Why Barcelona still can't play at Camp Nou

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Why Barcelona Still Can't Play at Camp Nou

The Athletic FC Podcast | Host: Ayo Akimwolere
Guests: Paul Belous, Laia Cervello Herrero
Date: September 11, 2025

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Overview

This episode explores the ongoing saga behind FC Barcelona’s inability to return to their iconic Camp Nou stadium. Host Ayo Akimwolere is joined by Barcelona correspondents Paul Belous and Laia Cervello Herrero, who dissect the causes of construction delays, the surprising venue choices for matches, financial repercussions, the mood inside the club, and the broader implications for Barca. With a mix of insights, inside reporting, and light-hearted banter, the team clarifies what’s really happening behind the headlines.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What’s in a Name: Camp Nou, Not Nou Camp

• [02:13] Paul kicks off by clarifying a common misnomer:

  "It's just Camp Nou. That's a message to anyone who still says like Nou Camp. That's not right, that's wrong... the name is Camp Nou."
  (Paul Belous, 02:13)

2. Why Barcelona Can't Play at Camp Nou (Or Montjuïc)

• [03:19] Camp Nou’s ongoing construction means it’s not ready — lacking permits, licenses, and safe access.
• Montjuïc, their temporary home, is unavailable due to other city bookings, including a Post Malone concert this weekend.

  "Monjuic was off the table for Barcelona and they had to look at basically just other options... the other option... was playing at the Johan Cruyff stadium."
  (Paul Belous, 03:19)

• The solution: Barca’s first La Liga home game is at the 6,000-seater Johan Cruyff Stadium.
• [04:53] Laia describes the much smaller venue and its family-friendly, less intense atmosphere.

  "It's a pretty small stadium, as you can imagine, for the capacity it has. It's also pretty modern..."
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 04:53)

3. Construction Delays: What Went Wrong?

• [06:21] Delays stem from construction slowdowns, lack of permits and licenses, supply chain issues, and contractors going bust.

  "All the accesses to the stadium, everything is just not ready... They didn't have all the licenses to work as many hours as they wanted... companies being contracted to provide materials being basically broke, going bankrupt."
  (Paul Belous, 06:21)

• Four planned stages for stadium reopening – first with 27,000 capacity, gradually to 60,000+.
• Despite initial projections, a November 2024 return became impossible; now, even summer 2025 offers no guarantees.

4. Player and Fan Sentiments

• Players: Little visible distress among players; most are resigned and focused on football.

  "All of them want to return to Camp Nou, but I don't think this is a main concern for them"
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 08:53)

• Fans: Increasing frustration stems from mixed club messaging and lack of clear communication rather than the displacement itself.

  "What has created more frustration... is the communications policy and just the way that Barcelona has handled it, promising things they were not able to deliver."
  (Paul Belous, 10:32)

5. Uncertainty for Upcoming Fixtures

• [11:48] Champions League logistics remain unsolved; Barca do not know yet where they’ll play home games against the likes of PSG. Montjuïc may soon become available again, but nothing is concrete.

6. Footballing Logistics: Fixture Congestion

• [12:56] Sharing the small Johan Cruyff stadium with women’s and B teams could cause clashes, but Laia believes this will only last for the Post Malone weekend.

7. Financial Impact of Delays

• [15:38] Staying away from Camp Nou triggers huge losses — estimated €90 million per season, now compounding over two years.

  "If you hold the match at Camp Nou, the belief inside the group is that the financial element is going to be boosted a lot... you start paying the debt of the Camp Nou when you start playing there."
  (Paul Belous, 15:38)

• Operating at smaller venues limits merchandise, ticket sales, and corporate hospitality streams.
• Forced to pay stadium rent at alternate venues, worsening the balance sheet.

  “For time, the first, third game, I also have doubts. So that's going to be money that you have to start discounting and then if you start playing at Camp Nou with limited capacity, that's less tickets that you can sell as well.”
  (Paul Belous, 17:45)

• [18:02]

  “Technically that’s €180 million out of Barcelona’s pocket. I mean, this isn’t great, is it?”
  (Ayo Akimwolere, 17:45)

8. Club Governance, Politics, and Short-Termism

• Club president Joan Laporta is seen as a short-term operator — focused on success today, betting that silverware solves all, even if strategic planning suffers.

