Tens of thousands visit Cruyff memorial in Barcelona

Tens of thousands of football fans have flocked to the memorial set up at Barcelona' s Camp Nou stadium to remember football legend Johan Cruyff.

Cruyff, who passed away on March 24th after losing his battle against lung cancer aged 68, is considered to be one of the greatest players and coaches in the game and he is also credited in turning around the fortunes of Barcelona and helping to turn them into the club which today dominates world football.

News of his death last Thursday saw fans spontaneously visit Barca' s ground to deposit flowers, scarves and his favorite 'Chupa-Chup' lollipop, which he used to suck in the dugout and the club decided to set aside a space for an official memorial which opened on Saturday.

Over 31,000 people visited the memorial over the weekend, with another 13,000 passing by on Monday, which was a holiday in Barcelona. Many more are expected to visit on Tuesday before the four days of mourning after officially brought to a close when members of Cruyff' s family, led by his son, Jordi also attend the memorial.

The fans left hundreds of thousands of moments, while some just left messages giving their thanks to Cruyff, while members of Barcelona' s junior and women's teams also passed by to show their respects to the man who had helped to modernize the club' s youth system, which produced players such as Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Pep Guardiola.

Current club President, Josep Bartomeu and his predecessors in the role also visited the memorial in a show of solidarity, while Cruyff' s memory is sure to be present this coming Saturday when Barcelona entertain eternal rivals, Real Madrid in the 'Clasico' in the Camp Nou. Endit