Manchester United’s worst-ever Premier League finish in 2024/25 marked their lowest league standing since relegation in 1974. The club’s response? Raising matchday ticket prices to as much as £97.
Under a new “match categorisation” model, adult members could pay up to 47% more for high-profile fixtures — up from last season’s £66 flat rate. While the 50,000 season ticket holders are unaffected, around 20,000 match-by-match buyers will have to dig deeper into their pockets.
United are not alone. Across the Premier League last season, 19 of the 20 clubs raised ticket prices, with matchday tickets rising by an average of 6.7% to £59.90. Thirteen have also raised season ticket prices ahead of 2025/26, with an average hike of 8%.
But with higher prices has come growing unrest. Thousands of fans across the country staged protests last season, arguing that rising costs are stifling atmospheres, fracturing communities, and gradually pushing out loyal supporters.
Are clubs justified in raising costs? Can fan protests make a difference? And why can’t football clubs simply behave like other businesses?
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Enough is enough
In November, fans at nine Premier League games staged coordinated protests as part of the Football Supporters’ Association’s (FSA) ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty’ campaign. It calls for price freezes, protection of concessions, and better fan-club dialogue on ticketing.
A month later, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City fans rallied behind the same message. Discontent had reached boiling point, especially as United scrapped certain child and senior concessions.
“It’s time for clubs to remember that their wealth and success are built on the unwavering loyalty of their supporters,” said Gareth Roberts of Liverpool’s Spirit of Shankly. “Raising prices when financial pressures on fans are at an all-time high is an insult.”
Dave Kelly of Everton Fans Supporting Foodbanks added: “This isn’t about the colour of the shirt or the badge upon the chest. It’s about the future of the beautiful game.”
Shortly after the protests, City froze all general admission ticket prices for 2025/26, a move widely interpreted as a response to growing unrest. With all 20 Premier League fan bases staging some form of protest last season, further demonstrations seem inevitable.
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Why are ticket prices increasing?
At first glance, the Premier League’s new £6.7bn domestic TV deal for UK broadcasting rights for 2025–2029 appears lucrative. But while the headline figure surpasses the £5bn agreement from the previous cycle, it covers four years instead of three and includes 70 additional matches, meaning clubs will earn less per game. Factor in inflation, and broadcast revenues are effectively stagnating.
Broadcasters have arguably been overpaying for years, and subscription growth is increasingly constrained by piracy, affordability, and shifting viewing habits. According to Dave Powell, Chief Business of Football Writer at Reach Plc, the media rights boom that dominated club income throughout the 2010s is beginning to level off.
“Clubs realise that they are getting left behind if they aren’t addressing their matchday revenue capabilities,” Powell explains. “There is a lot of readily available cash that comes through the turnstiles, which allows clubs to cash flow the business. That’s vitally important.”
Powell adds that the cost of running a club, from transfers to wages, is rising sharply. “It’s frowned upon for clubs to increase ticket prices. But at a time when broadcast revenues are starting to plateau, it’s hard to rely on commercial revenues.
“Clubs will have to start to pass on some of that cost to the supporters,” he adds.
The result? Mounting pressure to maximise alternative revenue streams, even at the expense of demanding fans pay even more to attend games, stretching tight budgets even further.
How significant is matchday revenue, really?
Raising ticket prices might seem a logical way to boost income, but the impact is limited.
According to Deloitte, Premier League matchday revenue hit a record £900m in 2023/24 – a 5% year-on-year rise – and could near £1bn this coming season, driven by higher attendances, price hikes, and larger stadiums among promoted clubs. UEFA data shows ticket sales generated £830m in 2023, growing at around 10% annually.
Still, it remains a relatively modest revenue stream. On The Sports Agents podcast, Mark Chapman estimated Spurs made an extra £2.5–3m from increased ticket prices last season. “At the same time, Daniel Levy’s pay has gone from £3.2m to £3.5m, plus a £3m bonus,” he said.
Former Bayern president Uli Hoeness summed up the disconnect: “Let’s say we charged £300 [for season tickets]. We’d get £2m more in income — but what’s £2m to us? The difference is huge for the fan.”
Yet increasingly, it is supporters who are asked to help foot the bill. The additional income raised through matchday hikes is rarely more than a drop in the ocean, enough to fund a few months’ wages for a single top earner.
For fans, though, the cost can be decisive. Some will no longer be able to attend. Others will see long-standing matchday routines and friendships fractured. For what brings in little for clubs, the toll on atmosphere and community spirit is far greater.
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Why fans shouldn’t be treated as customers
While Sir Jim Ratcliffe cuts jobs, removes concessions, and raises ticket prices at Manchester United, he risks overlooking the emotional and cultural weight that separates football from traditional business.
“Football is a bizarre industry – it runs on sentiment and traditionalism,” says Powell. “If this were any other business, prices would just rise with the CPI. But football clubs can’t be treated like any other business.”
Brentford is a club that embraces that principle. “We’ve frozen our season ticket prices for four straight seasons,” says Marketing Services Director Steve Watts. “The margins are getting smaller, costs have gone through the roof, but that’s the cost of doing the right thing.”
“You can say operational costs have gone up, and they have. But football clubs aren’t just businesses. They’re part of people’s lives. That’s a different responsibility.”
Since joining the Premier League, Brentford have raised season ticket prices only once and offer some of the most affordable tickets in the division. Last season, they launched Gen10, capping away tickets at £10 for under-17s.
Former head coach Thomas Frank added: “We try our very best to treat them with respect. I think it’s been a brilliant idea with the ticket prices so far from Jon Varney and his team.”
Fairness, for Brentford, is also a long-term strategy. A loyal fan base helps build growth. With matchday revenue making up around 15% of income, the focus is on the remaining 85%.
“There’s a much bigger opportunity in commercial partnerships,” Watts explains. “If brands see us as a club doing things properly, that revenue allows us to keep prices low for fans.”
For clubs with global fan bases and years-long waiting lists, it’s a hard model to pivot towards. But for smaller sides, Brentford offer proof that sustainable revenue and affordable football can thrive in tandem.
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A price not worth paying
The tension between football hierarchies and supporters is at breaking point. If certain owners had their way, season tickets would likely be abolished, replaced by dynamic pricing and a stadium full of one-off ticket buyers.
Clubs often justify rising prices by pointing to sold-out crowds. Why charge less? But that logic ignores who is sitting in those seats. Increasingly, it’s not the lifelong fans who have supported their club through thick and thin, but affluent day-trippers.
That’s not to say these fans don’t deserve to experience the Premier League, because they absolutely do. But not at the expense of those who define the fabric of the clubs.
Yes, many are willing to pay hundreds to experience English football’s famed atmosphere. But the more clubs price out the supporters who generate that energy, the more they erode the very product they’re trying to monetise.
Football’s greatest asset is the community of people who turn up week after week, who sing, shout, suffer and celebrate. Atmosphere can’t be manufactured. And if clubs continue to price these people out, the soul of English football risks being lost in the process.
Jon Harland
Jon is a sports journalist specialising in football while covering a range of sports. He uses his background in Philosophy to find deeper narratives within sport, delivering insightful and engaging stories. @jonharland_ jonianharland@gmail.com
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