  "That's like a risky move because it's more like sometimes you can label as short term planning, but in a way that's just what he's done."
  (Paul Belous, 15:38)

• [19:47] Laia notes:

  "Every time you think this time is going to be the one that they are going to fail... somehow they just make it so."
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 19:47)

• With elections next year, Laporta remains strong as long as the team performs, and no rival candidate is emerging.

  "As long as the team is competitive on the pitch, I think this will give Laporta an edge."
  (Paul Belous, 20:36)

• Success on the pitch can shield presidents from structural criticism.

9. Sponsor Relations

• Playing away from Camp Nou and in smaller stadiums threatens commercial relationships, especially with headline partner Spotify.

  "I think probably is one of the biggest topics inside the club because money has to arrive to the club and you have to think of the sponsors first."
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 22:55)

• Yet, creative activations (like artist shirt collaborations) keep sponsors engaged, while Barca’s global brand and young talents are still appealing assets.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On stadium naming conventions:

  "It's just Camp Nou. That's a message to anyone who still says like Nou Camp. That's not right, that's wrong."
  (Paul Belous, 02:13)

• On fan frustration:

  "What has created more frustration... is the communications policy and just the way that Barcelona has handled it, promising things they were not able to deliver."
  (Paul Belous, 10:32)

• On financial hit:

  "Technically that’s €180 million out of Barcelona’s pocket. I mean, this isn’t great, is it?"
  (Ayo Akimwolere, 17:45)

• On Laporta's strategy:

  "Every president in Barcelona's history think about the short term, because they need to be voted in five years time."
  (Paul Belous, 21:41)

• On new stadium experiences:

  "I think Barca has in the history of La Liga the biggest attendance in a game... and probably will have as well, the lowest. So it's kind of funny that Barca has both sides of the records in La Liga attendance."
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 04:53)

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Major Timestamps

• [02:13] – “Camp Nou” vs. “Nou Camp”
• [03:19] – Why neither Camp Nou nor Montjuïc is available
• [04:53] – The experience at Johan Cruyff Stadium
• [06:21] – The causes (and saga) of construction delays
• [08:53] – Player perspectives on the stadium situation
• [10:32] – Fans’ frustrations & club communications
• [15:38] – Financial impacts and the €90m annual shortfall
• [19:47] – Barca’s reliance on short-term political survival
• [22:55] – Sponsor relationships during stadium limbo

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Team Performance & Player Updates

• Start to La Liga Season:
  Flick’s side are yet to truly impress amid unsettled circumstances. The manager has called for more unity and less egotism.
• Lamine Yamal:
  Impressive start, but needs the team to function as a whole to reach last season’s levels. (Paul Belous, 27:31)
• Champions League Hopes:
  Both correspondents and players have high expectations; after a surprise semi-final last year, the goal is now to win.

  "I think this season for them is just about to win the Champions League. They have won it for the last time 10 years ago."
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 29:10)

• Marcus Rashford:
  Settling in well off the pitch; talk of his loan being cut short is “nonsense.” He should get more chances in the coming weeks.
  (Paul Belous, 31:59)

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Staff Moves

• Thiago Alcantara returns to backroom staff under Hansi Flick to work with midfielders and support squad morale.

  “...the relationship really worked really well. It was really successful. Thiago Alcantara was somebody that was really there for the players…”
  (Laia Cervello Herrero, 33:59)

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Takeaways

• Barcelona’s saga is a mixture of grand ambitions, chronic delays, mounting financial pressure, and pragmatic compromises.
• The club’s communication strategy and short-term focus are causing unease, but on-field success shields the management from the worst fallout.
• Camp Nou’s reopening remains uncertain, with broader stakes for finances, club politics, and sponsor relations.
• Meanwhile, Barcelona's young, dynamic squad presents hope for both domestic and European success—potentially papering over structural cracks, at least for now.

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Transcript

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[Ayo Akimolere]

The Athletic FC welcome to the Athletic FC podcast with me, Ayo Akimwalere. What do Post Malone and Barcelona FC have in common? Well, neither of them are going to be playing at camp now, so what's going on and will this stadium ever be ready? We've got our Barcelona correspondents Paul Belous and Lai Cervelo Herrero as well. Now both of you contributed to a piece on the Athletic titled Barcelona Camp. Now chaos leaves Spanish Champions without at home. What next? Well, Paul, what next? But firstly, let's get this right. Is it Camp Nou or Nou Camp?

