La Liga

VALENCIA are set to restart work on their Nou Mestalla stadium… 16 years after they were supposed to move in.The skeleton of what was meant to be the “world’s greatest football stadium” has been lying dormant since work was halted in 2009.Valencia have recommenced work on Nou MestallaCredit: X @valenciacfThe LaLiga club have unveiled a new designCredit: X @valenciacfStunning images have been releasedCredit: X @valenciacfThe stadium will eventually hold more than 70,000 peopleCredit: X @valenciacfThe LaLiga side had been hoping to move out of their traditional Mestalla home in 2009.But after gathering debts of more than £350million by 2008, the project was sidelined.After many false dawns, plans to recommence construction work are finally gathering speed.Valencia have unveiled their latest new design for the stadium – the sixth since 2006.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLClub president Lay Hoon Chan boldly proclaimed: “We’re not just building a stadium, we’re building a monument.”The Singaporean, 60, also added that the stadium will act as a “beacon of hope” for the city.Valencia are working with the same contractor as they agreed a deal with in 2007.They hope for the new stadium to be ready in time for the 2027-28 season.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSNou Mestalla has been lying abandoned for 16 yearsCredit: GettyValencia want the stadium ready for the 2027-28 seasonCredit: X @valenciacfThey also hope to be included in the 2030 World CupCredit: X @valenciacfThere will be 3,000 hospitality seatsCredit: X @valenciacfIt will boast a capacity of 70,044 – significantly more than their current 49,000-seater home.Around 3,000 VIP seats will be included, and the stadium will be able to host top events by meeting Uefa’s highest criteria.’I was nowhere near that level’ – Gary Neville reveals how three La Liga bosses left him humiliated at ValenciaValencia are said to be taking out a new £270m loan from Goldman Sachs in order to help finance the project.They plan to begin paying back their loan in 2027, across a period of 20-25 years.Valencia has so far missed out on being one of 11 host cities for the 2030 World Cup.But tournament chiefs could slip them in at the last minute, should Nou Mestalla be built according to plan this time.On the pitch, Valencia have suffered badly in recent seasons.Not long ago mainstays of Uefa competitions, they currently find themselves languishing bottom of LaLiga with just two wins from 19 games.READ MORE SUN STORIESLast month, club icon Ruben Baraja was sacked as boss.They moved quickly to replace him with West Brom manager Carlos Corberan, who has now been tasked with keeping the fallen giants in LaLiga.Carlos Corberan is Valencia’s new bossCredit: Getty More

TWO wives of LaLiga footballers claimed they were “harassed” and “insulted” by fans at a stadium in Saudi Arabia. And one supporter said women were “touched without consent” in worrying scenes. Cristina Palavra, wife of Dani Rodriguez, described her awful experience at the Supercopa de Espana semi-finalCredit: XMallorca lost 3-0 to Real Madrid at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Saudi ArabiaCredit: GettyMallorca faced Real Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana semi-final on Thursday night.The match was played at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium just north of Jeddah.Underdogs Mallorca – who lost to Athletic Bilbao in the 2024 Copa del Rey final – were still right in the game going into injury time despite Jude Bellingham’s 63rd-minute opener.But a Martin Valjent own goal and a Rodrygo finish in added time secured a 3-0 win for LaLiga champions Real.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLTempers flared throughout the fiery semi-final clash, which included Bellingham “humbling” Pablo Maffeo after the Mallorca defender claimed he would only need ten seconds to knock Vinicius Junior out in a boxing fight. However, the occasion was overshadowed for family members of the Mallorca players who had a horrible and traumatic experience leaving the ground after full-time.Cristina Palavra, wife of Dani Rodriguez, and goalkeeper Dominik Greif’s partner Natalia Kaluzova were among the group of loved ones caught up in the trouble. The pair – who ironically got married to their respective footballer husbands within a fortnight of each other last June – told the media they were photographed, filmed and pushed by supporters. Most read in FootballKaluzova told Marca: “After the match, we formed a large group to go back to the hotel and while we were waiting, everything happened.“A group of people came towards us and made videos of us, they pushed us, they insulted us in Arabic, they recorded us without consent and there were attacks.”Jude Bellingham caught ‘humbling’ LaLiga rival who threatened to knock Real Madrid team-mate out ‘in 10 seconds’Palavra added to Esports IB3: “The truth is that the boys from this country started taking photos of us up close and harassed us. Natali, Dominik Greif’s wife, too.”We felt a little disoriented because we didn’t have anyone protecting us. The exit was very bad.”The departure was a bit complicated. We went with the children and there was no security. “We went as a group, all together with the organisation and everything but we couldn’t do anything else. “We got to the bus as best we could, that’s how it was.”Mallorca fans also allegedly were targeted in the aftermath of the semi-final, taking place in the Middle East for the fifth time. The women were touched and had their photos taken without consentPere, Mallorca fan One, called Pere, said to COPE: “There were very few Real Mallorca fans and they didn’t look after us or protect us. “They mixed us up with fans from there and throughout the match, many of them were bothering us, making fun of us, provoking children and older people.”It was very unpleasant but the worst of all was that at the end of the match, on the way from the stands to the bus, hundreds of people heckled us and lined us up. “They took photos of us without consent, hitting us on the back of the head.”It was very unpleasant but the worst thing was what the women suffered. READ MORE SUN STORIES”They were touched and had their photos taken without consent.”Real Madrid will play arch-rivals Barcelona in Sunday’s final after Hansi Flick’s men beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Wednesday thanks to goals from youngsters Gavi and Lamine Yamal. Dominik Greif’s partner Natalia Kaluzova revealed she was ‘pushed’ and ‘insulted’Credit: InstagramMallorca fans also shared their experiences including being hit on the head and mockedCredit: Getty More

