Valencia planned on entering a new era when construction began on Nou Mestalla in 2007, with a planned capacity of up to 80,000 intended to capitalise on the club's great fortunes at the turn of the millennium.
Two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup triumph in 2004 meant former club president Juan Soler unveiled details in 2006 on moving into a new stadium, having played at the Mestalla since 1923.
While everything initially seemed positive, instead, work was paused within two years due to a lack of funds, turning a half built arena into a white elephant that epitomises the club’s myriad problems under current owner Peter Lim.
Having previously aimed to re-establish themselves at the top of European football, Los Che are now at real risk of La Liga relegation for the first time since 1986. 18th in the table and two points from safety, it certainly seems bleak for Valencia. It wasn’t supposed to be like this…
The original idea was for it to be “as luxurious as possible” and host the 2011 Champions League Final. Two years before that though, Spain’s financial crisis hit and construction work came to a halt. Valencia were left with one-and-a-half grounds, their pre-existing Mestalla still standing.
Fabio Aurelio played for the club between 2000 and 2006, winning the aforementioned trophies under Rafa Benitez, who later signed him for Liverpool.
The 43-year-old former left-back has been retired since 2014, but has returned to Valencia on multiple occasions. For him, it's a real shame construction on Nou Mestalla ceased all those years ago.
“It’s kind of sad, you know?” Aurelio tells FourFourTwo about the incomplete stadium. “You draw back the curtains and there it is, right in front of you, that big monument, static, nothing much happening around it, no real life.
"You look from the outside and think that the stadium is finished, but no. No one can really say if that day will ever come.
“So, damn, it’s sad because you’ve lived there and know that city. The club and the supporters deserve a stadium like that.”
The signs aren't any clearer whether Valencia fans will ever get the new stadium, though. In June 2022 the club released plans to start reconstruction on Nou Mestalla in October of that year, but the date came and went without any developments.
The future capacity has also been slashed to just 49,000, a significant decrease from the initially intended 80,000. It is expected it will be completed by 2025, though relegation could pause those plans even further.