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, thank you very much for asking this question so I can lay it all out. It's just Camp Nou Kham Nou. So that's a message to anyone who still says like no camp. That's not right, that's wrong. Basically I'm not going to say that it's orthographically wrong in Catalan, because it's not. But the name of the stadium is Cam Nou. It's just how Barcelona branded it and then media from other places just branded it as no cam. I asked some people that worked in Barcelona's history and they sort of find the reasoning behind maybe just trying to mock like the club or just to mock the stadium a bit. But the reality is that the name is Camp now. And yeah, that's just a message just to lay it out to all of our listeners that we have to say come now, guy.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah, now you have heard it. Next time just turn up with a T shirt saying Come now.

[Paul Belous]

Exactly.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Just so everyone knows right now. All right, let's. Let's move on because on Tuesday it was finally confirmed that Barcelona will play this weekend at home to Valencia at Estadi Johan Cruyff. Firstly, why are they playing at a different stadium? But secondly, what has Postalone also got to do with this? Because that's what I'm really interested in.

[Paul Belous]

So basically they are playing at the Johan Cruyff stadium because the Camp Nou is not ready. That's the plan statement. Barcelona wanted to be back at the Camp Nou this season, but they cannot because they don't have the licenses, they don't have the permits to go back there. And then they looked outside of the Camp Nou where basically they could play. Of course there's the stadium of Monjuik, which they have been playing over the last couple of seasons. But they cannot be back to Monjoik, basically because when they left last season they announced that they will not be coming back and the city council booked a stadium for other activities. Like gigs? Like concerts? Yeah, just activities that the city wants to do. And this weekend there's a gig scheduled of Post Malone. The gig has already pretty much everything sold. It's going to be at the stadium and it means that the pitch won't be ready just to hold a concert from Post Malone and then just change everything and put a brand new football pitch just to play a La Liga game. It's just not possible to do. So Monjuic was off the table for Barcelona and they had to look at basically just other options. And the other option that they had in hand was playing at the Johan Cruyffer stadium, which is the stadium that they have in their training centers where the second team and the women's team play. And yeah, they had to make some small tweaks according to La Liga regulations to host the game in there, but they've done it. And the plan is that on Sunday Valencia are going to be in a Stadium with Sigma 6000 seats, which is possibly going to Be one of the lowest attendances in the history of La Liga.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Wow. Laia, take us into this stadium. I've never been the Johan Cruy stadium. What is the atmosphere like in there? 6,000 for a top team in La Liga doesn't seem like a lot.

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

They are not a lot. But yeah, it's a pretty small stadium, as you can imagine, for the capacity it has. It's also pretty modern. It was inaugurated six years ago in 2019, so it's pretty new. And when you are inside, you can tell that it's a stadium built for the reserve team, the women's team, etc. I would say the atmosphere there is more family friendly probably than the camp, no? Maybe because of the teams they play there. Like the women's team, for example, has a slightly different fan base than the men's team has. So yeah, that's basically it. It is in the outskirts of Barcelona and San Joan Das P, as Paul was mentioning, close to the training ground. So yeah, it's not a place made for holding La Liga games. I think Barca has in the history of La Liga the biggest attendance in a game. I think it was in the 90s, 125,000 people or something like that, and probably will have as well, the lowest. So it's kind of funny that Barca has both sides of the records in La Liga attendance.

[Paul Belous]

We are just going after a record, mate.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say. Just take a record before the season's even started. Right, well, Polk Barcelona were hoping to start the new season back at camp now with a reduced 27,000 capacity. Why can't they go back? And also what is the delay?

