Barcelona confirm return to Camp Nou against Athletic Club amid fury over ticketing | OneFootball

Barcelona will finally return to Camp Nou, almost exactly a year behind schedule. The Blaugrana were granted permission by the City Council for Phase 1B of the stadium’s reopening, and will play their first match back in their home ground on Saturday.

The Catalan side last played there in May of 2023 in a 3-0 victory over RCD Mallorca before leaving the ground for renovations. They will eventually increase the capacity of Spotify Camp Nou to 105,000 but are returning in stages, with their first games to be played with a capacity of 45,400.

Barcelona to face Athletic Club at Camp Nou this weekend

Their return will coincide with the visit of Athletic Club. Barcelona have spent the last 2.5 years at Montjuic for the most part, with the exception of a couple of games at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. Originally their return to Camp Nou was set to be in front of 60,000 fans on the 29th of November 2024 to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary. Delays to the work have seen the club continuously push back their return date though, which will now be on the 22nd of November. It is not yet clear whether they will return to Camp Nou for Champions League matches, or if UEFA will hold the change until the knockout phases.

A photo of the Camp Nou, still under construction, taken during a press tour on September 23, 2025. image via Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA/SIPA

Fury over Barcelona ticketing policies

However the return has not been met with euphoria by all. While season ticket-holders will be able to attend the game as normal, and members will have a 20% discount, the pricing has drawn fury. The cheapest tickets are set at €199, while the most expensive are as much as €589, without being a VIP experience.

In addition, Athletic Club fans will be entirely unable to attend. As pointed out by Marca, 468 Athletic members had entered a draw for tickets to the match, but Barcelona will not provide any ticket allocation for Athletic. Barcelona argue that the with the renovations at their current point, the club cannot provide separate access points and seating for away fans. This is very much a choice though; Rayo Vallecano do not have a separate away section in their stands, but still provide an away allocation to visiting fans, as was the case for Barcelona earlier this season.