Going to the Champions League final will cost almost twice as much as two years ago for some fans.
For the May 28 final at Wembley Stadium in London, a category three ticket will cost ?175 ($235) compared with ?90 ($120) in 2009. The same ticket in Madrid last year to see Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich cost ?155.
The price of the second-most expensive ticket has risen by around 85 percent from ?140 in 2009 to ?260. Category one tickets, which will cost ?350, have risen ?50 for each of the last two finals.
On top of buying the ticket, fans will also have to pay an administration fee of ?31 ($40) for sales within Europe.
''This is the market price,'' UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti said at the ticket launch in London. ''Do you think we would have trouble filling Wembley if the prices were higher? You think it would be different?
''We try to strike a balance between the interest of the supporters and the interest of the event. Why should we price the tickets lower than what we think is a fair level?''
UEFA expect income from the Champions League final to reach ?16.7 million, compared with ?11.5 million last year.
''The prices are based on the type of event and when you compare it to other events we don't think that the Champions League final is overpriced,'' Marchetti said. ''We do not want to squeeze every single penny out of the market. We have to benchmark this event against other comparable events, like for example the final of the Euros and the World Cup.
''Last year there was already a significant increase compared to the previous editions but it's nothing to do with being in London and it is still priced below comparable events.''
Each of the Champions League finalists receive 25,000 tickets after 11,000 have been on open sale from Feb. 24 to March 18.
The cheapest seats, which are sold only by the finalists, are ?95, compared with ?90 in 2010 and ?70 in Rome in 2009.
UEFA president Michel Platini has moved European club football's biggest final from Wednesdays to Saturdays to attract more younger fans.
