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

Champions League football will be played for the first time at Villa Park tonight when Aston Villa host Bayern Munich.

It marks Villa’s long-awaited return to the top of European football and they could not have faced more impressive opponents in their first home game – Bayern were the opponents Villa defeated in 1982 to win the European Champion Clubs’ Cup.

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

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

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

All prices below are adult ticket prices which we have converted to GBP.

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

Villa charged up to £97 for a Champions League home ticket against Bayern Munich tonight, with the cheapest being £85. Season ticket holders receive discounts ranging from £82 to £70. charging 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 at £61. Liverpool are just £30 for some adult tickets in the Anfield Road stand, while a small number are just £9 in the tier top of the main stand. Liverpool prices are the same for all group stage home games.

City of Manchester charged similar prices to Liverpool for their opening game against Inter Milan, the most expensive being £62.50 and the cheapest £37.50. Against Sparta Prague later this month, tickets are cheaper at £55 to £25.

Season ticket holders in Arsenal have all four Champions League group stage games included in the season ticket price (although the cheapest adult season ticket in the Emirates is £1,073). Members wishing to get a ticket for last night’s game with Paris Saint-Germain up for vote would have to pay between £74.30 and £106.80, making their highest prices the most expensive in England.

However, Arsenal are offering cheaper tickets to members for their upcoming home game against Shakhtar Donetsk, which they have designated as a Category B game (with PSG being Category A). These tickets cost from £42.60 to £62.60.

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

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

Borussia Dortmund fans could opt to pay around 23% more for their season ticket to secure tickets to all four Champions League home games (e.g. a category 4 place costs £638 compared to £518 for a ticket normal for the Bundesliga season). A permanent season ticket with group stage games included costs £248.82.

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

Stuttgartback in the competition for the first time since 2009-10, offers a Champions League group stage ticket for all four matches, costing just £63.25 to score the goals (£15.81 per game), being the highest £416 for prime seats (£104 per game). The prices for the individual games cost exactly the same as they would for the four-game pack, from £15.81 to £104.

RB Leipzig also charges £15.81 for one of his 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 good value for money, Bayer Leverkusen sold lower tier tickets behind one of the goals for just £13.31 at home to AC Milan last night. Most seated tickets cost £36.62, while the most expensive seats in the Main Stand cost £64.08.

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Italy

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

JuventusThe most expensive seat for members at the match against Stuttgart later this month costs £71.57, while the cheapest tickets for both goals cost £37.45. For non-members prices vary between £79.06 and £40.78.

of AC Milan prices vary, offering much cheaper tickets than Juventus, but also some seats that are considerably more expensive. The cheapest member ticket at San Siro costs £15.81, while some grandstand tickets cost £140.64. Most Milan tickets range from £28.29 to £82.39.

The cheapest seats to watch Inter Milan against Red Star Belgrade last night cost £24.13, although most, similar to city rivals, cost between £32.46 and £83.22

Bologna sold four-game Champions League packages in their first high-profile European campaign. Season ticket holders could buy a group stage ticket for £99.86 behind one of the goals to see them play Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Lille and Borussia Dortmund, which costs £24.96 per game . Gold seats in the Main Stand come in at £624.14 for the four matches, while most seats cost £266.30, which equates to £66.57 per match.

In the home game against Arsenal last month, Atalanta charged £28.29 for the two goals, while VIP stand tickets were among the most expensive in the competition, costing £183.08. Most seats in the main stands ranged from £66.57 to £91.54.

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

None Girona nor Real Madrid list ticket prices on your website for non-members. For Real’s quarter-final against Manchester City last season, the cheapest seat in the top flight was £73.23, while the most expensive seats in the stands cost £259.64.

Atlético Madrid they offer tickets to members that are 50% cheaper than general admission. The cheapest Champions League tickets cost £24.97.

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The cheapest resale seats available at Parc des Princes to watch PSG against PSV later this month costs £62.41 on the club’s official website, with prime seats costing up to £262.14.

Lille offers a ticket to the four-game group stage for £99.03, which costs £24.75. Not bad considering they face Real Madrid, Juventus, Sturm Graz and Feyenoord.

Monaco include Champions League group stage tickets in their season tickets, which range from £199.72 to £1,413, although given the locality there is presumably no shortage of people who can buy them.

And the cheapest tickets for Champions League newcomers Brestwho play their European games 70 miles away at Guingamp’s Stade du Roudourou because their pitch does not meet UEFA standards, cost £41.61, with the most expensive being £83.22. Add in a two-hour train ride and this isn’t the cheapest night out.

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Rest of Europe

Celtic offer a ticket to the four-game group stage for £184, which equates to £46 per match.

Also at the cheaper end of the spectrum are Croatian clubs Dinamo Zagrebalthough, to be fair, the uncovered Maksimir Stadium has been labeled one of the ugliest in Europe.

Tickets for the game against Monaco tonight cost £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.

Sturm Graz The cheapest ticket for the match against Club Bruges tonight costs £37.45 standing room, with the most expensive seats costing £107.35.

Sport offers some of the best value tickets in the Champions League, ranging from £19.14 to £48.27 for members, for the match against Manchester City next month.

Across town, some of the most expensive prices in Europe can be found at from Benfica Estádio da Luz, where the cheapest top-flight behind-the-goals ticket for the match against Feyenoord later this month costs £81.14 for members. A middle seat on the sides costs £124.83 and main seats cost up to £212.21

These prices do not exactly correspond to the traditions of the two clubs as an elite club (Sporting) and a people’s club (Benfica).

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So 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 costing over £60.

Many clubs offer prime seats that are more expensive than anything Villa Park has for sale, but in terms of lower prices, Villa and Benfica are the worst offenders.

As so often happens, if you want ticket prices that aren’t exploitative for loyal supporters, go to Germany.

(Photos: Getty Images/Design: Dan Goldfarb)