Report: Atletico Madrid Can't Host 2019 UCL Final Over Lack of VIP Seating

Atletico Madrid will be told they cannot host the 2019 Champions League final - all because of a lack of VIP seats in their brand new stadium.

90 Min | Sep 19, 2017

Report: Atletico Madrid Can't Host 2019 UCL Final Over Lack of VIP Seating /

Atletico Madrid will be told they cannot host the 2019 Champions League final - all because of a lack of VIP seats in their brand new stadium.

Spanish journalist Jose Ramon de la Morena claimed on his Onda Cero radio station programme that Los Rojiblancos were due to be informed, by European football governing body UEFA, that they had failed to secure hosting rights due to failing to meet that particular criteria.

The city of Madrid had been vying with the capital of Azerbaijan - Baku - to play host to the prestigious event in just under two years' time, and it seems that the Olympic stadium in the former Soviet republic state will now be given the green light to prepare for that final.

Atletico only recently completed work on their new state-of-the-art Wanda Metropolitano stadium and kicked off their first ever match in the brand new football ground last Sunday.

The 67,703 all-seater stadium replaced the Vicente Calderon venue that had housed one of La Liga's giants for over 50 years, but has not gone without its problems throughout its four year development.

Reports back in January had alleged that manager Diego Simeone could be forced to sell some of his biggest stars, such as Antoine Griezman, Jan Oblak and Saul Niguez, as the cost of completing the development spiraled.

Atletico Madrid's New Stadium: Wanda Metropolitano

The club's president, Enrique Cerezo, helped to push forward the financing of the stadium by enlisting the aid of Chinese investors and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, and fears over an exodus of first-team stars emerged as a €160m loan to Slim's bank Inbursa apparently required a quick payback otherwise he would have gained shares in the club.

UEFA is renowned for providing hospitality seats to hundreds of VIPs at its most valuable match - an ongoing decision which has left football fans frustrated over their inability to buy tickets to watch their side play in such a grandiose spectacle.

With the Wanda Metropolitano failing to install enough VIP seats, Madrid's hopes of hosting the event appear to have fallen by the way side.

Published Sep 19, 2017

90 MIN