January 30 – The El Clasico, between Real Madrid and Barcelona is widely considered to be the biggest club game in world football and is eagerly awaited every season. On May 11, the second La Liga instalment following Barca’s thrashing of Madrid 4-0 at Estadio Bernabeu, is scheduled to take place at the Camp Nou, however, the game is now in jeopardy of having no facility to play in.
Firstly, the widely reported renovations at Barca’s iconic stadium are not moving at the pace expected, leading the team to extend their stay at Montjuic, the Olympic stadium in Barcelona that has a substantially smaller capacity than the Camp Nou.
Secondly, the agreement with the city council only has them playing at the Montjuic until April 23, after which the biggest rock band in the world, The Rolling Stones, are scheduled to start their European tour at the Olympic Stadium on May 11, and Mick & Co have no intention of moving dates around.
The Barca board have been holding emergency talks should the Nou Camp not be ready to host El Clasico, which appears increasingly likely. With a game of this magnitude, a suitable stadium in Spain doesn’t exist, and it would be against precedence to host a league game in another Spanish club’s stadium.
The potential answer for the board is to move the game abroad. The United States has always been the preferred destination for La Liga to play a regular season league game. The dispute over whether the LaLiga can get a sanction to play a game in the US is still making its way through the US court system.
A simpler solution suggested by the board would be to move the game to London’s Wembley Stadium. With a 90,000 capacity, and a place in Barcelona folklore, they won their first ever European Cup in 1992 at the old Wembley and repeated the feat in 2011 versus Manchester United.
La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation would look favourably on any official petition from Barcelona to play the game in England but FIFA rules state that official league games must be played within the territory of the respective member association, the issue LaLiga’s is battling is battling in the US.
La Liga has been encouraged by UEFA president Alexander Ceferin’s recent aspirations to hold a Champions League final in the US one season, so all options are still on the table. The final question is…will Barca ‘Get Some Satisfaction’.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1738279869labto1738279869ofdlr1738279869owedi1738279869sni@o1738279869fni1738279869