Real Madrid had originally hoped to complete work on the renovated Santiago Bernabeu in 2022, but it looks as if work will extend into 2023. The time spent on the Bernabeu won’t frustrate Florentino half as much as the cost however.
Starting work in 2019, the original loan asked for by Los Blancos was €575m, according to Mundo Deportivo. A further €225m was then passed by the Real Madrid assembly in 2021, to complete work that was previously not in their plans.
Now, with the rising cost of materials, the club are looking into asking for a further loan of €150-200m in order to complete the renovation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent prices soaring and slowed down construction greatly.
The top end of that proposed loan would take the project €400m over budget and over the €1bn mark in terms of total cost.
All of these numbers are bad news for Real Madrid, as they try to compete with the significant amount of cash available to Premier League clubs. Their ability to recruit world class players has been reduced in recent years and this will only handicap that effort.