The La Liga champions were hoping to host Real Sociedad in the league on Sunday with a reduced capacity of 27,000.

Instead, the fixture will be at the 55,000-seater Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic hill, where Barca have played for the previous two seasons during the renovation work.

The club thanked members and supporters “for their understanding and support during such a complex and exciting process”, and said they were working on the amendments given by the council.

Barcelona have played their two home games against Valencia and Getafe at the much smaller 6,000-capacity Johan Cryuff Stadium, home to their women’s team.

The city’s fire department said there were problems with evacuation routes, among other safety issues.

However, the Barca’s operations director Joan Sentelles told reporters during a tour of the stadium on Tuesday: “Just because it’s not finished, doesn’t mean it’s not safe.”

Sentelles also said the roof will be put on the stadium in the summer of 2027, a year later than originally planned.

Work on the Nou Camp began in June 2023, at a cost of about £1.1bn, with the goal of modernising the stadium and expanding its capacity to 105,000 – making it one of the largest grounds in the world.

The plan was to be back playing games there in November 2024, to coincide with the club’s 125th anniversary, but that target has long since passed.

Laia Bonet, Barcelona’s deputy mayor, said the city council must guarantee the safety of everyone who wants to go to the stadium. “This is the priority,” she added.

However, the nature of the works will mean that Barça will have to temporarily leave their home for the duration of the 2023/24 season and will instead play home games at the Lluis Companys Stadium, which hosted the 1992 Olympics and was formerly home to city rivals Espanyol.

With a building permit approved by the city council, initial work on Camp Nou can begin as soon as this season is over. The early focus will be on the stadium’s first and second tiers, as well as technology aspects, the surrounding area and exterior.

That phase of the project will include demolition of an additional structure in the south stand where the medical centre was located, general restoration work, structural finishes, a new telecoms system, new facilities for the TV compound and more.

Setting out the timeline of the renovation, the club has also confirmed that the summer of 2023 will see the demolition of the third tier, ensuring that the Camp Nou can still operate at full capacity.