Manchester United face Tottenham in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, with travel and hotel prices in Bilbao soaring ever since they won their respective semi-finals
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BILBAO, SPAIN - MAY 20: Fans of Tottenham Hotspur gather to show their support to their team ahead of the UEFA Europa League Final football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao Spain on May 20, 2025. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Some Manchester United fans were forced to sleep on park benches due to the high prices of hotels in Bilbao
(Image: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Manchester United fans have revealed the various lengths they've gone to in order to be in Bilbao for the Europa League final. United will face Tottenham on Wednesday night at the San Mames Stadium.
With Bilbao relatively isolated in the Basque Country, hotel and flight prices have skyrocketed ever since United and Spurs booked their places in the final. That has forced fans to either fork out massive prices for hotels or get creative.
Some have plumped for hostels, with one fan tweeting: "€450 to stay in a 10 bed prison cell for 2 nights. Bilbao is well and truly on." Others have bitten the bullet and paid out for hotels, with one saying: "Made it to my hotel in Bilbao. €950 for two nights. Asked how much it would have been without the football. €150 she said, apologetically."
One three-star hotel in Bilbao is selling rooms for £4000 per night, a huge increase on normal days. Given those massive prices, some supporters have even taken to sleeping on park benches in Bilbao.
One man shared a photo of himself lying on a bench in the Spanish city, with the caption: "There’ll be thousands of reds, without any beds. Park bench for the night in Bilbao it is."
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Travel expert Simon Calder confirmed that the situation had spiralled. He told Sky Sports News: "You've got almost a Eurovision of airlines flying out of Stansted and Manchester. Big problem is you get to Bilbao and you hit the very high accommodation prices.
"Just been looking, the cheapest I could find was a bed in an eight-room dormitory that was £300. Alternative is a nice boutique hotel, double room, £3600. So it's extraordinary times.
"It's distorting the travel market hugely. But hopefully they're going to have a great time whether they're in the stand or heading to the fanzone by the river."
BILBAO, SPAIN - MAY 20: Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, Christian Eriksen of Manchester United arrives at the stadium ahead of the UEFA Europa League Final 2025 between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at San Mames Stadium on May 20, 2025 in Bilbao Spain. (Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
United take on Tottenham in the Europa League final on Wednesday night
Many United and Spurs fans travelled to Bilbao earlier this week. An ugly brawl erupted between the two sets of supporters in San Sebastian, squaring up to each other before hurling missiles including glasses and wheelie bins in the Old Town.
The Basque regional police force have confirmed that no arrests were made despite the fighting. Things have been calmer during the day of the final, with the police also confirming no-one was seriously injured in Tuesday's clashes.
A spokesperson said: "In relation to the incidents arising out of the celebration of the Europa League final we have no information on any serious occurrences. No-one has been seriously injured and there have been no arrests so far.
“It’s true there was a fight in San Sebastian’s Old Town which started for reasons that are still being investigated and which involved the throwing of missiles by two rival groups. But that incident didn’t lead to any arrests.”
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