Barcelona held an open training session in front of 23,000 fans at Spotify Camp Nou on Friday as they finally inch closer to returning to the iconic stadium.
Barcelona have not played a match at Camp Nou since 2023, when they temporarily moved to the city’s Olympic Stadium to allow for a €1.5 billion renovation of the stadium.
Friday’s training session was a test event ahead of what the club hopes will be a return to official action later this month.
President Joan Laporta said the plan is to return either for the La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao on November 22 or a week later when Hansi Flick’s side host Alaves on November 29, coinciding with the club’s 126th anniversary.
Failing that, Barcelona will welcome Atletico Madrid to the league on December 2.
The exact date will depend on when the board grants Barcelona a permit to allow them to organize matches with a maximum capacity of 45,401 spectators.
Barcelona currently only has a license for a 25,991-capacity stadium, which was granted in October, but will wait until it can welcome more fans before officially returning.
Work is still continuing on the ground, with the first two levels almost finished, but the third level and the roof still need to be added.
The current estimate is that the final completion date will be in 2027, with capacity gradually increasing over time until it reaches 105,000.
Speaking after the training session, Laporta once again confirmed that he would welcome the return of former Barcelona star Lionel Messi if he wanted to return to open the entire stadium.
Laporta told reporters: “It will be a great way to open the stadium (when it is completely finished) with 105,000 spectators in attendance to honor Leo.”
“Always of course, depending on what (Messi’s camp) wants. There are also presidential elections before that, but in case I am still president, I would love that.”
Messi’s shock departure from Barcelona in the summer of 2021 lacked a proper farewell, partly due to the haste of his exit, but also due to the coronavirus restrictions in place at the time.
The Argentina international has never commented publicly on the possibility of returning to the club to participate in any such match.
Meanwhile, the wait to return to Camp Nou has been longer than expected, with Barcelona initially hoping to return at the end of 2024.
The club then announced his return earlier this year, before postponing the date until the start of the current season in September.
However, still waiting for the necessary permits, they were forced to play the first two matches of the season at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium because the Olympic Stadium was not available or ready.
They have since returned to the Stadio Olimpico, where they have played their last five home games, but will be hoping that last Sunday’s 3-1 win over Elche was their last there.
