Barça loses around half a million euros with each match in Montjuïc
Published New:25/09/2025 - 00:52h
Updated New:25/09/2025 - 00:52h
Barça returns to Montjuïc this weekend, after the City Council has once again denied the reopening of the Spotify Camp Nou. For the club, keeping the Lluís Companys open represents an enormous expense
The board of directors of FC Barcelona has confirmed the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys de Montjuïc as the venue for the next two official matches of the team led by Hansi Flick. Against Real Sociedad, in La Liga on Sunday the 28th, and against Paris Saint-Germain, in the Champions League on October 1, the Blaugrana team will return to what was their stadium for the last two seasons.
In principle, Barça was hoping to play, at least, against the team from San Sebastián at the Spotify Camp Nou, but finally the City Council denied the first occupancy license to the culé temple, alleging irregularities with security aspects that the construction company Limak has not yet resolved.
In that sense, the return to Montjuïc is a logistical and financial headache for Barça. Although the capacity of the Lluís Companys (almost 50,000 fans), for now, exceeds that of the Camp Nou (27,000 spectators in phase 1A), the rent of the stadium and its adaptations for League and Champions League matches cost the club a fortune.
Barça pays between 300,000 and 900,000 euros for each match in Montjuïc
In an interview for the program 'Tu Diràs' of 'Rac 1', the institutional vice president of FC Barcelona and head of the Espai Barça, Elena Fort, assured that the Blaugrana team pays between 300,000 and 900,000 euros to the City Council for each match it plays at the Estadi Olímpic.
That is, the average is around half a million euros in expenses for the culés. The Lluís Companys again had to change its turf to host the matches against Real Sociedad and PSG, while the playing field at the Spotify Camp Nou has been in perfect condition for weeks.
At the end of July, foreseeing a new delay in both the works and the granting of licenses, Barça processed a new permit with Barcelona Serveis Municipals to play in Montjuïc, if necessary, until the end of February 2026.
Against Real Sociedad, the realization of the Piromusical for the Mercè festivities compromised playing in the stadium on Sunday the 28th. However, LaLiga agreed to bring the match forward to 18:30 in order to facilitate the arrival and departure of the Blaugrana fans.
The impact of the stay in Montjuïc on Barcelona's finances
In addition to the issue of rent in Montjuïc and the cost derived from keeping one stadium open and another under construction, the return to the Spotify Camp Nou is key, in terms of 'Fair Play', due to the mess with the VIP seats.
Although the investors New Era Visionary Group (United Arab Emirates, €70 million for 350 seats) and Fortia Advisor Limited (Qatar, €30 million for 125 seats) have given the green light to their exploitation outside the culé temple, the 100 million derived from this 'lever' still do not have the 'Ok' from the Blaugrana auditor Crowe Spain and LaLiga.
The reason is very simple: Crowe has only computed the 58 'kilos' that, for the moment, have entered the culé coffers (€30 million from Fortia, €28 million from New Era) because the seats are not yet operational in the Estadi. For the auditor to compute the total of the operation, there is no other option than to enable them in Camp Nou.
With this income, Barça will return to operate under the 1:1 rule of financial 'Fair Play'. In addition, once phase 1B is finished (45,000 spectators), the club will be able to play its Champions League matches in Les Corts. Meanwhile, we will have to continue playing in Montjuïc, at least in Europe. For La Liga, the new tentative date points to Saturday, October 18, against Girona.
