Jurgen Klopp has backed Liverpool fans groups, who hit out at UEFA’s greedy “rip off” pricing and allocation of tickets for the Champions League final against Real Madrid.
The Reds boss bluntly asked where the rest of the tickets have gone, after his club received an allocation of just 20,000 in a stadium with a capacity of almost 81,000.
Klopp has no qualms about calling out the football authorities for their incessant pursuit of profit, and he said: "When you see the ticket prices and the amount of tickets you get... is it right? Is it right we only get 20,000 [tickets], Real get 20,000 and there's 75,000 in? That makes 35,000. What?? Where are these tickets [going]?"
Liverpool supporters union Spirit of Shankly have written an open letter to UEFA urging them to reconsider the extortionate ticket price, set between £50 and £578, with 20 per cent of their allocation priced at £410 or higher, and the majority £150 or more.
And they want a fairer distribution of tickets, calling UEFA’s policy a “rip off”, and accusing the governing body of hypocrisy after they called out Europe’s biggest clubs for their greed in trying to set up a Super League.
"Since 2018 when LFC last played RM in the final, UEFA’s ticket revenue has gone from €3.06m (£2.61m) to €4.22m (£3.60m), which equates to a 38 per cent increase in four years," their letter read.
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“In standing up to the failed Super League, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said: 'I can’t understand how you can see your fans protesting and you don’t care. You are full of money anyway, you’re not poor, but you want more and more and more.'
"Well Mr Ceferin, Liverpool fans are protesting and you don’t seem to care. UEFA are not poor, but you seem to want more. And more."
Klopp sympathised strongly with the fans, and he said: "It’s about money. UEFA is not the saints of football, they never were.
"Nobody cares. That’s the world we are living in. We can all say, 'These are the bad guys, these are the bad guys.' Opportunity makes bad guys. In this case, UEFA has one of the biggest games ever and they will not gift the tickets like this. That’s the world we are living in.
"I understand 100,000 per cent where Spirit of Shankly is coming from. It is absolutely not right. In this specific case you are not only paying more than last time for a ticket but you only get 50 per cent of the tickets and the rest goes to people who pay thousands and thousands for the tickets. hat's how all the money is made."
Liverpool reached the Champions League final after beating Europa League holders Villarreal 5-2 on aggregate in the last four. Real, meanwhile, progressed to the showpiece event in Paris after a pulsating 6-5 aggregate win against Premier League champions Manchester City.
