Philippa Kaur

EUROPA LEAGUE final tickets are being flogged for £23,000 on Vivid Seats – a company part-owned by Chelsea’s Todd Boehly.Manchester United and Tottenham are preparing to do battle in the Bilbao showpiece on May 21. Todd Boehly is a director for Vivid Seats, a ticket resale websiteCredit: AlamySingle tickets available on the site are going for £23,000 ahead of the match in BilbaoCredit: AlamyManchester United are preparing to take on Spurs, with 15,000 tickets given to each clubCredit: Shutterstock EditorialThe San Mames Stadium has a capacity of just over 53,000. Both United and Spurs have been allocated 15,000 seats each, with the most affordable tickets starting at £34 thanks to Uefa’s ‘Fans First’ scheme. Tickets for the general public are split into three categories, with the face value prices between £55 and £204. But tickets currently on sale on Vivid Seats – part-owned by Boehly – are available for eye-watering sums a week before kickoff. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL’Prime seats’ situated along the halfway line are listed on the site for £22,738 each, per The Price of Football. Other options are available, with some tickets on sale in Category 1 for up to £17,054.Furious fans were quick to slam the prices, with one writing on X: “Everything wrong with top level football right there.”Another said: “Unfortunately this is where the tourist league is going. Franchise soccer UK next.”Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKWhile a third fumed: “Why is this allowed. Absolute disgrace.”And a fourth commented: “Shocked but not surprised.”Todd Boehly gives major Chelsea stadium update and vows to leave Stamford BridgeChelsea declined to comment.American businessman Boehly became a minority owner at Chelsea in May 2022. The 51-year-old is a director and investor in Vivid Seats, a role recently described as a “conflict of interest” by the Chelsea Supporters Trust.Vivid Seats, which has its base in Chicago, is legally allowed to operate overseas but is prohibited for use by UK users.Boehly’s Eldridge Industries owns 41 percent of the ticket resale site, according to IQ.In an open letter penned in March, the CST wrote to the Premier League and asked them to “act and investigate” in an effort to clamp down on ticket touting at Chelsea games.The letter read: “Many CST members are clearly infuriated by this connection and have written to us.”As a director of Chelsea FC and part-owner, Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is totally inappropriate and significantly undermines the efforts of Chelsea FC, the Premier League, and the Metropolitan Police to combat ticket touting.”Mr Boehly has been contacted directly by the CST and has been offered multiple opportunities to both publicly and privately address supporters’ concerns.”Neither Mr Boehly nor his representatives have, however, acted on these requests, and thousands of tickets remain for sale on the Vivid Seats website.”Read More on The SunA Uefa spokesperson told SunSport: “Uefa strongly urges fans not to purchase tickets on the secondary market.”Ticket sales to the general public and fans of the teams who have reached the finals are carried out exclusively by Uefa.” More

MANCHESTER UNITED are proving a different beast in this season’s Europa League – and we have the stats to prove it. The Red Devils are unbeaten in European competition despite a dismal Premier League campaign.Manchester United have put up impressive numbers in this year’s Europa LeagueCredit: AlamyRuben Amorim’s side have been a different beast away from the Premier LeagueCredit: GettyUnited go into their clash with Spurs as the highest scorers in the competitionCredit: GettyRuben Amorim’s side have endured a season to forget domestically, sitting 16th in the table after losing 17 out of 36 games. But their European form has seen them set up a surprise Europa League final showdown with Tottenham in Bilbao.And there are plenty of reasons for United fans to be cheerful when diving down into the numbers. Amorim is just the second United manager to reach a European final in his first season.READ MORE ON MAN UTDHe follows his fellow countryman Jose Mourinho, who achieved the feat in 2017.The Special One guided United to Europa League glory thanks to a 2-0 win over Ajax.United go into next week’s showdown with Spurs as the only remaining unbeaten side in European competition. Out of their 14 matches this season, they have won nine and drawn five. Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKThey are also the possession kings of the Europa League – and have even hit the most goals.Amorim’s men may have been goal-shy in the Prem, mustering just 53 in 36 games.’He was evil’ – Sir Alex Ferguson would be in JAIL if he managed today, claims Man Utd legend Patrice Evra Should take around 15 seconds if we want to include it-But they have smashed in 35 goals so far in Europe and have the highest passing accuracy of any team (86.1 per cent).History is also on United’s side as they prepare for a ninth major European showpiece.The Red Devils have contested eight finals across the years, winning five and losing three. They will hope captain and talisman Bruno Fernandes can continue to shine on the big stage.Fernandes claimed last month United’s season wouldn’t “be saved” even if they won the trophy.But if they are to triumph in Bilbao, it will largely be in part to his tireless efforts in the competition. Fernandes is just one of three players to have scored seven goals or more in this year’s tournament. He is tied for the Golden Boot race alongside Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Høgh and Olympiacos forward Ayoub El Kaabi.Despite both having below-par seasons, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund are the only United players to feature in all 14 EL games.The Dane has struggled in front of goal all year but has netted six goals in Europe – a huge improvement on his four in 30 in the Prem.Read More on The SunGarnacho has just one goal to his name in this year’s competition. But he has five goal involvements in 14 as opposed to eight in 35 domestically. More