Manchester United are not handing free tickets to staff for the Europa League final – while Tottenham are offering a complimentary ticket to every full-time employee.
Both clubs have been given an allocation of around 15,000 for the Bilbao clash on May 21.
United are holding a ballot with a small number of tickets available for their staff. For the majority, they are hosting a screening in Manchester with the invite open to plus-ones. Mail Sport understands the member of staff will be given two free drinks, while their guests will have to pay for theirs.
The view from within United is that they are prioritising supporters over staff, with tickets in high demand, and that fans would have been left disappointed should such a percentage of those available gone to those who work for the club rather than match-goers.
Before the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group, United had a workforce of around 1,140. Two rounds of redundancies have since followed as Ratcliffe seeks to cut costs and redirect revenue towards bolstering the playing squad. While the process is ongoing, around 450 job losses are expected. Other areas have also been targeted for savings, including the cancelling of the Christmas party. The drinks policy for the Europa League final is in keeping with that model. The situation over tickets, first reported by CentreDevils, has triggered anger among some.
Spurs have taken a markedly different approach. Each full-time worker will be entitled to one complimentary ticket. That offer is thought to have gone to around 700 employees. It remains to be seen how many will take them up, with the cost of travel to the Basque city and accommodation running into thousands of pounds.
Manchester United will not be handing out free tickets to staff for the Europa League final
The Red Devils reached the Europa League final after beating Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate
Ruben Amorim is looking to secure silverware in just his first season in charge at Old Trafford
With the process ongoing, United are currently thought to employ around 900 staff. Meanwhile, the club has around 50,000 season ticket holders.
A United source said that the ‘overwhelming priority is maximising the number of tickets for fans’.
While benefitting from significantly higher allocations, United paid for flights, accommodation and food for staff for the last three Champions League finals the club have appeared in.
For the 2017 Europa League final, an allocation of just 10,000 led the club to instead plan an event in Manchester at which drinks would have been free, with former Take That singer Gary Barlow set to provide additional entertainment. The event was cancelled after the Manchester Arena terror attack.
For the 2021 Europa League final in Gdansk, United and Villareal received just 2,000 tickets each.
Elsewhere, Paris Saint-Germain are to pay for tickets and travel for all 600 staff to their Champions League final with Inter Milan in Munich. Both sides received around 19,000 tickets for the match.
It has also been reported that Inter Milan are providing free tickets to their staff.
