Camp Nou favourite for 2029 Champions League final, reports MD

Someone could soon be lifting the Champions League trophy at Camp Nou again. It would not necessarily be Barcelona’s captain. According to Mundo Deportivo, the stadium is the favourite to host the 2029 final, with its bid currently ahead of Wembley. UEFA has not yet announced the winning venue.

Barcelona formally submitted the complete bid dossier on 10 June, working with the city council and the Catalan government, with support from the Spanish football federation. The submission is confirmed in the club’s statement. The bid itself is therefore not new. The reported advantage over Wembley is.

The rebuilt stadium is central to Barcelona’s case. Mundo Deportivo highlights its planned 104,600 capacity, alongside the city’s airport connections and accommodation options. The newspaper reports that ongoing construction does not rule out the bid, with UEFA familiar with the project and monitoring its progress. That capacity refers to the completed stadium, not the venue as it stands today.

Wembley hosted the Champions League finals in 2011, 2013 and 2024, and will stage the semi-finals and final of Euro 2028. AS argues that repeatedly awarding major events to the same grounds could strengthen Barcelona’s case. It also points to improved relations between Joan Laporta and Aleksander Čeferin. When a final is available, getting along with UEFA suddenly has its attractions.

A decision is expected on 15 September. UEFA has scheduled the appointment of the hosts for September, while its Executive Committee meeting takes place that day in Thessaloniki.

It would be Camp Nou’s third European Cup or Champions League final. Milan won there in 1989, followed by Manchester United in 1999. Barcelona were eliminated in the group stage of that latter campaign, as the club’s own archive recalls. Owning the stadium does not reserve a place in the final.