Barcelona forced to play PSG away from Camp Nou in Champions League

Barcelona’s Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain on October 1, scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET, will be held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. The club made the announcement on Friday, confirming what had already been widely expected. The 16,151 season ticket holders who signed up to watch their team in Montjuïc over the past two years will have priority when buying tickets.

Why can’t Barça play at Camp Nou?

UEFA had already listed Montjuïc as the venue on its website on Thursday, despite the Spotify Camp Nou being shown as the stadium for the tie only a few days earlier. Barcelona has been preparing for the move back to the Olympic site for several days – the stage for Post Malone’s concert has been cleared, and the installation of a new playing surface is about to begin.

Champions League regulations state that all group-stage matches must be played at the same ground. That means the fixtures against Olympiacos on October 21, Eintracht Frankfurt on December 9, and FC Copenhagen on January 28 would also be at Montjuïc. However, UEFA has left the door open for a switch back if Camp Nou is ready in time.

Barcelona’s domestic home matches have also been affected. The first league game against Valencia was held at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, and Tuesday’s announcement confirmed that this Sunday’s clash with Getafe will also take place there.

The board hopes to resolve all outstanding bureaucratic hurdles in time for the club to finally return to the Spotify Camp Nou on September 28, when they are scheduled to host Real Sociedad in front of 27,000 fans.

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