Ajax honour Johan Cruyff by renaming stadium after Dutch football legend

On the day Johan Cruyff would have turned 70, his home city has agreed to name Ajax's stadium after the Dutch football legend.

Amsterdam Municipality says it has agreed with the stadium and Eredivisie giants Ajax to change the name of the Amsterdam Arena to the Johan Cruijff Arena - using the Dutch spelling of the Ajax and Barcelona star, who died last year.

READ MORE: Rooney’s Manchester United future ‘not looking good’

READ MORE: Xavi expects Pep Guardiola to move for Dele Alli

Ajax, the stadium's board and Amsterdam said they "want to pay a worthy tribute to the best footballer Amsterdam and the Netherlands have ever known."

The agreement, announced Tuesday, is expected to be finalised within six months.

Born in Amsterdam, Cruyff was the mercurial driving force behind Ajax and Dutch "total football" in the early 1970s before leaving under a cloud for Barcelona over a contract dispute.

He went on to become a highly successful player and coach at Barca before playing in the US, and returning in a backroom capacity to Ajax on two separate occasions.

Additional reporting by Reuters.