Football fans rank Barcelona's Camp Nou the ultimate stadium to visit globally

Daily Mirror

9 hours ago

A poll of 2,000 fans has crowned the Camp Nou as the most sought-after venue outside the UK to watch a match, while the Bernabéu came a close second
Barcelona's Camp Nou has been crowned the stadium footy fans are most eager to visit, beating their fierce rivals Real Madrid to yet another title.
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A survey of 2,000 football enthusiasts named Barca's ground, which boasts a capacity of over 99,000, as the most desirable venue outside the UK to watch a match, while the Bernabéu came in second place.
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The San Siro ranked third, reigning supreme in Italy, as the Milan clubs beat out rivals Juventus - whose 41,000+ seater stadium came 16th in the top 20 list. It comes after Marcus Rashford's Barcelona fortunes change again after 'biggest humiliation' on debut.
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Interestingly, 35% of footy fans have a bucket list of grounds they dream of visiting, with 18% of these having as many as five earmarked to tick off one day.
On the home front, Liverpool fans had something else to cheer after winning the Premier League this season, with Anfield ranking fourth - the highest of all English venues.
The research was commissioned by OLBG ahead of the new football seasons kicking off across Europe, which also plotted the top 10 grounds into an interactive map for fans.
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Jake Ashton, football editor for the brand, said: " Football stadiums are becoming more impressive, and across the globe they offer very different experiences. It's great to see the two Spanish giants go head-to-head again, with Barcelona this time pipping Real Madrid to the top spot.
"The variety and pull for fans to travel and see the beautiful game played out in different grounds looks as strong as ever, based on the number of pitches on people's bucket lists.
"With Anfield making the top four, it also shows the UK isn't being left behind when it comes to iconic stadiums in world football."
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It's not just Liverpool's home the supporters want to visit domestically - Wembley came in sixth, Manchester United's Old Trafford ranked seventh, and their City rivals just six miles away at the Etihad finished ninth. Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, which opened in 2006 and holds approximately 60,000 supporters, rounded off the top 10.
Away from Europe, the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro - home to both CR Flamengo and Fluminense FC and considered a national landmark in Brazil - came in 12th.
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Staying in South America, La Bombonera - home of the iconic yellow and blue of Boca Juniors in Argentina, and the last club Diego Maradona played for before retirement - came 20th in the table.
When asked about the most important factors in creating the world's best football stadiums, excellent views of the pitch (5%) and comfortable seating (50%) topped the list. Another 46% said it was all about atmosphere and crowd noise.
When fans were asked to rank grounds purely on their understanding of matchday atmosphere, Anfield came out on top, followed by the Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabéu.
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Half of those surveyed credited the atmosphere in these venues to the fervour of the local supporters, whilst others pointed to the standard of football (47%) and packed crowds (45%) as major factors.
More than a third (38%) of fans questioned, via OnePoll, also confessed to supporting a club beyond the UK, with 85% of those declaring it's an aspiration to eventually witness a match at their preferred stadium.
Jake Ashton from OLBG commented: "When it comes to football stadiums, the design, location and the team playing there are all key to their popularity. But a ground is nothing, it seems, without the fans who flock there week in, week out.
"At stadiums like Anfield here in the UK, and others across Europe and South America, that passion is plain to see - even for those who haven't experienced it first-hand."
TOP 20 FOOTBALL STADIUMS FANS WOULD LOVE TO VISIT:
Camp Nou – FC Barcelona
Santiago Bernabéu – Real Madrid
San Siro – AC Milan, Inter Milan
Anfield – Liverpool
Allianz Arena – Bayern Munich
Wembley Stadium – England National Team
Old Trafford – Manchester United
Parc des Princes – Paris Saint-Germain
The Etihad Stadium – Manchester City
The Emirates Stadium - Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Tottenham Hotspur
Maracanã – Flamengo, Fluminense, Brazil National Team
Signal Iduna Park – Borussia Dortmund
St James' Park – Newcastle United
Stade de France – France National Team
Allianz Stadium – Juventus
Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta United (USA)
Wanda Metropolitano – Atlético Madrid
Lusail Stadium – Qatar
La Bombonera – Boca Juniors