Barcelona to request loan as €1.45b Camp Nou rebuild money runs out | OneFootball

Barcelona were delighted to return to Camp Nou this season, two years behind schedule, but the cost of not doing so earlier is certainly racking up. President Joan Laporta has heralded the work of the current regime for restoring Barcelona’s financial position, but will now ask the Barcelona members for permission to seek an extra loan.

The Catalan giants were only set to be away from Camp Nou for a total of 18 months, the return date set for November of 2024, to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary, but delays to the work meant they were forced to continuing playing at Montjuic and even at their training ground on multiple occasions. Laporta has played down the delays and the potential costs, claiming they were beyond the control of both Barcelona and contractor Limak. He has also rejected the idea tthat they would exercise a clause that allows Barcelona to penalise Limak for each day of delay.

Barcelona to request extra loan to complete Camp Nou work

As explained first by Diari Ara, and quoted by Diario AS, Laporta and Barcelona are set to request a fresh loan from Goldman Sachs, after their previous €1.45b loan ran out. To do so, they must put it to a vote for the members at either the General Assembly or an Extraordinary General Assembly. Of that money, €960m was due to go towards the remodelling of Camp Nou, and the remaining €490m to reform of the area around the stadium and the basketball stadium. Yet Barcelona still have at least a year of work remaining on Camp Nou and are yet to start work on the remainder of the Espai Barca project around it.

Estimates of Barcelona going over budget

As mentioned, the club have cited the global crises that have occurred in recent years as the motive for the increase in cost. The current overspend is believed to be in the region of €300-400m. Including the Espai Barca loan, the global debt for Barcelona is already at around €2.5b, although about €1.5b of that is long-term debt due over decades.