Blaugranas' historic rivalry with Los Blancos is not limited to El Clásico. It is also a constant battle for supremacy in the Iberian Peninsula, including non-sporting aspects. The symbols of the business and image clash between Barça and Real, alongside the transfers, are the redevelopment of the two clubs’ arenas. Money, prestige and the title of Spain's best stadium are at stake.

Three years of advantage

The designs for the new Santiago Bernabéu and Nou Camp Nou emerged at a similar, but not the same, time, which was crucial to the work going forward. Real Madrid decided on the vision of gmp Architekten, L35 Arquitectos and Ribas & Ribas Arquitectos in 2014, allowing work to start in 2019 and is now nearing completion.

FC Barcelona, meanwhile, took the final decision on the design by Nikken Sekkei and Joan Pascual and Ramon Ausió Arquitectes two years later, in 2016, and through delays, work did not start until 2022. Although the Blaugrana will return to Spotify Camp Nou in 2024/2025, construction will continue until 2026.

Thanks to this and the pandemonium that allowed the Royals to play without an audience at the small Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano, speeding up the work has given Real Madrid a three-year head start. As a result, Los Blancos returned to Bernabéu at the start of the 2021/22 season, while Barça still plays at Montjuïc.

© RealMadrid.com / Ribas Arquitectos | Design of Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

What is the difference between the new Bernabéu and the new Camp Nou?

Espai Barça, the redeveloped Camp Nou and other installations, is described by Barcelona president Joan Laporta as the most important project in the club's history. The new third tier of stands, increasing capacity to 105,000 seats, will make the stadium one of the largest in the world.

The venue is designed to be open, elegant and democratic, so instead of a uniform façade, it will have uncovered terraces offering views across the city, fitting in with Barcelona's Mediterranean climate. The spectators will be protected from the rain by a membrane roof fully covering the stands, and the walls of the stadium will be illuminated in shades of the club's colours.

In contrast, the Santiago Bernabéu, a gem of Royal president Florentino Peréz, has retained its capacity of around 81,000 seats and has been given a futuristic, enclosed facade. A new exclusive VIP area, called the SkyBar, has also been created. The city will build a dedicated subway station around the venue and the stadium itself will even have, in addition to shops or restaurants, a... brewery.

Despite all these unique features of the royals' new arena, the most important argument that the Bernabéu has to beat Camp Nou in the battle for the title of Spain's best stadium are those elements that Barcelona lacked the resources for, namely the 360° video board, the retractable roof and the movable pitch.

© FC Barcelona | Design of Nou Camp Nou

How do the two projects look in numbers?

FC Barcelona has budgeted €1.07 billion for Camp Nou, although Joan Laporta has announced that he will try to bring the cost down to €960 million. According to the company Legends, with whom Barça is working, ticket sales, the VIP ring between the 2nd and 3rd tiers of the stands and the expanded museum and tour offer are expected to provide the club with €346m in revenue per year.

Unlike Barça, which is trying to cut construction costs, Real announced further modifications during the works that raised the price tag from a planned €575m to €1.17 billion. To cover the cost of, among other things, the folding turf system, Los Blancos have obtained three loans, making the cost of the whole project, including interest, potentially as high as €2 billion.

However, the club hopes that regular concerts such as Taylor Swift's show and an expanded commercial and catering offer, combined with income from ticket sales and the VIP offer, will provide the club with around €400m a year, allowing it to repay its loans in a few years.

© RealMadrid.com / Ribas Arquitectos | Design of Estadio Santiago Bernabéu

This is how the two stadiums compare: