Barcelona have this afternoon confirmed the revamped Camp Nou will not be ready in time for the Joan Gamper Trophy clash with Como on August 10.

Work on Barca’s stadium started in June 2023 and the hope was it would be finalised and celebrated at the traditional curtain-raiser ahead of the new Liga season.

However, the club announced today that construction work was still ongoing and numerous safety assurances were unable to be provided.

Barca had hoped to stage a phased return by opening tier by tier but that has not proved possible.

A club statement read: “Due to the size of the work carried out, it has been impossible to reach all the requirements required by the regulations that regulate the obtaining of the first occupation license, despite the club’s desire to launch the Spotify Camp Nou by sectors.”

The club now faces a race against time to get the stadium ready for the first La Liga game of the season against Valencia on September 13/14.

The statement added: “The club will work hand in hand with the Barcelona City Council and the relevant organisations in order to be able to advance in the different requirements and will communicate to the members of FC Barcelona any new information regarding the return date.”

According to Mundo Deportivo, the club have not ruled out returning to the city’s Olympic Stadium to play games should Camp Nou not be ready.

The venue hosted Barca games during the renovations.