Barcelona will not be back at Camp Nou this calendar year, after the announcement of the club accounts and their projections for the coming year confirmed that their return would be the ‘second round of the season’.
Less than a month ago, President Joan Laporta insisted that everything was on schedule for Barcelona to return home to Camp Nou before Christmas. However several reports have said a much more likely timeline is February, while others have even asserted that it could be as late as April. The intended return will be with a reduced capacity of 64,000 while work continues on the rest of the stadium.
Héctor Fort is the only available player in the squad who has not been a starter on any occasion. @gbsans
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 30, 2024
The second half is taken to mean that it will be at least the 20th matchday of La Liga, which would mean a home clash against Valencia in the final weekend of January, the 25th or 26th. They face Atalanta in the Champions League thereafter, and Alaves the following weekend.
Barcelona recently received a permit for work on Camp Nou to continue 24 hours per day during the week for the next month, as they try to accelerate their return. The loss of income from using Montjuic has had a major impact on their finances in recent years, and Barcelona are understandably keen to get back as quickly as they can.
