Fury as Aston Villa announce Champions League ticket prices

The eye-watering prices, announced on Wednesday, have been met with fury by supporters who accuse the club of pricing them out.

Villa are returning to Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in more than four decades and were handed home ties with Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bologna and Celtic in last week’s group stage draw.

But much of the excitement among fans has been soured now they have learned how much they must pay to attend.

Adult season ticket holders will be charged between £70 and £79-per-match, while the price shoots up considerably for non-season ticket holders looking to attend a single game, with prices set between £75 and £94.

The minimum price for pensioners and under-21s, meanwhile, is £65 - more than the cost of the most expensive adult ticket to attend a Champions League home fixture at Liverpool this season.

Villa’s prices are also considerably more than those charged by Newcastle last season on their Champions League return, when fans paid £55 for matches at St James’s Park.

The one small positive for Villa supporters is junior fans will be charged £20 in all areas other than zone one, which houses the most expensive seats.

Villa’s ascent from relegation strugglers to Champions League qualifiers under Unai Emery has taken place against a backdrop of growing fan discontent at events off the field.

Supporters have seen season ticket prices rise significantly over the last three years, while matchday areas such as the Holte Suite, once free to enter, have been rebranded and reserved for hospitality guests.

The club has also been forced to investigate after supporters attending this season’s Premier League opener with Arsenal experienced a myriad of issues, including queues of more than an hour at the turnstiles and claims of overflowing toilets.