Marca newspaper revealed that Barcelona will be forced to change the Olympic Stadium of Luis Companys in its Champions League matches after the group stage.
The Catalan club was scheduled to return to its stadium, Spotify Camp Nou, last November, but the date was postponed to February, and now it is said that Barca will not play there before next season due to the incomplete construction work.
Barcelona will not be able to play the round of 16 of the Champions League at the Olympic Stadium of Luis Companys due to hosting several concerts at the same time, in addition to problems in the contractual relationship between the two parties.
According to Marca, Barcelona is weighing up three stadiums to play its European matches in, which are Cornella, the stronghold of Espanyol, Mestalla, Valencia, and Wanda Metropolitano, the stronghold of Atletico Madrid.
Barca’s management rejects the idea of playing at the Coruna stadium due to the poor relationship with eternal rival Espanyol, and the balance is now swinging between Mestalla and Wanda.
The main dilemma in choosing the Wanda is the distance between Barcelona and Madrid, while Valencia is closer to the Catalans, so the Mestalla would be more crowded.
However, the Wanda option remains the current favourite, especially since the Atletico Madrid president has declared his welcome to hosting Barça and that “there is nothing for the two clubs to negotiate” in this regard.
Barcelona are second in the Champions League with 15 points with two games remaining in the league, which puts them close to qualifying directly with the top eight teams to the last 16 and avoiding the two play-off matches in February.
