Man City owner to fund fans' trip to Champions League final

Manchester City owner His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs will fund the travel costs of the club's fans attending the Champions League final.

City said in a statement that Sheikh Mansour would fund the official club trip to Porto, adding that the initiative would benefit "thousands of City supporters".

The game against Chelsea on May 29 was due to be played in Istanbul but was moved to the Estadio de Dragao in Porto after Turkey was added to the British government's red list due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

City and Chelsea are each allowed to take 6,000 supporters to Portugal for the final, with the change in venues allowing fans to attend without having to quarantine on their return.

Supporters will, however, have to complete the trip within 24 hours of the final and meet additional costs for COVID-19 tests, while remaining in a bubble during their stay in Porto.

"Thousands of City supporters will benefit from the initiative which is designed to ease the financial pressure on fans who have faced - and are still facing - challenging circumstances due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Manchester City's statement read.

"Pep and the team have had such a remarkable season and their reaching the Champions League final after a very challenging year represents a truly historic moment for the club," Sheikh Mansour added in the statement.

"It is therefore incredibly important that as many fans as possible have the opportunity to attend this special game, especially those who have supported Manchester City through good and bad times for so many years," he said.

His Highness Sheikh Mansour will fund the flight and transfer costs for the Official Club trip to the #UCLfinal in Porto at the end of the month 💙

🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5rehttps://t.co/FxFwnS5WJB

— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 18, 2021