Barcelona Women sold over 99,000 tickets for their UCL match against Real Madrid

The Nou Camp is set to play host to its biggest crowd of the season, but it will not be Xavi and his players breaking records this evening.

Barcelona Women take on Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final and tickets for the match at the 99,354-seat stadium have completely sold out.

The game is set to break the attendance record for a club game in women’s football, which was set in 2019 when 60,739 people watched Barca beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano.

It could also break the overall record attendance for a women’s game. That was set at the final of the World Cup in 1999 when the United States beat China in front of 90,195 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Barca enjoyed a record-breaking 2020-2021 season. They became the first Spanish side to win the Champions League with a 4-0 victory over Chelsea and also won the league and Copa de la Reina.

But this year they are aiming for even better and have an unprecedented quadruple in their sights. In January, they thrashed Atletico Madrid 7-0 to win the Spanish Super Cup and at the start of March they were crowned league champions with seven games still to play. Their record in all competitions this season is: played 36, won 36. In the league they have scored 138 goals and conceded just seven.

It is not surprising tickets to see one of the best teams in the world have been like gold dust. The women played at the Nou Camp last season but Covid restrictions meant the game was played behind closed doors. This will be the first match there in front of fans.

The highest attendance Barca’s men’s team have managed at the Nou Camp this season is 86,422 and their average crowd has been around the 50,000 mark. The drop off, no doubt, is due to Lionel Messi’s departure. But Barca fans have a new Ballon d’Or winner to idolise.

Alexia Putellas was crowned the best women’s player in the world in November. She has become the poster girl of this incredible Barca side. She is known as ‘La Reina’ or ‘The Queen’ and pictures of her have been plastered all around the Nou Camp.

Fans will be hoping Putellas can put on a show on the biggest stage. With 24 goals in all competitions this season, there is every chance she will.

Spain’s captain admitted she never thought it would be possible to play at the Nou Camp but believes now is the right time for a women’s team to do so.

‘I believe the time has come, it's the right time to do so,’ Putellas said.

‘I didn't picture myself playing in the Nou Camp as a girl as I only saw men playing there. The game can open so many doors for so many girls and I feel proud Barca makes it possible.’

Putellas and her team-mates have even been described as inspirational by Barca legend and men’s boss Xavi, who compared them to Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ as well as the side he played in under Pep Guardiola.

‘For several years [the women’s team] have been showing us the way with how they play, how they compete and the hunger they have despite winning everything last year,’ he said.

‘We have been watching them and it is a wonder to see them play. They are leading the way in the same way as the Dream Team did in their day or as Pep [Guardiola’s] Barca side did later. They are an example for the men’s team.’

Barca hold a 3-1 lead from the first leg last week, though they had to come from behind after trailing for nearly 45 minutes. Olga Carmona gave Real a shock lead early in the first half before Barca were awarded a controversial penalty in the 53rd minute. Alexia Putellas converted before Claudia Pina made it 2-1 in the 81st. Putellas then added a third in stoppage time.

In truth, that game was the closest we have come to seeing a proper ‘El Clasico’ in the women’s game. Real were previously formed as independent club ‘Club Deportivo Tacon’. In 2019, they underwent a merger with Real and were officially rebranded in July 2020. They are yet to beat Barca in any competition with a record of eight defeats from eight games, 35 goals conceded and four scored.

They are still some way off challenging Barca on the pitch or off it. Real’s players travelled to Barcelona by train. It is hard to imagine Carlo Ancelotti and his players being made to do the same. To secure their first win at the Nou Camp seems like an almost impossible task but their performance in last week’s defeat was encouraging.

Barca’s star-studded team has been two decades in the making but their foundations are built on the same beliefs as the men’s team. Most of their team is Spanish and came through the club’s academy while a handful of players have been bought from other clubs.

Tonight, they will play on the biggest stage. It is a far cry from their usual home of the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which has a capacity of 6,000. Covid set the growth of the women’s game back but there is now a chance to capitalise and build on what will be a momentous occasion.

‘Many girls will dream of being able to play on such a special stage,’ Putellas said.

‘It could be a before-and-after moment in women's football.'