Amsterdam ArenA could be renamed after Johan Cruyff

Ajax’s stadium may be renamed the Johan Cruyff ArenA following the death of the Netherlands legend, deputy mayor of the Dutch capital Eric van den Burg has confirmed.

Cruyff lost his battle against lung cancer on Thursday at the age of 68, immediately leading to suggestions on social media the Amsterdam ArenA should be renamed in honour of the Ajax icon.

Ajax cannot take that decision themselves as they do not own the ground, but the local authority – which co-owns the stadium – is keen to honour Cruyff.

“I have discussed this with mayor Eberhard van der Laan and we came to the conclusion that it is something we should try to make happen,” Van den Burg told RTL.

“I think we have the support of 837,000 people from Amsterdam.

“We have some great arguments to convince the other shareholders.”