FC Barcelona's Board of Directors, which met on Monday afternoon, made an assessment of the club's economic situation, which continues to suffer from playing at Montjuïc. Although reluctant to indicate the exact matchday, the club gave a hint by setting the new date for the return to Camp Nou for "the second half of the season".

The numbers of Montjuïc

The Board of Directors of the club held an extraordinary session on Monday to prepare the economic closure of the 23/24 season and the budget for the current season. Both documents will have to be evaluated and approved (or not) by the Ordinary General Assembly.

What already stands out in the data provided by the club is that the club closed last year with a loss of €91m. The club's statement, as Laporta did repeatedly, indicates that this is due to playing at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, which resulted in a reduction in annual ordinary revenue of over €100 million.

Despite the negative numbers, the statement insists on the efficient management of time at Montjuïc stay and highlights the reduction of the payroll by €170m, player sales of more than €80m and record profits from sponsorship agreements, valued at €210m.

© MM Groundhopping

Back home

The most important part of the statement, however, is the hint given by the club about the return to Spotify Camp Nou. The men's first team will continue to play at the Estadi Olímpic for the first half of the season, with the goal of returning to a partially opened Spotify Camp Nou for the second half, the statement reads.

The club avoids setting exact dates, increasing the uncertainty and giving more importance to rumors of major setbacks that, if true, would mean that the return to the Camp Nou could be delayed even until April.

Even so, the statement gives enough clues to assume that the goal is to return to the Camp Nou for the match against Valencia on January 26, since that will be the first home game after the six-month mark since the start of the course for Barcelona, precisely against Valencia, but at Mestalla, which ended in a 1:3 win for the Blaugrana.

Several media indicate that another possible option is to return when the Champions League group is over, which can only be played in Montjuïc. If so, Barca would return to Camp Nou on February 2 to face Alavés, after the last home game of the Champions League group stage, on January 29 against Atalanta.

© Espai Héctor