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, it's just a compilation of things. There's of course a construction issue. All the accesses to the stadium, everything is just not ready. There's still all the materials, all the infrastructure that the builders need to use basically to keep constructing in there. So Barca need to make sure that people can come in the stadium and come out safely. And that's not an easy thing to do and to guarantee following all the permits from the city council and everything, because of course there's a security issue which is quite big here. Then if you speak to Barcelona, they are going to say that part of the delays have also been caused because during the process, especially at the start of the building process, they didn't have all the licenses to work as many hours as they wanted in the stadium. Then if you dig deeper, that's like reasoning done. Companies being contracted to provide materials being basically broke, going bankrupt. So basically a lot of delays with the materials with multiple providers. So that caused the delays as well. And yeah, as you mentioned, the plan that Barcelona has was just to return by stages with reduced capacities. This is still a plan. So basically as soon as Barcelona can do it, they will follow that path. There are like four stages in that process. The first one, which when you speak to Barcelona, I mean, you have to take it with a pinch of salt. But when you speak to Barcelona, the first stage of this plan is just basically finished, they say, and it will allow the Cubnode to hold 27k people. Then the second stage, it's gonna include 45k people. Then the third stage is gonna rise up to 60,000 people. And then the final stage is basically gonna be with the stadium pretty much all finished. So that's the process that Barcelona wants to follow right now when you speak to the globe, they expect to end the season playing with 60,000 people. But let's see where it goes from here. Basically, because the world just started in summer 2023. The first expectations on timing were to be back on November 2024 and now we are in basically past summer 2025 and we are still not there. And people at the club say they cannot promise a day to be back. So let's wait and see. But Barcelona still want to push it as hard as they can just to play there as soon as possible.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, fair enough. I mean, I must also say that Barcelona aren't the only stadium who've been created that have had delays as well. So I know we we're going in on Barca, but pretty much most modern stadiums have technically been delayed before they're opened. Laya, I wonder if there's a little conversation here about the players. Have you heard anything about whether or not they're disappointed they're not going to be able to play in camp now this season, or at least the beginning of the season?

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say that they don't care that much, but I think that's basically the case. All of them want to return to. To camp? No, but I don't think this is a mainly concern for them. I think they have bigger issues to be worried about or to be thinking about or to be focused. So yeah, I think basically that's the atmosphere inside the dressing room. Obviously it depends on the age of the players. For example, Lamina Mal knows that he's going to be playing there for decades if he wants to. Or Paco Varsi there are other players that maybe for their age, they are not going to do that. For example, I remember Inigo Martinez talking in an interview. I think it was for Gigantes, but I don't want to get wrong with that. Saying that the only thing he regretted from playing at Barca was not being able to make his effort on Camp Nou. And he was there for two years and in Barcelona, everybody consider him kind of a. I wouldn't say a legend because he only was there for two years, but he was well loved in the city. So yeah, I think they are just patience with that. They are just used to playing another stadiums that are not Camp Nou. So yeah, they are willing to come back, but it's not the biggest concern they have right now, I would say, at least with the people I have been able to talk to.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, Paul, we'll talk about finances a little later, but I'm just wondering whether we can talk about the fans as well, because finances just sort of sit with this question really in terms of what do they think fans that might want to maybe book tickets or maybe have a season ticket for the season at hand, where do they go and who gets first dibs at a 6,000 seater stadium?

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, absolutely. That's not an ideal scenario. Of course, all the fans would like to have a plan already laid out and just to know what they have to do. To apply for a pass or not to apply or where just to go or where not to go. Having said that, I don't think that fans would be that mad by having to play, let's say, another year at Monjuic. I think that people in a way got used to it. The fans that really wanted to go, they went. It's not as comfortable to go as the Camp Nou is, but in a way they accepted that it's something that the club has to go through. What has created more frustration around the club is the communications policy and just the way that Barcelona has handled it, promising things that they were not able to deliver and then when like accompanied by the lack of planning, the lack of announcing what to do in terms of the socio of the members to renew their season cards. So that's not been great, but I wouldn't say that it's going to create trauma among the fans not playing at the camp. No, because they know that it's a huge infrastructure and that it's going to need time to be rebuilt and everything.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Laia, we've spoken about, you know, this weekend, but I guess I'm interested in what happens next? Because also let's not forget next month Barcelona have their first home Champions League match against psg. Do they even know where they're going to be playing then?

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

I don't think they know because they can't put a date for the return on the Camp Nou. At least that's what Rena Ford has been saying these days. Since we knew that Barcelona was not able to return to Camp Nou for their first La Liga home game, it's difficult to tell what will happen next or where it's going to be placed. Play like the Champions League this season because I don't think Barca knows neither. So it's quite difficult to know what is going to happen. Monjuic is not available this weekend for a concert. This is not going to happen again till May. So maybe there's a chance that Barca can return to Munzuik. We could have the scenario of Barca having to play at Johan Cruyff. I don't think that is going to happen, but it could be a possibility as well. Everything is a little bit messy right now in that aspect and it's difficult to say what is going to happen happen. But for sure Barca has to hold one La Liga game in Camp Nou before the Champions League being able to be played there.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah, also Lai, I'm just thinking if the women's team play there and also it's the reserve team play there, isn't there going to be a mixture, a congestion of games because the women's league also kicks off as well. So I mean, how are they going to make it all work?

