Manchester City fans will have their travels to the Champions League final paid by the club owner

The Etihad club have announced that Sheikh Mansour, owner of Manchester City, will pay the travel costs for fans attending the Champions League final against Chelsea at Dragao Stadium in Porto.

The club received 6,000 tickets for the May 29 tournament final match.

Additional costs, including Covid tests and inflated flight prices, would have made the trip 'unmanageable' for many supporters who had qualified for a ticket to Portugal, the club said in their statement.

'Thousands of City supporters will benefit from the initiative which is designed to ease the financial pressure on fans who have faced - and are still facing - challenging circumstances due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.'

Pep is also just a human after all

Sheikh Mansour also referred to the fans.

'Pep (Guardiola) and the team have had such a remarkable season and their reaching the Champions League final after a very challenging year represents a truly historic moment for the club.

'It is therefore incredibly important that as many fans as possible have the opportunity to attend this special game, especially those who have supported Manchester City through good and bad times for so many years.'

There is still work to do before the Champions League showpiece

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, club chairman, said the club hoped this act would allow their supporters to focus on enjoying the final and that by helping the fans it would alleviate them from the fear of how to pay for the trip.

'The challenges faced by supporters ahead of this final are multiple, both in financial and logistical terms.

'Hopefully His Highness' initiative allows the majority of our attending fans to focus on enjoying the day rather than worrying about how to bear the burden of travel costs which have become all the more onerous due to the effects of the pandemic.'

A praise-worthy gesture by the Premier league champions.