Real Madrid hosted their first match of 2024 at the new and improved Santiago Bernabeu in a gritty 1-0 win over Osasuna.
Los Blancos were able to debut their glorious new pre-match training jackets and obviously attracted a full house of fans for the spectacle.
Ever since the Santiago Bernabeu underwent a major transformation after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a lot of excitement about the fans on how Real Madrid will be the trailblazers in terms of creating a structure that will set new standards of how football stadiums should look like.
Well before the project began, the architects came up with early designs that showcased how incredible the stadium would look after completion.
It almost looked like something that was 50 years ahead of its time, having a glittering futuristic outer design that could have legendary players shown as part of hologram images.
However, some fans seem to be shocked by how the actual product has turned out to be after Real Madrid started to play matches at the iconic stadium this season.
Just ahead of their game against Osasuna, the La Liga cameras decided to show an aerial view of the outside look of the Bernabeu. That view has now started a raging debate and gone viral.
A selection of fans actually love how the Santiago Bernabeu looks from the outside with its ‘futuristic’ design and changes from the previous design.
However, a lot of supporters are comparing how underwhelming it looks when compared to the initial designs made before the reconstruction of the stadium actually began.
Considering that the prominent changes to the Santiago Bernabeu forced Real Madrid to relocate their home matches to their own training facility for a long time and the project reportedly cost over €1bn, this aerial photo hasn’t won everyone over.
I'm in tears😭 pic.twitter.com/WnUjNGOoco
— Tim_MCFC (@Tim_Citeh) January 3, 2024
With that being said, the simple fact behind the awkward design of the stadium is that it isn’t completely done yet. Indeed, there are still some implementations that need to be done in order for the stadium to be fully redesigned.
As per reports, Real Madrid were actually poised to initially inaugurate the new Santiago Bernabeu in March, 2024 – but were forced to pre-pone it due to fan demands and because they probably needed more money from their ticket sales revenue too.
Some have already noted how this awkward design for the Santiago Bernabeu could be because the stadium isn’t fully finished yet.
It has been noted that this viral photo itself shows how the stadium still needs work, especially with the roof that needs to be inserted and some final changes on the outer part of the stadium too.
Real Madrid will probably need a few more months before being able to show off the fully finished Santiago Bernabeu in its ultimate beauty.
When that and the new Camp Nou reconstruction is fully finished, Spain will also boast two of the most state-of-the-art stadiums that can make many European sides jealous.