Champions League tickets: which clubs demand the most fans – and who gets the best deal?

Tonight, Champions League football will be played at Villa Park for the first time, when Aston Villa hosts Bayern Munich.

It marks Villa’s long-awaited return to the top flight of European football and they could not have faced more gripping opposition for their first home game. Bayern were the opponents that Villa defeated in 1982 to win the European Cup.

However, if you head to Villa Park tonight you will have paid a fair amount for the privilege, with the cheapest seat for non-season ticket holders costing £85 ($113; €102).

Prices have been a point of contention in the Champions League for years, but although away tickets are now capped at €60, home fans are still at the whim of their clubs.

How do Villa prices compare to the rest of Europe? Are they the most expensive? Or will some clubs actually offer tickets for all four home games of the Champions League group stage, which still cost less than the price of one Villa ticket? Spoiler alert – yes, some do.

All prices below are adult ticket prices which we have converted into British Pounds.

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Aston Villa were heavily criticized when announcing their prices. Aston Villa Supporters’ Trust (AVST) called the club “out of touch”, with average tickets higher than Villa’s Category A prices in the Premier League.

Villa have charged up to £97 for a home Champions League ticket against Bayern Munich tonight, with the cheapest being £85. Season ticket holders get discounted fares ranging from £82 to £70. They will charge the same prices against Bologna later this month.

The most expensive ticket for Liverpool fans at Anfield cost less than Villa’s cheapest Champions League ticket of £61. Liverpool cost just £30 for adult tickets on the Anfield Road stand, while a small number cost just £9 on the top level of the Main Stand. Liverpool’s prices are the same for every home match in the group stage.

Manchester city charged similar prices to Liverpool for their opening match against Inter Milan, with the most expensive being £62.50 and the cheapest £37.50. Tickets will be cheaper against Sparta Prague later this month, from £55 to £25.

Season ticket holders Arsenal will get all four of their Champions League home group matches included in their season ticket price (although the cheapest adult season ticket at The Emirates costs £1,073). Members hoping to get a ticket for last night’s match against Paris Saint-Germain via a ballot paper will have to pay between £74.30 and £106.80, making their top prices the most expensive in England.

However, Arsenal are offering members cheaper tickets for their next home match against Shakhtar Donetsk, which they have allocated as a Category B match (PSG is Category A). Those tickets cost between £42.60 and £62.60.

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Last season’s semi-finalists Bayern Munich offer one of the cheapest tickets in the Champions League, with standing tickets in the lower level behind one of the goals (and in two other corners) costing £15.80 for all their Champions League matches.

Elsewhere at the Allianz Arena, seats cost £49.93 to £99.86 for Category A matches (PSG group stage match only) and £41.60 to £83.22 for Category B matches (Dinamo Zagreb, Benfica and Slovan Bratislava).

Borussia Dortmund fans could choose to pay around 23 percent more for their season ticket to guarantee tickets to their four home matches in the Champions League (for example, a Category 4 seat costs £638, compared to £518 for a regular Bundesliga season ticket). A standing season ticket including the group stage matches costs £248.82.

Matchday tickets for the Champions League range from £62.41 for the most expensive seats to £15.40 for a standing room, meaning Dortmund, like Bayern, offer some of the cheapest tickets in the competition.

Stuttgartback in the competition for the first time since 2009–10, are offering a Champions League group stage ticket for all four matches, costing just £63.25 to back the goals (£15.81 per match), with the highest amount being £416 for first class seating (£104 per game). The prizes for individual matches cost exactly the same as for the four-match package, from €15.81 to €104.

RB Leipzig also charge £15.81 for one of their goals. Most seats cost between €41.61 and €49.93 and the most expensive seat costs €99.86.

And continuing the theme of German clubs offering value for money, Bayer Leverkusen sold tickets at home against AC Milan last night standing behind one of the goals for just £13.31. Most of their seats cost £36.62, while the most expensive seats in the Main Stand cost £64.08.

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Italy

The average prices for the four Italian clubs are more expensive than in Germany and are more in line with English prices.

