Xavi’s Barcelona averaging higher attendance records than Guardiola and Lucho

The current FC Barcelona team has a certain vigour and exuberance about them, even without the charm of fabled icon Lionel Messi and the success level of previous teams such as the 2008 Barça under Pep Guardiola or the 2015 squad under Luis Enrique.

Under the leadership of Xavi Hernandez, the club have been able to re-establish their dominance in Spanish football this season, as evident in the current La Liga table, with Barça having a clear eight-point advantage over Real Madrid at the top.

Barcelona’s renewed charm appears to have paid dividends in terms of viewership as well, with the Catalans averaging a whopping 82,825 spectators per game at Camp Nou in the league this season – the highest in Europe.

Borussia Dortmund come in second with 81,106 while Bayern Munich come in third with 75,005 spectators per game.

The closest team within Spain is Real Madrid, with an average attendance of 56,991 per game, which is not even 70 percent of the overall Barça attendance, albeit it must be noted that the Santiago Bernabeu has been partially closed for renovations.

As a matter of fact, Barcelona’s attendance numbers this season is better than any other team in the 21st century. It is even higher than what Barça achieved during the management of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique, reports Catalunya Radio.

This is in spite of the fact that the current edition of the Barcelona team does not have the iconic presence of Messi, who used to drive in crowds.

One would expect the Barcelona attendance numbers to only go upwards from here, especially when the club are finished with the Espai Barça project.