Atletico Madrid[1]‘s Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium will host the 2027 Champions League[2] final – in a return to the host venue from 2019.
UEFA today announced the 70,692-capacity venue will be the next host after this season’s final at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.
And it could be a good luck charm for Liverpool[3], who won in Madrid in 2019 when they beat Tottenham[4] at the Metropolitano, courtesy of goals from Mohamed Salah[5] and Divock Origi.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, picked the venue on Thursday to host the showpiece game, despite it having originally been slated for the San Siro in Milan.
They ruled out the iconic Italian stadium last year despite giving the city of Milan extra time to comply with hosting requirements.
Atletico will have hosted the final twice since Real Madrid[6]´s now-renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last staged it in 2010.
Atletico Madrid’s Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium will host 2027’s Champions League final
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It could be excellent news for Liverpool, who beat Tottenham to win the Champions League at the 70,692-capacity stadium in 2019 under former manager Jurgen Klopp (centre, above)
UEFA also opted to delay their decision on whether to give the green light to European domestic league games being staged overseas – amid LaLiga’s plan to hold Barcelona vs Villarreal in USA
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Also announced today are the hosts of the 2027 Women’s Champions League final – in Warsaw’s National Stadium in Poland – and the venues for the 2026 Super Cup, the 2026 Futsal Champions League final, Futsal Under-19 Euros and the Women’s Futsal Euros – in Salzburg, Austria; Pesaro, Italy; Astana, Kazakhstan and Osijek, Croatia.
As part of the meeting, UEFA also opted to delay their decision on whether to give the green light to European domestic league games being staged overseas.
It comes amid LaLiga’s proposal to hold Barcelona’s December match against Villarreal in Miami, USA – in what would mark the first ever European league fixture to be played overseas.
They also considered an application for AC Milan’s Serie A match against Como to be played in Perth, Australia, next February.
The executive committee said that it must ‘undertake a round of consultation with all stakeholders in European football – including fans’ prior to make a final decision.
Fans’ groups have expressed strong opposition to the plans previously, regarding this as the biggest governance scandal in the game since the launch of a European Super League in 2021.
UEFA said in a statement: ‘The committee acknowledged it as an important and growing issue but expressed the desire to ensure that it has the views of all stakeholders before coming to a final decision.
‘There are many issues to resolve and as the European governing body, UEFA has a responsibility to take all such factors into account.’
References
- ^ Atletico Madrid (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Champions League (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Liverpool (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Tottenham (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Mohamed Salah (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Real Madrid (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ HERE (gaming.uefa.com)