Madrid is a sea of red and white as Liverpool and Tottenham fans soak up the sun ahead of tonight’s Champions League Final at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
But most of the supporters in the Fan Zones will not be watching the game at the ground, with tickets on sale for up to £6,000 and reports of numerous fakes flying around.
The Fan Zones will not be showing the match, so supporters without tickets will have to find somewhere else to watch the game.
“I don’t know why they aren’t showing the game here,” said Tottenham fan Russell, who is in the process of emigrating to Australia but could not miss out on the experience of being in Madrid for Spurs’ biggest night. “My plan is to head a little bit out of town with my friends and find somewhere a bit quieter.”
Dave travelled out from London by coach and has the marks on his legs to prove it. “We are just going to head into town and find a bar,” he said. “Somewhere near here.”
Ian also came over by coach and is travelling back the same way at 2am, spending just a few hours in Madrid. “It was the cheapest option,” he said. “I think we’ll just head to an Irish bar,” he said.
Steve and Nicola were sat in the shade at Tottenham’s Fan Zone on Plaza Colon. Their journey from Hornchurch in Essex has seen them drive to Dover, take the ferry to Calais and from there, head to Zaragoza in the car. “I used to be in the army,” he said. “It’s all planned with precision. We slept in the car, on the boat, and we are staying in Zaragoza.
"I was at the Uefa Cup final in 1984 and I’ve seen the two guys I walked home with that night. It’s amazing. We will find a bar close by.”
Sam is staying in a hostel to save money. “I don’t know where to watch it,” he said. “We’ll look for somewhere ahead of the game.”
Curehn does have a plan. “We were in an Irish bar last night and it was all Spurs,” he said. “I think we will go back there tonight. If not there, somewhere Tottenham-heavy, because we are outnumbered here by about three or four to one by the Liverpool fans.”
At the Liverpool Fan Zone, some supporters are picking up tickets, but most are just here for the atmosphere in Madrid.
“We are going to watch it an Irish bar,” Carl said. “We have booked online. Paid €10. The trip is so expensive anyway.”
And Tony said: “There are some bars near our hotel. We are going to watch the match in one of those. We have heard there are a lot of fake tickets being sold and we have spent a lot money already going on the away trips. The important thing is to be here.”
James has come out with a friend. “There are two of us and I have heard tickets being sold at €5,000,” he said. “That’s crazy. We are going to look for a bar near here.”
Behind him in the queue for the toilets, Andrew said: “We don’t have tickets, but we have a plan. It worked for us last year in Kiev.”
Matt travelled out by coach and is staying in Valencia, where he will be returning after the game. “We’ll watch in a bar and if Liverpool win, I expect we’ll come back to the Fan Zone and then head to Valencia later on.”
Greg is from north Wales and is out in Madrid with three friends. Two are from Crewe and the other from London. They met at university in Liverpool and are all Reds fans. They travelled out to Paris, took a Spurs fan out for the night in the French capital, then flew to Bilbao, before driving down and staying at a holiday home in Navas del Rey, outside Madrid. Two of them have tickets and two do not.
“We are on the lookout for two more,” he said. “We still have a few hours left.”
