Real Madrid’s decision to keep the Santiago Bernabeu stadium where it was built and to renovate the existing one instead of building a new one will cost the Madrid club almost 2,000,000,000 euros. The repayment term is until 2053, and the annual repayment installments of the loan to the banks are around 66,000,000 euros.Renovation work began three years ago and should be completed during the spring, and when everything is finished, in addition to football, the home of Real Madrid will be able to host NBA and NFL matches, concerts of the most famous musicians… The removal of the grass surface will be possible in just a few minutes, while the roof is movable and will be closed if necessary. Just like on Tuesday night, when Madrid decided to increase the decibels created by their fans during the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League with Manchester City.UCL: Two turnarouds and six goals in a thriller between Real and CityIt seems that the closing of the roof did not help them much as the match ended in a 3-3 draw, which is more in favor of the visitors, but something else, logistics-wise, prevented the Cityzens from playing even better and with an advantage to meet the second leg at the Etihad on April 17. It is the grass at Real Madrid’s stadium.”I like to see the sky”, first Pep Guardiola “jabbed” the hosts for the decision to close the roof, and then the coach of Manchester City made a specific complaint:”The stadium is impressive, they just need to take care of the grass. I don’t want the president (Florentino Perez) to misunderstand me, everything is incredible, but they have to work on the surface because Real Madrid always had perfect grass. I didn’t step on the field, but my players conveyed their impressions. I played in this stadium many times and the grass was always like a carpet. It’s not like that now, but the stadium is really spectacular, the dressing rooms and everything else…”.##NAJAVA_MECA_8021056##Among those who complained to the coach, and then publicly, is Rodri, who, while playing for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, also had the opportunity to play at the Santiago Bernabeu in the past.”The pitch was not good, it didn’t suit us for our style of play. I’m not looking for excuses, but often from the stands you can’t see what it’s really like on the pitch. Sometimes it looks like the grass is good, but under your feet you realize it’s not like that. It was tall and unevenly mowed, and the Bernabeu was always like a mat, it always provided the best conditions,” said the Manchester City midfielder.It’s strange, but will it affect the game? UEFA allows Madrid to face City under closed roofConsidering the previous experience, tradition and reputation of Real Madrid, it is hard to think that someone at the Royal Club did not do a good job with the drainage. Rather, it will be that Madrid tried to make the flow of the ball a little more difficult for the guests, aware of the style Guardiola’s teams play. And maybe the visitors exaggerated things a bit… Anyway, we saw a great game, and we will find out who will go to the semi-finals in a week.