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

I would like to think that this is going to only happen this weekend. So I don't think this is going to be a big issue for Barca because it's only for the concert, like the for the Post Malone concert. So I don't think this is going to happen a lot this season because as a plan B, I think Barca is going to be able to come back to Munduk if they need it. But they are still saying that they want to return to Camp Nou as soon as possible.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, fantastic. Let's move on because let's look at the bigger picture. What do all these delays mean for the club's stability? Well, we'll find out next.

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[Laia Cervello Herrero]

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[Ayo Akimolere]

Did I talk too much? Can't I just let it go? I wish I would stop thinking so much.

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[Ayo Akimolere]

We're gonna talk finances now. I know. Very juicy stuff as ever with Barcelona. We have to talk about it.

[Paul Belous]

Paul, here we go again.

[Ayo Akimolere]

I've looked at your comments, bro. Man, like honestly, you're in the firing line. The moment we start talking finances, people are saying we're back, we're back. But the reality is the reality, we are still going to talking about how Barcelona are able to afford certain things and why they are in the situation they are in. But can you explain how damaging this delay though is going to be, especially for the finances of Barcelona?

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, I mean this is not great. Barcelona want to be back at the Camp Nou as soon as possible. 1 Because there are a lot of financial implications on it. If you hold the match at the Camp Nou, the belief inside the group is that the financial element is going to be boosted a lot in terms of like more, more sales on the club shop, more activity like around the stadium. You can activate those VIP sitting that the club sold last January just in order to cash in more money, basically so you can keep the machine going and basically you start paying the debt of the Camp Nou when you start playing there. So basically it's a way just to make the club just function once again and just to keep the finances ticking. Because one of the policies that Joao Laporta has had over his time at the club is just. Just think on what's the best to perform good now and just if you have a good team now, everything else is going to tick, everything else is going to work. That's like a risky move because it's more like sometimes you can label as short term planning, but in a way that's just what he's done. I think that he's been quite lucky with that as well, because when he entered in the club, he couldn't have imagined just to assemble the team that they have right now. One of the best that Barcelona has had in ages. But yeah, in terms of going back to the camp. No, going back to Monjoic, it just forces the club just to pay rent to the city council. So that's another bit of money that you just have to spend. And yeah, it's just money that you cannot cash in while in the next budget from Barcelona, they wanted to count in that they were returning to the Camp Nou. So let's see the impact that it has. But the plan that they had in mind was that, okay, we're going to count in here that the activities on matchday and everything are going to be the ones that we expect with the Camp Nou functioning. And now that for the first game, we know that it's not going to be ready for the second game, we'll see, which is next week. And for time, the first, third game, I also have doubts. So that's going to be money that you have to start discounting and then if you start playing at the Camno with limited capacity, that's less tickets that you can sell as well. So it's not a great look. It's still difficult to know because of course, budgets and what happens throughout the season can change things. You can cash in money from other departments of the club, but it's not a great look. And it's something that Barcelona will have to work really hard just to try to compensate in any kind of.

[Ayo Akimolere]

You've written that they're estimated to lose around 90 million euros every season. They're not in camp now, that is now two seasons. So technically that's 180 million euros out of Barcelona's pocket. I mean, this isn't great, is it?

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, basically those were calculations that the club themselves made. And when they presented budgets in the past couple of seasons, they estimated that playing at the Camp Nou would give them like extra 90 million because of the match day activities that the Kamno can hold and everything. Yeah, that's something that they have to deal with. And that's part of the explanation why in the past five years Barcelona have struggled to register new players. In a way, La Liga, I think that they've been comprehensive in the way that they basically allowed them to play in the Johan Crevio stadium, which is a stadium that doesn't have the minimum capacity in theory that the La Liga stadium need to have to host a game. But as this is an emergency solution, La Liga just allowed it. And I think that at the end of the day, La Liga are the first interested party in wanting Barca to be back again. So as soon as basically they can go back to the camp node and the money can start flowing, I think that La Liga will be very welcome. But now there's going to be another hurdle that they will have to overcome. Sometimes it's difficult to point you out. Like it's going to be difficult for this and this because even the new salary limits, they are not official yet. So right now it's something that is not going to be public up until a couple of weeks, until the transfer window finishes and Jult La Liga lays it out. So it's a bit gray areas, a lot of wiggle room in, in that rule book. But it's not, of course it's not like a great look for Barca and the perfect scenario just to overcome the tough financial situation they are in.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Paul, you said something earlier that just got me thinking. Liar. Paul said Laporte is thinking about short term and I wonder how many more lives like a cat he has with La Liga really. But is there an idea that perhaps there should have been a bit more long term thinking? Because we are in the situation we're at right now and there will always be something that comes up that that short term thinking cannot really fix.

