UEFA have come to a decision over where the Europa League final will be played this summer between Manchester United and Tottenham.
Both Premier League sides booked their tickets on Thursday night, seeing out second leg victories after strong performances in their first legs, despite their inconsistent league form.
United saw off Athletic Club 7-1 on aggregate, following up last week’s 3-0 win with a 4-1 triumph at Old Trafford, having gone a goal behind.
Meanwhile, Tottenham traveled to the Arctic Circle to beat Bodo/Glimt 2-0 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.
The match was originally slated to take place at San Mames in Bilbao, which can only hold a maximum of 53,289 fans, though both clubs will likely demand far more, which had led to calls for the game to be moved.
However, there was no chance of a change of venue after the ground was awarded the match back in 2021, and it will proceed to take place in the Basque city.
This year’s Europa League final will be held at the Estadio San Mames in Bilbao, northern Spain
Mason Mount scored twice on Thursday night as United beat Athletic Club to reach the final
Up in the Arctic Circle meanwhile Tottenham beat Bodo/Glimt to set up an all-English clash
English teams have met in European finals before without the game being moved, for example Man City and Chelsea in 2021 and Liverpool and Tottenham in 2019.
It isn’t even the first in the Europa League, with Arsenal taking on Chelsea in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, back in 2019.
In total, there have been seven finals competed between teams from the same division in the last 15 years alone in Europe, none of which have been moved.
Both sets of fans will be provided with 15,000 tickets, while a further 11,000 will go on general sale.
As part of Uefa’s ‘fans first’ scheme, the tickets awarded to each teams’ fanbase are the most affordable, with prices starting at €40 (£34), while those for the general public range from €65 to 240 (£55 to £204).
The remaining 12,000 seats will be offered to sponsors and hospitality guests for the highly-anticipated clash.
As of 8am BST on Friday, the cheapest flight to get from London to Bilbao on May 21 would run Spurs fans a whopping £355 for a one-way ticket, according to SkyScanner.
To fly back from Bilbao to the English capital the next day, the cheapest flight costs £175, departing at 7:40am with a stop at the Canary Islands along the way.
Man United and Spurs fans may have to pay thousands to travel to the Europa League final
Fans of both teams will receive 15,000 tickets for the game, with another 11,000 on general sale
The cheapest mode of transport would be by coach from London to Bilbao (£108 one way)
For the luxury of a direct afternoon flight home, fans can expect to pay over £500, with less than a dozen of these tickets still available online.
Meanwhile, United fans would have to cough up even more. From Manchester to Bilbao, the cheapest plane ticket on May 21 (that arrives two or more hours before kick-off) costs £524, with a stop in Munich, Germany, on the way.
To return from Bilbao, the cheapest flight on May 22 costs £446, departing at around mid-day with a stop in Lisbon, Portugal, on the way. Direct flights back to Manchester are currently going for a mind-boggling £941 at the lowest.
Shrewd opportunists who might look to get a cheaper deal by flying out the eve of the game are met with disappointment, as this would cost even more than flying on the day – from both Manchester and London.
A more price-friendly option would be to travel by coach; a journey from London Victoria Coach Station to Bilbao would take around 26 hours and costs around £108 one way, leaving at 12:30pm the day before the game, as per Trainline.com.
As it stands, there are no coach tickets available directly from Manchester to Bilbao, meaning United fans would have to make the trip down to London if they opted for this mode of transport.
Anyone looking to make their own ways to Bilbao by driving would still face hundreds in travel costs.
Journeying through the Channel Tunnel will cost just under £200, with petrol and a potential overnight hotel stay adding to the total expense. Hotel prices in the city centre range anywhere between £850 and £13,345.
