The UEFA Champions League is back, but Real Madrid will play their matches at the famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, which has been their home since 1947.
So why is this the case? Goal brings you everything you want to know about development.
Real Madrid plays lately at the Santiago Bernabeu as the stadium is undergoing major renovations.
The president of the club, Florentino Pérez, announced the news of the acceleration of the remodeling at the beginning of June, in the face of the planned resumption of Spanish football.
The renovations at the Bernabéu stadium were due to be completed in the summer of 2022, but the three-month pause imposed by the coronavirus forces Real Madrid to bring forward its schedule of works in order to finish it earlier.
In 2019, Pérez explained the thought of the renovation of the stadium: “Our long term passes, naturally, for a new Santiago Bernabéu, a benchmark of the XXI century.
“A modern and avant-garde stadium, with maximum comfort and safety, equipped with technology, where fans can enjoy exclusive sensations and also be a new and vital source of income for the club. “
The new look of the Santiago Bernabeu will differ markedly from the old iconic venue as additional improvements.
There will be a new logo on the outside and it will be covered with a retractable roof, which marks a noticeable difference from the existing (and old) outdoor design.
An underground car park will also be set up in the old shopping centre at the Esquina del Bernabéu, with some 500 spaces available for fans and visiting teams.
The current refurbishment is the first major modernization since the late 1990s and early 2000s.
This comes on the heels of the renovation of the Wanda Metropolitano, home of Real’s rival Atletico Madrid, which was modernised in 2017.
Real Madrid will play their UEFA Champions League matches at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is under construction.
The Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium is the home of Real Madrid Castilla, the subsidiary team of Real Madrid, and has a capacity for 6,000 people, which is a cry of the 81,000 seats of the Bernabéu.
However, in the end the capacity of the stadium does not matter, as European football leaders have indicated that matches deserve to be played behind closed doors for the sake of public health.
Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano is part of Ciudad Real Madrid (meaning Real Madrid City), the club’s educational complex in Valdebebas.
Most likely, matches from the 2020-21 season onwards will once again be open to fans and in the event that matches are played at the Santiago Bernabéu, the Wanda Metropolitano has been advised as the chosen venue. However, it remains advertir. si Real Madrid will explore this possibility.
Asked about the option of letting their bitter rivals use their stadium, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo replied: “Would we hire them the Wanda Metropolitano?I will take off their mask. Let no one doubt that we will. We will be at Real Madrid’s disposal. “