John Charles played for Leeds United and Italian giants Juventus

The player dubbed the Gentle Giant is said to be disappointed that Leeds will miss out.

He left Swansea to join Leeds United at the age of 14 and still lives in the city with his wife Glenda.

However Leeds city council said it could not find a venue big enough to house the exhibition.

Visitors will enter a football stadium shaped auditorium, sit in the grandstands and look down onto a video screen pitch as its centrepiece.

A series of rooms off the stadium will explore the main events of his life, containing programmes, medals and photographs.

The last thing I would wish would be for John Charles to think Leeds doesn't appreciate him - we do, hugely Judith Blake, Leeds council

Capped 38 times by Wales, he became a legend in the 1950s with Leeds United and won the hearts of Juventus fans when he joined the Turin club in 1957.

Much of the exhibition will focus on his time in Italy where fans Christened him Il Buono Gigante - the Gentle Giant.

Visitors will also be able to walk through "virtual reality" Leeds United and Juventus changing rooms where the famous black and white shirts will hang on pegs.

It will be launched in Swansea next year and move onto a number of towns and cities, including Cardiff, Newport, Wrexham and Hereford.

It was hoped it would also visit Leeds.

Judith Blake, deputy leader of Leeds city council told BBC News Online: "John Charles is an absolute hero to me and to every football fan in Leeds

"The last thing I would wish would be for John Charles to think Leeds doesn't appreciate him - we do, hugely.

"Our difficulty is that the exhibition is very large and as our new city museum is awaiting construction, we have nowhere suitable to house it.

She added that the cost of the exhibition had also proved prohibitive, but said they would "jump at the chance" to hold it in the future.

This exhibition will take John Charles to a new and younger audience as well as attract his long-standing fans Robert Francis Davies, Swansea council

Mr Charles' wife Glenda said her 71-year-old husband was "disappointed" with the decision.

"While he is proud of coming from Swansea and regards Wales as his true home, many people say he is Leeds," she said.

The exhibition has been organised by the Gentle Giant Trust, whose partners include Swansea Council and the National Football Museum.

It was formed after he was given the Freedom of Swansea in 2002 and a small-scale exhibition attracted huge crowds.

Trophy

Organisers hope to use the original fittings from the Juventus stadium to enable visitors to enter the new exhibition through 1950s turnstiles and sit on seats from the Stadio Delle Alpi.

It will also house a life-size model of a young John Charles carving his name on the walls of Swansea Town FC and a 30-ft high model of the Jules Rimet trophy.

Football legends Pele and Sir Bobby Charlton and TV presenter Michael Parkinson will pay tribute to him in a series of video footage to be screened onto the pitch.

Swansea Council's cabinet member for culture Robert Francis Davies said: "John Charles is an icon across the world of football. He is a legend in Wales, England and Italy.

"This exhibition will take John Charles to a new and younger audience as well as attract his long-standing fans.