Chris Byfield
Barcelona have set up a shop that sells grass from the Nou Camp, it has been claimed.
The Catalan giants take on Real Betis on Saturday at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis, a 54,000-capacity stadium that will act as Barcelona’s temporary home for the season amid the Camp Nou’s revamp.
Indeed, the work on the iconic stadium marks the first renovation at the venue since it opened back in 1957 and will reportedly cost upwards of £1.25billion.
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Indeed, more than 250 workers will be on site as the club aims to have the Camp Nou back in action for a return sometime in the 2025-26 season.
And while Barcelona may be missing out on the income they would normally generate from a match day at the Camp Nou, the club are trying to monetise every last piece of the historic stadium.
According to the Spanish publication Relevo in the surrounding area of the Camp Nou, the club are selling pieces of the stadium’s turf as memorabilia.
The souvenirs reportedly have the assurance via a legal note that they are pieces of the original Camp Nou grass.
The patches of turf are selling for between €20 to €50 (£17 to £42) while online the Barcelona shop is offering larger squares, some of which are framed, for between €80 (£68) and €420 (£360).
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Indeed, months ago it had also been claimed by Mundo Deportivo that Barcelona were planning on launching a collection of jewellery called the Etern Spotify Nou Camp 1957, a nod to when the enormous stadium was first built.
That report alleged that the club were planning to manufacture pins, bracelets, cufflinks, rings, necklaces, shields and pins utilising diamonds, forged from the grass of the Nou Camp’s 7,000 square-metre pitch.
Moreover, Barcelona are not the first Spanish club to sell off sections of their pitch. Athletic Club also sold pieces of the San Mames turf for €40 (£34), while Atletico Madrid sold parts of the old Vicente Calderon pitch for between €10 (£8.50) and €95 (£81) when they moved to the Metropolitano.