Sunday, May 28, 2023, will remain engraved forever in the memory of Barcelona fans as the day the old Camp Nou said goodbye after 66 years of emotions, many successes, some failures, unrepeatable nights, comebacks, but above all with a lot of passion It will be a momentary farewell until November 29 of next year, when the new Spotify Camp Nou will initially be inaugurated, coinciding with the 125th anniversary of the club’s foundation.

The old Camp Nou is already history. And in an act full of emotion, nostalgia and Barcelona support, the president Joan Laporta, accompanied by the coach Xavi Hernández, the captain of the first team for a few days, Sergio Busquets, the president of the Barça Players Association, Juan Manuel Asensi, as well as Melanie Serrano , the player who has played the most games for Barça, laid the first stone of what will be the new Spotify Camp Nou.

Controlling his emotions, President Laporta grabbed the microphone to deliver a speech that was as nostalgic as it was inspiring and optimistic. “These 123 years of Barça history could be defined in many ways. We started playing itinerantly, we went through the Les Corts field and inaugurated this Camp Nou in 1957. It was our temple and our fort, which is why we want it to continue to be here, in our neighbourhood, Les Corts since 1923, and in our city, Barcelona. It is a collective dream and a legacy for our children and grandchildren”, commented the president, who assured that Barcelona “will come back and do so much stronger. In a year and a half, at the end of November, we will be here again to celebrate our 125th anniversary,” he said.

The president, in a forceful speech in Catalan and English in front of the investors and the president of Limak, the Turkish construction company that will carry out the remodeling, recalled that “the renovation of the Spotify Camp Nou” is the most important work in the city since the Olympic Games. Thank you all for trusting in this club. Together we will make Camp Nou much more attractive” and added that “it will be the best stadium in the world at the level of the best club in the world, FC Barcelona. But it will also be a symbol of Barcelona. This is a project for the club but also for the city”, he assured before thanking the Barcelona City Council. “This stadium is already past, full of memories, feelings, great football afternoons, but Spotify Camp Nou is the future”, sentenced.

The act concluded with the first shovelful in which a methacrylate box with some objects inside was buried. Xavi, the FC Barcelona coach, put on the Barça shirt. “On Sunday we lived a round night. We bid farewell to the Camp Nou and also to two highly admired captains like Busquets and Alba. The people enjoyed themselves and that will always be the most important thing”, said the coach who was previously a fan and footballer. “You always suffer but where the most is on the bench. It is incomparable ”, he stressed.

Captain Sergio Busquets deposited the captain’s armband in the box. “I’ll take two games. The 5-0 against Real Madrid and the epic comeback that we signed against PSG in 2017. It has been an honor to be the captain. I have had great examples. Great captains who have transmitted the necessary values ​​to me ”, he pointed out.

For her part, the former Barça Women’s soccer player, Melanie Serrano, placed a ball. “When you are little you never imagine that you will be able to play here. It has been a pride and will always be in my memory. I have scored a great goal here. Against Espanyol ”, she pointed out. And she recalled that “this Sunday we have an appointment in Eindhoven”.

Finally, the grassroots football players, Jana Muro and Guiu Xuclà, placed football boots and President Laporta a Catalan ‘Senyera’. The president himself was in charge of throwing the first shovel of sand to close the symbolic act.