Why are the Bernabeu and Camp Nou stadiums losing fans? LaLiga Santander An issue for both clubs

It was the weekend that saw Julen Lopetegui, Arturo Vidal and Arthur make their respective debuts at home, Leo Messi scored another brace and Gareth Bale kicked off the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.

Beyond all of that there though, was a fact that was worthy of drawing more attention than any of that.

That was the relatively small attendances at both the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou on the first weekend of LaLiga Santander action.

There were 48,446 spectators in the capital for Real's win over Getafe, while 52,356 watched the reigning champions' victory against Alaves.

They are very disappointing figures when you compare them with previous home debuts in the league over the past decade.

Neither club had such a poor attendance for their first LaLiga Santander game of the season for the last 10 years as to date, the worst crowd registered in both stadiums was the 56,480 who were at the Camp Nou last season, while for the Bernabeu it was the 61,568 for their first game in 2016/17.

However, those numbers were still 4,000 more than last Saturday for Barcelona and a worrying 13,000 more for Los Blancos than they managed for 2018/19's maiden clash.

To find a worse attendance for a league game at the Bernabeu you have to go back to the penultimate weekend of the 2008/09 season.

At that time, Barcelona had already won the title and Real hosted Mallorca for a meaningless game that brought in just 44,270 spectators.

After 191 successive games, that record has now been broken.

You don't have to go back quite as far for Barcelona because on match day five of last season, which was played at 10pm on a Tuesday night, they recorded a 6-1 win over Eibar in front of 51,645 people.

Although it is only match day one, the poor attendance figures recorded early will continue to confirm a fact that has been evident in recent seasons.

There has been a decline in the average attendances at both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This downward trend has been occurring for each of the Clasico rivals in the last three seasons and since 2015/16, it has been decreasing progressively.

There are several reasons that can justify the poor attendance for this particular game though.

The absence of an important signing that would have raised the expectation of the public to see him in action before the Bernabeu crowd may be the most significant factor in seeing so many empty seats.

The date, August 19, and the time, at 10.15pm on a Sunday night, did not help either and it is a valid factor that many regulars are likely currently out of the capital on vacation.

However, Madrid is synonymous with tourism during this particular period of time and the chance to witness a match of the current Champions League holders would usually be an attractive option for visitors.

The price of tickets is usually another stumbling block to consider though because to watch the game against Getafe, prices at the box office ranged from between 40 euros and 125 euros.