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

Yeah, but at the same time he just makes it every time you think that this time is going to be the one that they are going to fail and they are going to be in troubles somehow they just make it so. There is like a theory inside the club that everybody in the outside, like the media outlets, the fans, we have the feeling that they are just improvising every time. But they say that they had all the scenarios controlled, that at the end of the day everything they want to do, it happens. I don't know when this is going to end. It's difficult to tell. But at the same time you have to admit that maybe he has more lives than a cat or whatever, but it's successful. So you can't tell them that they are not doing what they plan.

[Paul Belous]

There's just like another element to take into account on that, which is next year, it's election year at Barcelona.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Aha. Aha. Here we go. Is he in a strong position, do you think?

[Paul Belous]

I think he is. I think he's in a strong position. I mean, deep down it's going to depend on how this season pans out because the fans and the ones who go and vote are really relying on what they feel about the team. And if the team is performing well, they believe that the president is doing a good job. So as long as the team is competitive on the pitch, I think that this will give Laporta an edge. But the other side is that I'm not sure there's a clear candidate, a standout candidate that is like really capturing everything that the fans want to hear or like really embodying that person that can take over from Laporta. I don't think that there is. And as I was saying, Laporta inherited this club in a really bad position financially. I'm not going to say that now are like extremely better. They might be a bit better. I'm not inside like the club's budget, but I don't think that they are in extremely better position. But on the pitch they have a much better team right now this season. Barcelona are like start La Liga as possibly top favourites. They are starting the Champions League among the top five favourites in the competition. That had not happened in years at the club. And that's something that, in a way I think that is helpful for the socios when you have to vote for the electoral. And it's the reasoning as well why every president in Barcelona's history think about the short term, because they need to be voted in five years time. So basically, if you think in 10, 15 years time, maybe you're not going to be voted again and if you are not voted, you cannot keep continuing with your planning. So basically you need to have this short term mentality just to adapt yourself to the Barcelona political world.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Wow. I mean, it's either genius or madness.

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

Yeah, but this is something that has happened a lot in the past. For example, I remember the elections in 2015. Bartumeo had a really bad press like the president of that moment and he was about to fall. Everybody was expecting him not to be elected again. But then Barca won a travel and he was president again. So that's how like the fan base of Barcelona think everything is going well on the beach, is going well on the club. Even if it's about to fall apart very quickly.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Lai, I'm just thinking as well, Barcelona is a premium brand. You have Spotify as one of the sponsors. Playing in a small stadium and not knowing you're going to be at the camp now does not suit the certain sponsors will put a lot of money behind this. Is there any tension between sponsors and Barcelona playing at cap now at the moment? Do we know?

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

I think probably is one of the biggest topics inside the club because money has to arrive to the club and you have to think of the sponsors first. So that's this week one of the biggest talking points in Barcelona because Barca has to pay some depths that they have with Goldman Sachs for example. And yeah, I think the sponsorship with Spotify has worked really well for them and for sure they will have to keep it. But I don't know if that short term thinking is working as well for the sponsors. I think last season went really well in that aspect on the marketing side. But we will see what happens if this situation is going to continue.

[Ayo Akimolere]

What do you think? Prof.