THE “insane” £1.5billion Bernabeu renovation included a hidden network of underground tunnels and setting FIRE to the old roof.And the epic project even required a full year-long study of the sun to avoid blinding drivers.The new look Bernabeu is a thing of beautyCredit: Real MadridThe complex model is a first for football infrastructureCredit: Real MadridThe underground greenhouse features six levelsCredit: National GeographicThere was plenty of fire in the operation – from creating the steel facade to burning the old roofCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraTunnels underneath the stadium allowed machinery to drive aroundCredit: National GeographicThe finished article has fans and players alike in aweCredit: GettyReal Madrid spent a fortune updating their iconic stadium, finally completing the work in 2024.Much has been made of the brand-new features such as the 360-degree LED scoreboard screen, the sleek steel facade and the flagship VIP hospitality suite, the SkyBar.The pitch has also been split into six panels which are split up and stored in an underground greenhouse hypogeum, only coming out for matchday, in one of the most advanced pieces of architecture in world football. Now, though, the reality of the sheer logistical ingenuity and complexity of the Bernabeu facelift has been revealed.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLA National Geographic documentary – Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium – followed the mammoth project, which was ironically massively helped by the Covid pandemic. That is because Real Madrid were insistent that they would keep on playing at the Bernabeu for their domestic matches throughout the construction work.As a result, the pitch was out of bounds to protect the playing surface while all the heavy machinery had to be stored away to meet safety regulations with 80,000 fans in attendance – although the cranes made for surreal aerial viewing spots for a lucky few. So part of the early stages of the work involved digging tunnels beneath the stadium to allow the diggers to be stored and get to different areas of the site easily. Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSBut the issue with needing to keep the pitch clear meant work on the roof was particularly tricky as the team had to avoid it at all costs – essentially operating like work on a bridge over water. One of the earliest stages of the renovation included dismantling the old partial roof to remove it and make way for the new state-of-the-art roof.Real Madrid release amazing time lapse footage of Bernabeu construction work as retractable roof is added And that involved setting sections ablaze in staggering scenes. Once the existing roof was completely removed, the delicate process of constructing a frame for the new roof took place.Incredibly, the modern retractable roof weighs the same as two Eiffel Towers.And there is even an inflatable pad within the machinery – carefully programmed alongside the rest of the aeronautical roof – which makes it fully waterproof. When the Covid pandemic worsened and Spain went into lockdown, the 2019-20 football season was put on pause.But for the workers, they got the green light to carry on – and carry on they did, with a non-stop day-and-night operation in full swing.The Bernabeu pitch is stored underground in six piecesCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe Covid pandemic allowed the old pitch to become a building siteCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe 360-degree LED screens are a wonderful additionCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe hypogeum is 23m deepCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe 13,200 slats were each manufactured uniquelyCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraSome academy players had a kick about on the jigsaw-style pitch at the training groundCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraAnd, crucially, no matches enabled them to rip up the luscious green pitch and convert it into a building site. That paved the way for work to begin on the revolutionary system, digging down a whopping 23 metres below the surface to create six levels in the ultimate game of underground football pitch Tetris. A replica pitch using the same technology had been designed at Los Blancos’ training ground using their custom agronomic laboratory to build the replicated ‘pieces’ structure, first tested out by several academy young stars.Real Madrid had two objectives: they wanted the very best turf in the world and they wanted to be able to store it away when not in use to make the Bernabeu into a money machine able to host events – such as Taylor Swift concerts – whenever there was no match.Simples. Or not. The finishing touches to the new version of the Bernabeu – ironically the first thing fans will notice arriving – came with the stunning exterior.A whopping 13,200 slats of uniquely-designed steel were all individually manufactured to create the striking appearance. But even the steel wraparound required detailed research lasting a full 365 days – aka a full orbit of the sun. Because the architects, designers and safety officers had to ensure it was safe.READ MORE SUN STORIESThe metallic exterior catches the sun and therefore they were required to make sure the positioning and intensity of the bright reflections would not get dangerously hot nor startle and blind drivers using the roads around the ground or get too hot.Make no mistake about it, the new Bernabeu is a piece of sheer design absurdity and creativity to utterly bonkers proportions – but would you expect anything less from Real Madrid Club de Futbol?The new roof structure weighs the same as two Eiffel TowersCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraBeing unable to work on the pitch initially meant workers used bridge-building techniquesCredit: National GeographicThe operation was captured by National Geographic’s camerasCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe entire project cost approximately £1.5billionCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe major work was completed in 2024Credit: National GeographicTwo 500-ton sections of the mega-trusses had to be perfectly alignedCredit: National GeographicThe greenhouse creates the perfect environment for the grassCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraSome workers were able to watch matches from cranes early onCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe pitch only comes out on matchdaysCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraWork continued through the night for several stagesCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe facade exterior features a striking steel wraparound designCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe cranes and machines had to be stored away while matches continuedCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraA year-long sun study was required to ensure drivers would not be blindedCredit: Real MadridThe retractable roof is fully waterproof thanks to an inflating padCredit: Real MadridGroundstaff work on the pitch undergroundCredit: National GeographicThe aeronautically roof is precisely programmedCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraA replica pitch was also created at the agronomy laboratory across townCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraReal Madrid were insistent they wanted the very best turf in the worldCredit: National Geographic/Josep SerraThe Bernabeu played host to Taylor Swift during her Eras tourCredit: National Geographic/Josep Serra More