For the first time since the Santiago Bernabeu underwent major renovation work, it will be full. Ahead of their clash with Italian giants Napoli, all tickets have been sold for the match a week in advance, as per Marca.
Los Blancos must go back to 2019 for the last time they sold out the Bernabeu, for a Champions League group game against Paris Saint-Germain. After the pandemic halted play in March of 2020, Real Madrid played games at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano in their Valdebebas training ground before fans were allowed to return to games. This did not occur until September of 2021, just under 18 months later.
Since, Los Blancos have been operating at reduced capacity for some time, but this season the tarpaulin is off, and Los Blancos can accommodate all of the 84,000 capacity. Work on the Bernabeu should finish by the end of the year, as work continues on the retractable roof. It is noted in the report that Real Madrid have carried out ‘extensive’ work to prevent Napoli fans from sitting in the home end, although a number of Braga fans managed to do so during their last Champions League home game.
This season the average attendance at the Bernabeu is up 13,000 to 69,000 so far in La Liga, the highest figure since 2017. Real Madrid will be hoping that this is characteristic of the trend, with many of their projections for the coming years based on making significant profit from their investment in their stadium.
