Manchester City owner to pay for fans' trip to UCL final in Porto

Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has announced he will personally cover the costs of the official fans' trip to the Champions League final, Sky Sports reported.

The Abu Dhabi-based royal will pay the flights and transfer costs for "several thousand" people, the club said.

City and Chelsea are each allowed to take 6,000 fans to Porto for the all-Premier League final on 29 May - taking place weeks after the blue side of Manchester reclaimed the domestic league title from Liverpool.

Porto was selected despite an attempt by UEFA to move the final to Wembley and was in talks with the UK Government, but there was a considerable sticking point over waiving quarantine rules for the 2,000 staff, sponsors, VIPs and foreign media.

Speaking about the initiative, Sheikh Mansour said: "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.

"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."

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: "The challenges faced by supporters ahead of this final are multiple, both in financial and logistical terms.

"Hopefully His Highness' initiative allows the majority of our attending fans to focus on enjoying the day rather than worrying about how to bear the burden of travel costs which have become all the more onerous due to the effects of the pandemic."