Champions League final: Uefa ticket distribution works, says president Aleksander Ceferin
- Published
Aleksander Ceferin said he has spoken directly to the manager of one of the Champions League finalists
The distribution and pricing of Champions League final tickets is "the system that works" as it aids clubs, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin says.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp asked why almost half of the 75,000 tickets for the game against Real Madrid in Paris are given to sponsors and officials.
Most Liverpool tickets are £125 or more and 93.5% of revenue goes to the clubs.
"For us, not much will change if all tickets are 10 euros but it will change a lot for the clubs," said Ceferin.
"It's the system that works, and clubs couldn't function differently."
Liverpool will play Real Madrid at the Stade de France on 28 May.
Each club has received 19,618 tickets, external while a further 12,000 were put on general sale via a ballot, which closed before the semi-final second legs were played.
More than one-fifth of Liverpool's allocation will cost between £410 and £578.
But Ceferin argued that the system benefits clubs financially.
"I explained the same thing to one of the coaches of the two teams a couple of days ago and I can do it here," said Ceferin at the Uefa congress in Vienna.
"I explained it to him a bit more and took much more time because I went through every single number.
"From the revenues from the finals, Uefa gets 6.5% and 93.5% goes to the clubs. From the other matches, 100% of the revenues goes to the clubs.
"Fans of both teams get 20,000 tickets each. Sponsors that pay 100 or more million euros sponsorship - of which 93.5% goes to the same clubs - get some tickets. It's part of a contractual obligation that we have.
"Uefa doesn't get more tickets than the others. Some tickets go to the market, some tickets go to the fans and some go to the partners. It's not Uefa. I'm not giving tickets for free to my friends or selling to my friends."
European Super League proposal 'over once and for all'
Ceferin added that any prospect of a European Super League "is over", with Uefa having this week agreed a new 'Swiss-style' format, external for the Champions League from the 2024-25 season.
Twelve of Europe's biggest clubs signed up for the proposed competition last April, only for the project to collapse within days following a backlash from players and fans, as well as governments and football's governing bodies.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remain open to the concept, but Ceferin said: "I don't like to call it Super League because it's everything but Super League.
"For me, this project is over once and for all, or at least for 20 years. I don't know what will happen later."
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