Champions League: 500,000 Dortmund fans apply for final

Borussia Dortmund have received more than 500,000 ticket applications for their Champions League final against German rivals Bayern Munich at Wembley.

Jurgen Klopp's team, who beat Real Madrid in the semi-finals, will receive 24,000 tickets for the match on 25 May.

More than 250,000 requests were sent to Dortmund in 24 hours after last Tuesday's second leg.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller has signed a contract extension with the club until 2016.

"Moving to another club had never crossed my mind," said the 32-year-old, who has been at the Westfalenstadion since 2002.

"What has grown and developed here at Dortmund over the past few years is a uniquely positive football story which I want to play a big part in writing in the years to come."

Dortmund will hold a ballot to determine which of the 502,567 applications to attend the Champions League final in London are successful.

Chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke pointed to the "rapid growth" in the club's fanbase, with Dortmund having almost 100,000 members compared with 8,000 around a decade ago.

"Ten years ago every member of our club would have had a chance for a ticket," he added.

"Since we only have 24,000 at our disposal, we will only be able to fulfil every 20th request."

Dortmund, who are aiming for their first European crown since 1997, lost 2-0 at the Bernabeu but progressed thanks to a 4-1 success in the first leg at home.

Bayern reached their third Champions League final in four years with a comprehensive 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona.

Dortmund fans waving flags during the recent game against Bayern Munich

The two sides played out an at times bad-tempered rehearsal of the final in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with the game ending 1-1.

Bayern had five players booked and full-back Rafinha sent off, while Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp engaged in a heated exchange with visiting sporting director Matthias Sammer.

Bayern clinched the title over a month ago - the quickest-ever triumph in German league history - and currently hold a 20-point lead over second-placed Dortmund with three games left.

The Wembley final has also been spiced up by Bayern announcing they will sign Dortmund's star playmaker Mario Gotze in the summer after they met the 20-year-old's release clause of 37m euros (£31.5m).