Life after Messi: Laporta's desperate decision to see the stands of the Camp Nou empty for the Champions League

On Sunday, Barcelona will host Real Madrid at the Camp Nou for a new date in the Spanish League. It will be the first Spanish football classic without Lionel Messi. Quite a historical fact. And at this time, the Catalan club's leadership is concerned not only with the sporting result in the derby but also with the attendance of the public at the Camp Nou.

Given the pronounced drop in spectators, President Joan Laporta launched a special request for the next matches: "We need the fans to attend the stadium again". Incredible but real. With the Argentine 10 on the field, the stadium was overflowing, and there were people outside, even if it was a friendly. Today, not even for Champions the public approaches.

The numbers are worrying. Against Valencia, on Sunday for the League, 47,317 people attended. On Wednesday, no less than for the Champions League against Dinamo Kiev, the audience present barely reached 45,968 and that there were discounts on several tickets. Very far from the total capacity of the stadium, which is 99,000 spectators, and they no longer have the excuse of respecting any capacity, since 100% is allowed.

"We need the fans. First for the players, because they need their support, their shouts of encouragement, they need them to accompany them until victory. And then for the club, because the more assistance and life the stadium has, the more income it generates. Besides that it would be very nice to see the assists we had at the stadium before the Covid again", Laporta said during the official presentation of the renewal of Ansu Fati's contract.