Juventus‘Members’ most expensive seat for their match against Stuttgart later this month costs £71.57, while the cheapest tickets for both goals cost £37.45. For non-members, prices range from €79.06 to €40.78.

From AC Milan prices vary and offer much cheaper tickets than Juventus, but also some seats that are significantly more expensive. The cheapest member ticket at San Siro costs £15.81, while a pair of grandstand tickets costs a whopping £140.64. Most tickets for Milan range from £28.29 to £82.39.

The cheapest seats to look at Inter Milan vs Red Star Belgrade last night were £24.13, although most, similar to their city rivals, cost between £32.46 and £83.22

Bologna have sold four-match Champions League packages for their first ever top-level European campaign. Existing season ticket holders could purchase a group goal ticket to watch them play Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Lille and Borussia Dortmund for £99.86, costing £24.96 per match. Gold seats in the Main Stand cost £624.14 for the four matches, while most seats cost £266.30, which equates to £66.57 per match.

Before their home match against Arsenal last month, Atalanta the two goals were charged at £28.29, while VIP stand tickets were among the most expensive in the league at £183.08. Most seats in the main stands ranged from £66.57 to £91.54.

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To look Barcelona at home to Young Boys at the Olympic Stadium last night (Camp Nou is still being redeveloped) would have cost you £61.58 in the cheapest seats at the back of a stand behind the goal. Lower level tickets behind the goals cost £82.39, while the most expensive seats in the stands were £135.65.

Neither Girona nor Real Madrid list ticket prices on their website for non-members. For Real’s quarter-final against Manchester City last season, the cheapest seat in the top tier was £73.23, while the most expensive seats in the stands were £259.64.

Atletico Madrid offer members tickets that are 50 percent cheaper than general admission. Their cheapest Champions League tickets cost £24.97.

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The cheapest available resale seats in Parc des Princes to view PSG against PSV later this month costs £62.41 on the club’s official website, while first-class seats cost a whopping £262.14.

Lille are offering a four-match group ticket for £99.03, which works out to £24.75. Not bad considering they play against Real Madrid, Juventus, Sturm Graz and Feyenoord.

Monaco to include Champions League group stage tickets in their season tickets, which range from £199.72 to a whopping £1,413, although given the location there is unlikely to be a shortage of people who can afford them.

And the cheapest tickets with Champions League newcomers Brestwho play their European matches 70 miles away at Guingamp’s Stade du Roudourou because their ground does not meet UEFA standards, cost £41.61, with the most expensive being £83.22. Add to that a two-hour train journey and that’s not the cheapest night out.

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Rest of Europe

Celtic are offering a four-match group ticket for £184, which works out to £46 per match.

Also at the cheaper end of the spectrum are Croatian clubs Dinamo Zagrebalthough their uncovered Maksimir stadium is honestly considered one of the ugliest in Europe.

Tickets for their match against Monaco tonight are as cheap as £15.81 for members, or £24.13 for non-members, with the most expensive being £49.93 for members and £58.25 for non-members.

SturmGraz The cheapest ticket for their match against Club Brugge tonight costs £37.45 to stand, while the most expensive seats are £107.35.

Sporty are offering some of the best value tickets in the Champions League, ranging between £19.14 and £48.27 for members for their match against Manchester City next month.

Some of the most expensive prices in Europe can be found all over the city Benficas Estadio da Luz, where the cheapest ticket in the top flight behind the goals for their match against Feyenoord later this month costs £81.14 for members. A mid-range side seat costs £124.83 and the first-class seats cost a whopping £212.21

These awards are not exactly in line with the traditions of the two clubs as elite (Sporting) and the club of the people (Benfica).

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What have we learned?

To answer the original question: yes, Villa are among the most expensive clubs to watch in the Champions League this season, along with Benfica, Barcelona and PSG, with their cheapest tickets all above £60.

Many clubs offer premium seats that are more expensive than anything Villa Park has to offer, but when it comes to the lowest prices, Villa and Benfica are the worst offenders.

As is so often the case, if you want ticket prices that aren’t exploitative of loyal supporters, go to Germany.

(Photos: Getty Images/Design: Dan Goldfarb)