When life closes a door, sometimes it opens a window. FC Barcelona fans may be gutted to lose Messi, but they can gain this astonishing official Camp Nou Lego set, recreating the intimidating and iconic design of the famous stadium from over 5,500 Lego pieces.
The set is on-sale now from Lego online directly for £299/$349/AU$499, and will be available in physical Lego stores too.
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• Buy from Lego Australia (opens in new tab)
When fully built, the stadium is 19 inches (49cm) wide, and 18 inches (46cm) deep and eight inches (20cm) high. The whole thing even splits into five pieces after it's been built, with the sides dividing into four pieces, and the pitch separate to them. Great for moving it, but also for taking cool photos where you really get to see the recreation of the famously steep sides.
It's crammed with details, as you might expect – aside from looking architecturally just like the real place, there are also player tunnels, press boxes, signs and flags everywhere, and a teeny tiny team bus. The scoreboard reads 5-0, referencing Barca's dismantling of Real Madrid in 2010.
As with most elite Lego sets these days, the instructions are as much coffee table art book as they are a how-to – they include details about both the stadium and its club, as well as an interview with the designer of the set.
As statement Lego pieces go, it's a stunner, and is great for football fans just as much as Barca fans. Well, maybe not for supporters of the Madrid clubs, but everyone else can appreciate Camp Nou for its history and drama anyway.
Just make sure that you don't let this set go now, and then try to buy it later and find that you're not permitted to. That would be really heartbreaking.
