 "Camp Nou roof leaks during Barcelona match, fans, president and media left drenched amid renovation chaos")
While Indians are well accustomed to news of mismanagement at sporting venues and poor infrastructure, a shocking development from one of the world’s most famous football stadiums has left fans stunned. FC Barcelona’s iconic home ground, Camp Nou, which is currently undergoing renovation, was left flooded on Sunday after heavy rain hit the Spanish city, leaving the club president, VIP guests and thousands of fans drenched.
Barcelona’s Camp Nou is undergoing a whopping £1.25bn refurbishment, with the majority of work completed. The Catalans did not play at their home ground between 2023 and November 2025 due to the renovation work. With work remaining only in the third tier and the roof, the team has returned to play their matches at the stadium.
Barcelona’s Camp Nou flooded in rain
But Sunday’s 3-0 win over Real Oviedo turned into a punishment for fans as water was seen leaking through the roof. Viral videos on X showed streams of water falling onto the concourse, stands and other parts of the stadium. The situation was even worse in the press box, where journalists had to cover their laptops with plastic sheets or umbrellas as rain poured in heavily.
This is a condition of the New Camp Nou, btw 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/zbbk8AdYyd
— Dr Yash (@YashRMFC) January 25, 2026
According to the newspaper Tribuna, even Barcelona president Joan Laporta and VIP guests were left drenched due to poor refurbishment work, while thousands of fans were forced to leave the stadium.
Spotify Camp Nou Stadium Resort and Spa pic.twitter.com/GXudX8JCRZ
— CD Ciudad De Zamora (@CdCiudadDZamora) January 25, 2026
Laporta, however, wasn’t concerned as he said that the issues would be fixed soon.
“We all got wet. We knew it could happen, but in the end, the rain accompanied the victory. It was like witnessing the rain’s baptism at Camp Nou. The stadium is under construction, and anything that needs to be fixed on the go, we will address,” he said.
“This is normal and will be resolved. The stadium is progressing at a good pace, and everything is moving along. License 1C (to increase capacity to 62,000) was supposed to be ready at the start of January, but it has been delayed. Now we’ll see if we have it for the Mallorca match - I haven’t given up yet.”
Once fully ready, the Nou Camp is set to have a total capacity of 105,000.
Barcelona are hoping to have an equally high quality stadium as their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, who recently renovated the Santiago Bernabeu in a completely modern style. Bernabeu, which has a retractable roof, was recognised as the best stadium in the world by the World Football Summit (WFS).
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