The Camp Nou welcomes guests from the British royal palace in the Barcelona and Aston Villa clash
A European night with a royal flavour awaits the Camp Nou faithful tonight. Barcelona host Aston Villa with points at stake, but attention has turned to the VIP box. Prince William, the British heir to the throne, will watch the eagerly awaited clash from the heart of the stadium, with his eldest son Prince George beside him.
Barcelona have received official confirmation that Prince William and his son George will take their seats in the Camp Nou's VIP box for tonight's meeting between the Blaugrana and their English visitors, according to "Mundo Deportivo".
Son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana, the British heir is a devoted Aston Villa supporter. He regularly turns up for the club's European outings, and tonight his son joins him, following in his father's footsteps as a fan of the Birmingham side.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta will welcome the royal guests and host them in the area reserved for VIPs.
For the English side, chief executive Damià Vidagany will be Aston Villa's most senior representative in the box.
Royalty won't be the only draw. Rafa Benítez, who lifted the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, attends as a UEFA observer, joined by UEFA delegate Vito di Gioia and referee observer Thomas Einwaller. Former Barcelona legend and 1977 Ballon d'Or winner Allan Simonsen will be there too.
Other figures filling the Camp Nou VIP box include José Crespín, the Spanish government's delegate in Catalonia, Òscar Ordeig, the region's minister of agriculture, fisheries and food, David Escudé, the sports councillor of Barcelona City Council, and David Pérez, the second deputy of the president of the Catalan Parliament.
Gloria Freixa, the first secretary of the parliamentary bureau, completes the list, alongside Pilar Díaz, the government's general delegate in Barcelona, Manuel Rodríguez, the head of the senior police in Catalonia, Annabel Sprott, deputy consul general of the United Kingdom, and Charlie Marshall, chief executive of the European Club Association (EFC).
