construction and €210m (£180m) for operational financing.

The overall Espai Barca budget has now risen to €1.8bn (£1.55bn), while total borrowings could eventually exceed €2.6bn (£2.2bn).

FGG says: Barcelona face another Camp Nou setback

Barcelona's decision to leave Camp Nou again is frustrating, particularly after the club have already endured years of delays and temporary homes.

However, the roof is a crucial part of completing the redevelopment, and building it properly is clearly more important than rushing the final stages.

The financial side remains the bigger concern, however.

Barcelona are taking on substantial additional borrowing while the redevelopment budget has already tripled from the original €600m (£515m) proposal, meaning the completed stadium will need to generate significant additional revenue.