Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Why May's El Clasico could end up at Wembley | OneFootball

El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid could end up being played at Wembley Stadium in a bizarre twist in the final stages of the season.

The La Liga fixture, scheduled for 11 May, is Barcelona's penultimate home game as they close out a second campaign at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

The stadium that was formerly home to city rivals Espanyol and hosted the 1992 Olympics has been a temporary base since 2023 due to renovation work at Camp Nou.

But the Camp Nou project has already overrun its original timeline, with the previous intention that Barcelona would move back in at the end of 2024, and all work to be completed by June 2026. That obviously hasn't happened, with the first two games of 2025 played at the Olympic venue.

Now comes the issue. Barcelona's contract for the stadium in Montjuic expires in April, by which time Camp Nou is likely to be still unavailable. But extending at the Lluis Companys is problematic because of pre-planned events there after that time - including Rolling Stones concerts as the octogenarian British rock band play two shows on 10 and 15 May to kick off a European tour.

Barcelona also have a home game against Villarreal on 18 May that would need moving, and would similarly require a Plan B should they reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Barcelona's contract for Lluis Companys ends in April / Alex Caparros/GettyImages

The Daily Mail reports that the board have met on Tuesday to discuss options, which includes the possibility of hosting the game on foreign soil. As such, Wembley is considered a 'wild card' to step in.

La Liga and Spain's football federation (RFEF) could give their blessing, having already looked to host a game overseas. Barcelona's clash with Atletico Madrid in December was slated to be played in Miami, before plans fell through over third party involvement.

As Spanish football seeks to broaden its global appeal and rival the Premier League as the most internationally popular domestic league in the world, the Supercopa de Espana was played in Morocco in 2018 and then in Saudi Arabia over every subsequent year bar 2021.

Wembley has also already experienced playing host to 'domestic' overseas sporting events, having hosted NFL regular season games annually since 2007, and at least two per year since 2013.

It would undoubtedly be a huge marketing moment for La Liga, with only pre-season or Supercopa  fixtures between Barcelona and Real Madrid held overseas up to now. But hosting El Clasico, or indeed any other Barcelona games in London or anywhere on foreign soil, would exclude the majority of ordinary match-going fans.

The club has already come under fire over its treatment of supporters, with four fan groups making a joint statement after being barred from two home games last month over unpaid fines.

"This is not about fines we don't want to pay, there is much more in the background. Little by little, the [members] are losing the weight they have historically had," the collective Espai d'Animacio said.

"The club are removing the atmosphere, filling the stadium with tourists, Mexican waves at 0-0, 'kiss cams,' a joke of an announcer, indecent prices, fomenting the absence of rivalries, changing colours for marketing purposes and taking big decisions without any transparency or consultation. There are infinite reasons that reveal the intentions of the board, prioritising a business model where those closest and most loyal to the club are harmed. They are selling the club economically and socially."