[Paul Belous]

It's a good point in terms of Spotify of course signed like a long term deal in terms of having the name at the stadium, at the Spotify coming out and everything. It's not great for them just to not be playing there and that all the headlines and everything that that comes out in media about the camp now is just bad news in terms of being late in time and everything. But at the same time, if you go back to last season, Barcelona signed a new deal with Nike, with the brand that provides them with the shirts and everything, then a Spotify collaboration. They insist, when you speak to the group, they insist about the success of this campaign, as Laia was pointing out here, with featuring artists in the shirts against Real Madrid just to create campaigns with. They did Travis Scott last season, they've done Rosalia in the past, they've done Karl G, I think as well, Coldplay. So a lot of artists, it's been seen as a huge success not just inside the globe but among fans as well. It's just a brand that really represents the club and now it's going to have to be seen what happens a bit. I think that deep down all the brands know that Barcelona, they have been blessed with La Masia, with the likes of La Mina Mal, with the likes of Parco overseas. So I'm not going to say they are a safe bet because you can never say that in football and you don't know how careers are going to pan out. But Barcelona are still a hot ticket, either you like it or not. And for brands and Spotify and Nikes and everyone deep down, they will want to be involved.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, before we move on, Paul, is it Nike or Nike? Just trying to make sure.

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, I just say Nike because here in Spain we try, we tend to say Nike. But then I realized, Jesus, it's Nike. So yeah, don't take it into account. Sorry, sorry.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Here in England, we like to say the new camp. But oh Jesus, here is camp now. I mean, what we got to do.

[Paul Belous]

You have to pay it back to me, mate.

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

All right.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Exactly. Exactly. All right, let's move on because enough business. Let's get down to the football.

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[Ayo Akimolere]

Well, Sunday will be Barcelona's first home game of the season. Although they've already had three La Liga games so far. Paul, they went into the international break off the back of a draw with Ray Vallecano. How have they performed so far this season? And I want to talk about Marcus Rashford later, but talk to me, Lamin Yamal, has it been his show so far?

[Paul Belous]

I mean, I wouldn't say that Barcelona have been the best team in the start of La Liga. There were a lot of expectations at the start of the season, as in Barcelona, of course they were great last term and how they could improve and build on from that. Flick was not happy after the first three games that Barcelona played, they won two of them and they draw the last one as you mentioned. But after the latest draw that they had against Rayo Vallecano, Flick basically warned the players and took a swipe at the place at the press conference saying that they had to play as a unit, play a bit like last season they were doing and that ego skilled success. So he didn't point out to any player. He didn't point out to, I don't know La Minamal Raphinha to anyone. But. But he sent that message of egos and taking care of personalities, individuals and put them more for the team effort and everything. And that was a bit of a warning. I think that that was good as well for the international break because all the players could have a think about it and just see if that message went through them and everything and just bring back that team spirit. But yeah, Lamin Diamal, I'm not going to say that he's been awful because he's been good. If he has scored two goals, he has. Has been really good. But if you expect La Minamal to be great and Barca to be great and the team to perform as last season, they need to improve as a collective. And I think that next Sunday against Valencia and taking into account that message that Flick sends to the players is going to be a massive game for them just to respond and to. Yeah, send this message that Barca can be the team that Europe feared last season.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yeah, well, talk of Europe. Liar. Barcelona, we had them as one of the favorites for the Champions League last season. They kick off their new campaign in the Champions League against Newcastle. One of the hopes for this season to win it, surely?

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

Yeah, I think it's one of the main goals for the club and for the players as well. I remember Alejandro Balde telling in an interview that he really wanted to win the Champions League above La Liga and that came from a really young player. So that's quite significant of the expectations of the club. I think Barca being one of the main candidates to win the last Champions League, came as a surprise in the club. I think they were expecting to make it to quarterfinals and they made it to the semi final. So it was something that. It was a feeling that that started to grow as the season was evolving. So I think this season for them is just about to win the Champions League. They have won it for the last time 10 years ago. So the club really wants to achieve it. I think they have a really good squad, but at the same time a really young squad. You don't have a lot of experience in that kind of scenarios in a final. But you have to take into account that you have laminamal, a player that doesn't need to have experience in anything. He went to a European championship final and he won it. So I think that's quite significant. And I think there is some hype on what it's going to be able to do this season in the Champions League. The whole team, not only, I mean.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yamal super excited for the Champions League. Paul Barca surely have to think they are one of the favourites this season to win the Champions League.

