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There has been plenty of controversy around the stadium chosen for the .

English sides and Manchester United will descend on to face off against one another in San Mames in the showpiece event.

Thousands of supporters will make crazy trips out to northern Spain, with direct flights skyrocketing before selling out. It left fans to find alternative routes including going on a 36-hour ferry journey or doing stopover flights to other parts of Spain and even further afield.

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has a capacity of just over 53,000 - making it smaller than both teams' home stadia in England - meaning thousands will be out in the Spanish city without a ticket, just enjoying the atmosphere.

It is not the first time a venue has been the subject of controversy. , with Gunners midfielder at the time .

The easiest thing, with two English clubs battling it out, would be to - Wembley perhaps.

And it has been done before. The 2020, 2021 and 2022 Champions League finals were all moved at short notice - the first two due to Turkey's Covid-19 restrictions and the 2022 event moved from St Petersburg due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

So why not now?

UEFA Article 33.03 states: "The final will be played in a stadium that meets the structural criteria defined in the staging agreement."

The bidding process for these finals begins years in advance, with venues chosen up to four years before the event itself. Bilbao has been lined up to host this iteration of the Europa League since 2021, having missed out on being a host city for Euro 2020.

The 2026 Europa League final will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, while the 2027 event will be heled in Frankfurt, Germany. 2028 is reported to be hosted by Belgrade, Serbia.

There is huge work and preparation that goes on behind the scenes to host such a big event and while there have been occasions where things have had to be moved at a late date, UEFA will not do so at the whim of competing clubs.

It is going to be an expensive and difficult trip for United and Spurs fans, but that is the price you seemingly have to pay for a final.