http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/05/manchester-united-champions-league-final-tickets

Champions League final ticket £225, bus to Wembley £349

By Owen Gibson

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Manchester United fans who want to go to the Champions League final but do not have season tickets will have to pay a lot. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

Premier League football fans are quite used to paying through their noses for tickets but, much to the anger of supporter groups, there was only one way for Manchester United's followers to get a seat for the Champions League final on the open market on Thursday – and it involved paying £574 for a return coach trip and dinner.

Thomas Cook Sport, one of United's sponsors, were selling packages for that sum despite a face value on the tickets of £225. It means the bus trip down the M6 to Wembley (admittedly stopping at the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Gavroche en route) costs £349 – a pretty expensive way to travel in anyone's book.

The packages, which include an alternative option of paying £499 plus the cost of a match ticket to travel by train and stay overnight in a London hotel, were on offer to all United members, whereas the vast majority of the 25,000 allocation from Uefa for the final will go into a ballot for season-ticket holders.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/05/manchester-united-champions-league-final-tickets

guardian.co.uk--2011--05--09

yeah it is quite disgraceful what uefa is prepared to permit with this nonsense. 19,000 tickets to the 'football family' - a massive misnomer there since they're corporates and nothing to do with football - is outrageous.

also think 11,000 tickets on general sale is pretty stupid too as these inevitably end up in the hands of touts. united and barca both have massive, enormous numbers of season ticket holders who support the club financially week in week out and it's them who should be looked after first.

Is Le Gavroche not exactly halfway between Guildford and Wembley? A coincidence no doubt....