Tottenham and Liverpool will fight it out to see who will take home the greatest share of the Champions League’s record breaking £1.8billion prize money on June 1.
The jackpot has risen 30 per cent this season compared to last, meaning that reaching the final has already proved exceptionally lucrative for both clubs.
The match is billed as the crowning of footballing royalty, and despite bulging revenue streams and money pouring out of the dressing rooms, fans attending are certainly going to feel the regal pinch even after they land in Madrid.
Here, Sportsmail assesses the true cost of this year’s Champions League final.
Liverpool and Tottenham will meet in the Champions League final on June 1 in Madrid
The finalists
This year will see a record-breaking amount of money handed out to clubs for participation in the Champions League.
UEFA’s overall revenue for the Champions League, Europa League and European Super Cup in 2019 is expected to be €3.25bn (£2.86bn).
Of that, £1.8bn will be handed out to all clubs who have taken part in the Champions League.
Clubs are rewarded with a slice of the cash through three different streams: performance bonus, coefficient ranking and market pool.
The latter is TV income handed out based on the standard of league the team plays in, while the coefficient ranking is based on a 10-year performance.
The performance bonus is added for a win or draw in the group phase, as well at every stage of the competition.
As things stand, Liverpool and Tottenham will both take home more than £90million this season, regardless of the final result in Madrid.
This year will see a record-breaking amount of money handed out to clubs for participation
Liverpool and Spurs will both take home more than £90m this season regardless of victory
Tickets
Tickets for the final are not easy to come-by and certainly not cheap either.
There are four ticket categories for the final. Category one were priced at €600 (£528), category two at €450 (£396), category three at €180 (£158) and category four at €70 (£62). Despite the high prices, three of the categories all come with restricted view options.
Liverpool and Tottenham were also only allocated 16,613 tickets for the 67,829-seater Wanda Metropolitano stadium, leaving many to turn to sky-high prices on second-hand sites.
Those eyeing a bit of luxury, meanwhile, will have to stump up a fair few euros in order to watch the final in style.
Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano will host the 2019 Champions League final on June 1
The stadium, which reopened in 2017, is the third largest in Spain with a capacity of 67,829
Corporate allocations always draw ire from supporters at every European final and it’s no surprise considering the prices.
The business seats come in a variety of categories, ranging from ‘Deluxe Club’, which costs €3,900 (£3,440), to the ‘Silver’ offering, which, if booking at this late stage, could cost more than a small car at €6,900 (£6,090).
According to UEFA, the Silver package includes access to the hospitality lounge for three hours before the match and 90 minutes after the whistle, as well as a category one ticket.
The Silver sign-ups will also be given ‘champagne on arrival’, and will have the chance to dine on ‘World-class cuisine’.
Inside the stadium
Once inside, for the average Joe, hopes of acquiring match-day memento, or merely a half-time pint, will be dependent on fans digging a little deeper than usual.
The travelling contingent will need to make do with 330ml servings of Heineken at the Wanda – roughly a third of a pint – and that will set fans back a cool €5 (£4.40).
A hot night in the Spanish capital could pose further problems for the purse-strings as the price of 500ml of water will also be €5.
That is the same price as Pepsi and other soft drinks (yet to be disclosed), but fear not, as a packet of Doritos or Lays will come be a tad cheaper, at €3 (£2.65).
Meanwhile, collecting a match-day souvenir for the second all-English Champions League final will also cost a fair wack.
The Wanda boasts modern facilities while also retaining the feel of a traditional sports ground
Hospitality packages will entitle supporters with bigger budgets to enjoy pre-match food
An all-important matchday programme will be priced at €10 (£9), which, as it turns out, is relatively reasonable considering an official key ring or pin will both also cost £9.
Those with a few extra pennies can fork out €20 (£18) for a pennant, the same price as a Champions League final flag.
An official scarf will cost €25 (£22), while if you fancy buying a Champions League final polo top, that will cost €50 (£44).
The official match-ball will cost more than double the price of the cheapest ticket, at €150 (£132).
Fans will be able to buy snacks and drinks from the many fast food counters inside the stadium
Travel
Thousands of fans will descend on the Spanish capital to catch a glimpse of one one of sport’s showpiece events – but travel doesn’t come cheap.
Flying direct to Madrid from London for June 1 and departing on June 2 sets fans back £1,400 on average, with some fees as high as £1,500. Flights from Liverpool cost the same.
There are cheaper options, though. Flying to Valencia and then taking the train can cost as little as £250.
Fans also face huge costs to get to Madrid to watch their team play in the final on June 1
A train direct from London via Paris, meanwhile, will cost anything up to £650 return, as well as 23 hours of your time.
The assault on fans wallets doesn’t end with transport, though, as the cheapest available rooms to stay in Madrid on June 1 now sit at £173 for the night – and that’s in a hostel.
Fans had complained that prices skyrocketed to the point where it became impossible to find a room for cheaper than £1,000. On Airbnb, a one-bedroom apartment near the airport was listed at £2,387 per night.
Supporters groups’ rightly felt aggrieved, with Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly group and Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust releasing a joint statement earlier this month, calling for an end to ‘cashing in on fan loyalty’.
Fan groups condemned the extortionate costs facing supporters travelling to Madrid
‘Our joy at reaching the final is tempered by the prices of travel, accommodation and tickets, and by the allocation of tickets,’ their joint statement read.
‘Prices of flights to Madrid and surrounding towns have rocketed by up to 840 per cent.
‘Hotel rooms are over £1,000 a night and we are hearing stories of room bookings being cancelled and resold at vastly inflated rates.
‘Ticket prices of in excess of £500 are also extortionate. And there needs to be transparency from UEFA and our clubs in how tickets are priced and allocated.
‘For many fans, this final is not a one-off event. It is the culmination of a journey. It is time to stop cashing in on fan loyalty.’
The final may well be lucrative for clubs but it certainly will pack a punch on supporters’ wallets.
Flights were being sold for £1,500 return and some hotel rooms were flogged at a similar rate