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, they do think that they have a good chance. It's always difficult to predict because you depend on things just like the draw or stuff like this. But I think that inside they feel that they have everything that you need just to go through and just to be in a position to at least I would say like repeat what they did last season. You have to go up until the final stages and show that you can compete just like to win the trophy. I think that's what the fans demand. Of course they really want to win it because in Barcelona, and that's possibly a much more different thing than when you compare that to England. The teams that go through the history books here are the teams that win the championship. Champions League has way more way than winning the domestic league title. And Barcelona as like I was saying here, it's been a long way until they won the last one. And just to make the generation which is already really good, but to make one for the ages, they have to win the Champions League like the players know it. And yeah, the fans are just waiting for that. I'm not going to say that if they don't win the Champions League this season, they are going to kill the players because that's not going to happen. They need to see that the players, they really want it, that they are in a position to fight for it and they have the chances for it. But yeah, that's really the thing that everyone craves for here in Barcelona.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, brilliant. Before we go, just a couple of things I want to touch on and maybe this one's a bit selfish but I'm so interested. Marcus Rashford poll. I really want this to work out for him at Barcelona, but I mean we're hearing reports of early terminations of his loan. What do you know about this? And also how is he settling in at Barcelona?

[Paul Belous]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how to put it like in a respectful way, but that's nonsense. The thing about an early termination is not going to happen. He's going to stay at Barcelona this season or as far as we know and we checked it like days ago. This is just nonsense. And the thing about Marcus Rashford, I mean he's still in a way settling in. He's coming into a new club, into a new system, into a new way of playing. He's not the go to man in attack because Barcelona have the likes of Raphinha, Lamina, Malou have mentioned them and he's sort of like embracing his new role. Last game against Rayo Vallecano he didn't have a great game. He came in as a at the 60th minute. But we don't have to put the blame on him because basically no one at the team had a great game. And yeah, he has to build from that. He has to build from that. I think that dressing room wise, the impact has been really good. If you speak to teammates, if you speak to people in the first team unit, they are really happy with the attitude of Marcus Rashford in training, character wise in the club. So that's a good first step in my opinion. And I think that he's going to have more chances because now the party starts now, Barcelona in the next three weeks, they play a game every three days basically. So he's going to have chances. There's big potential that he plays on the weekend because Raphinha played with Brazil, he played in Bolivia. So he's going to have a long trip back. Let's see if he makes it to the starting 11. If he doesn't, Rashford has a chance to play in there. So let's see if in this amount of games that is coming up for Barcelona is going to pile up. He's going to have more chances and yeah, just to prove that he's getting better and better. But I think that on the pitch Barcelona have not been perfect. Rashford hasn't either. And off the pitch resting room wise people is happy. So that would be like the summary right now for Mark Rashford in my opinion.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Yes, the really early days for sure. Liar. Very quickly before we go, an appointment, but this time in the backroom staff. Thiago Alcantara is back. I think he joined Hansi Flick before on a short term deal. Now Hansi Flick has brought him back again. What is the purpose of this?

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

I think if it was like, like for Hansi Flick, he would have never left the the club.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Oh, wow. Okay.

[Laia Cervello Herrero]

Yeah, I think he joined the staff during the preseason tour last season and the relationship really worked really well. It was really successful. Diago Cantara was somebody that was really there for the players and the players really trusted and I think it worked really well. But he had just retired at that time. He wanted to spend time with his family. He had some tax issues to fix in in Liverpool, so he preferred just to be a part of the, of the team. I think Flick said the whole time when he left that he was willing for him to be back on the team and he's going to be just caring for the players, helping in the training sessions. I think especially with the midfielders, that's why he's back. I think it was just a matter of time that he was going to do it.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Okay, fantastic guys, let's, let's leave it there. Let's see how it all works out and I'm sure we're back here at some point in the near future.

[Paul Belous]

All work out, mate.

[Ayo Akimolere]

Oh, there we go. Do you want to sing us out? Do you want to sing us out?

[Paul Belous]

No, no, no, I'm not going to sing but I'm just having like a nice touch with you because I think that you appreciate that song.

[Ayo Akimolere]

I do like that song very much so. And that, that's essay song apparently.

[Paul Belous]

So yeah, we'll have it.

[Ayo Akimolere]

All right, let's leave it there. Paul Vlayer, thank you so much for your time and also thank you guys for listening. Matt Davis Adams is here tomorrow with the preview ahead of Sunday's Manchester Derby. We'll catch.

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You've been listening to the Athletic FC podcast. The producers are Guy Clark, Mike Stabreau and Jay Beale. Executive producers are Abby Patterson and Adie Moorhead to listen to other great athletic podcasts for free, including our dedicated club shows. Search for the Athletic on Apple, Spotify and all the usual places. You'll also find us on YouTube at the Athletic FC Podcast. So make sure you subscribe. The Athletic FC Podcast is an athletic media company production.

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