El Clasico at Wembley? Barcelona vs Real Madrid La Liga clash to be played at alternate venue, here's why
The Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys or Barcelona Olympic Stadium has been home ground for the Catalan Club due to renovation work at the original stadium Camp Nou since 2023.
FollowThe much-anticipated clash El Clasico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid is likely to be played at an iconic Wembley stadium in London. The La Liga clash between two Spanish football giants is scheduled to take place at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on May 11.
The Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys or Barcelona Olympic Stadium has been home ground for the Catalan Club due to renovation work at the original stadium Camp Nou since 2023. The completion of the work is not done, with the previous intention that Barcelona would return to its original base in 2024. However, the renovation work at Camp Nou is expected to be completed in 2026 and till then, Barcelona would continue to play at the venue where 1992 Olympics was hosted.
However, Barcelona would not be able to host Real Madrid at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys as the contract for the stadium is set to expire in April, a month before the El Clasico and by that time, Camp Nou’s renovation work would not be completed. Extending the contract at the Barcelona Olympic Stadium would be an issue as the stadium is set to host pre-planned events, including Rolling Stones concerts. The British band is set to play two shows between May 10 and 15 to kick off their tour of Europe.
Apart from the El Clasico, Barcelona also have a home game against Villarreal on May 18 and that would require an alternate venue for the Blaugrana to host the match. FC Barcelona are currently in a big fix as they need to find a suitable venue to host the home fixtures, with Wembley Stadium emerging as the potential venue for the El Clasico fixture and the home game against Villarreal.
As per the report by Daily Mail, FC Barcelona officials held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss options, which includes the potentiality of hosting the home games on the foreign soil if the club doesn’t get a contract extension at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. London’s Iconic stadium Wembley looked as a ‘wild card’ to step in to host their home games. La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (SFF) have already looked at the option of hosting a game overseas. Barcelona’s clash with Atletico Madrid in December last year was supposed to be played in Miami, but the plans did not happen due to third party involvement.
This is not the first time that the Spanish Football Federation is looking for a global appeal and to compete with the Premier League as the internationally popular domestic league in the world. In 2018, Supercopa de Espana was played in Morocco before playing in Saudi Arabia over every subsequent season, barring 2021. Wembley stadium is no stranger to hosting foreign domestic matches as they have National Football League (NFL) regular season matches since 2007.
The last time Barcelona and Real Madrid faced off against each other was in the Supercopa de Espana Final, where the Catalan club demolished Los Blancos 5-2 to clinch the title.
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