Football
PA Sport 7y

Barcelona to name new training ground stadium after club legend Johan Cruyff

Barcelona's future stadium at their training complex will be named in honour of Johan Cruyff, the club have announced.

Cruyff, who played for and managed Barcelona, died a year ago from lung cancer.

Barca are to build a new training ground as part of a major redevelopment which will see the Camp Nou expanded to seat 105,000 spectators along with the addition of extra corporate hospitality facilities and upgrades to the arenas used by the club's other sports teams.

Cruyff's son Jordi, Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu and first vice-president Jordi Cardoner revealed on Saturday the ways in which the club had decided to honour his memory.

A Barca statement read: "First of all, the future stadium in the Ciutat Esportiva training complex is to be named the 'Estadi Johan Cruyff.'

"Therefore, the most emblematic building in the facility where future Barca players are coached is to be named after somebody who played such a central role in fostering youth talent at the club.''

A statue of Cruyff will also be located in the new Camp Nou, while Barca said they and the Dutchman's family had asked Barcelona City Council to name a street or other space near the stadium after Cruyff. There will also be a section of the Barcelona museum dedicated to Cruyff.

A Barcelona fans' group leader said last year that he would like the club's redeveloped Camp Nou stadium to be renamed after Cruyff.

Barca say that work on the new Camp Nou is scheduled to start in the 2017-18 season and to be completed during the 2021-22 campaign.

^ Back to Top ^