40 years of the FC Barcelona Museum

The desire for FC Barcelona to have a museum to showcase its history and all the trophies won over the years goes back a long way. In the club's official bulletin of August 1928, Arcadi Balaguer's board of directors envisioned a project to launch a “display and collection of trophies, with the publication of a guide for the education of our members and visiting guests.” Unfortunately, the project never got off the ground.

Many years later, the board led by Josep Lluís Núñez revived the idea, and in 1982 work began to gather silverware, documents, and all sorts of objects related to the club's history. These items were scattered and often in poor condition across various locations around the club and it was two years before the FC Barcelona Museum was finally opened on 24 September 1984, the result of efforts by directors Josep Casals, in his role as architect, and Francesc Pulido, then head of Barça's heritage department. The museum cost €420,000, and its first director was Jaume Ramon, who held the position until 1990. Barça’s head of the secretariat for 25 years, Ramon was the club’s unofficial historian, and was particularly proud of the museum. “They made the cage, and I put in the birds,” he used to say, referring to his tireless work in gathering historical material, which took him a considerable amount of time. 

From the outset, it was widely regarded as the best football museum in the world and soon became the most visited of its kind. It initially covered an area of 950m2 across two floors in the Camp Nou main stand. The 600m2 first floor was divided into nine historical sections, corresponding to nine chronologically ordered stages of the club’s existence. These sections were housed in interlinked hexagonal blocks with overhead lighting. There were also spaces dedicated to exceptional events, various sports sections, and three video rooms. On the second floor, all of the gifts presented to Barça by its supporters groups filled the entire 350m2 space.

In 1987, the museum underwent its first major renovation, with items from the two art biennials the club had organised by that time (1985 and 1987). This considerably expanded the art collection, which also benefited from the continuous donations from various artists from around the country. Later, in 1994, the museum was expanded to 1,650m2, with special emphasis on artwork, which was enriched each year with more valuable pieces. The expansion also showcased all of the international players, presidents, athletes who had competed at the Olympic, and two interactive sections, one about the facilities and another with educational games. This renovation, inaugurated on 20 October 1994, also included the new Barça Documentation Centre on the second floor, a historical research space open to all fans.

There were further renovations in 1997 and 1998, expanding the site to 2,700m2 thanks to the redesign of the Camp Nou facade, which was complemented by the construction of access ramps connecting the building to the new club store. 2001 also brought the introduction of the first regular guided tours of the stadium.

21st century

In 2010 the Museum underwent a complete refurbishment, adapting to the needs of the 21st century under the name of the Camp Nou Experience with some 3,600 square metres of floor space. The main attraction was a complete guided tour that included a visit to Spotify Camp Nou, the old Museum and the FC Barcelona Store. As such, visitors were able to enjoy various unique experiences: in the museum they discovered the history and the values that make Barça ‘More than a Club’ (Catalan identity, universality, social commitment and democracy), they also discovered more unique areas of Camp Nou such as the emotion provoking multimedia zone where they could relive some of the greatest moment from the team’s history. It was a unique experience with the most advanced technology: sound installations, audiovisual tables and touchscreens, large screens and above a 35 metre projection with memorable Barça images.  

In the stadium, the blaugrana fans could feel what it was like for the players in the dressing room and in the players’ tunnel as they felt the roar of the crown coming out for a game. Visitors also had the chance to see the press box at Spotify Camp Nou, the mixed zone where journalists interview players after games and the press room where coaches and players’ press conferences take place.  

On 28 May 2023, due to the redevelopment of Spotify Camp Nou, the Museum in the stadium closed its doors. On 6 June it reopened provisionally located where until a few months ago in the Club’s Ice Rink was situated next to the Palau Blaugrana.  

Most visited in Barcelona and Catalonia  

During its 40 year history the Barça Museum has become the most visited in Barcelona, in Catalonia, the third most visited in Spain and the most important sports museum in the world. A trip to the museum allows visitors to take more than a century of success, looking back at some of the most admired and emblematic players and the trophies on show (more than 100 in football, 25 in women’s football and 50 in other sports). The new space in the former ice rink occupies more than 2,400 square metres and is divided into different zones to create a 100% Barça experience. The current location will remain until the new Spotify Camp Nou is open.  

Called Barça Immersive Tour, the new Museum was inspired by the concept of ‘More than a Club’ and its design attempts to promote FC Barcelona’s universality and projection. It is also a pilot scheme for the application of the most advanced technologies and entertainment activities that will be implemented in the new Spotify Camp Nou museum, were VR , immersive activities and holograms will be used to represent the history of FC Barcelona. The current space stands out for its split-level design in a circular shape, the highlight of this temporary Museum (the audiovisual room in the biggest sports museum in Europe), with a 360 degree projects on 6 feet high and 78 metre long walls. Aside from the Barça Immersive Tour, full of passionate content, the 100% Barça experience ends in a great audiovisual VR space where some of the emotions that the fans will enjoy in the new stadium are recreated.