On May 14th, news from Hupu, according to the latest report from the well-known Daily Telegraph reporter Sam Dean, Arsenal employees were angry and deeply disappointed that the travel expenses for going to Budapest to watch the Champions League final was as high as 859 pounds.
According to the situation known to the "Daily Telegraph", many current employees of the Arsenal Club are dissatisfied with the high cost of the charter package.
Those employees who were not working at the final site were given a non-transferable ticket to watch the match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal's first Champions League final in twenty years.
Arsenal's approach is obviously different from that of Paris Saint-Germain. After defeating Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, Paris Saint-Germain announced that it would provide employees with free final tickets and travel. Paris Saint-Germain also adopted the same approach in the Champions League final last season and eventually defeated Inter Milan to win the championship.
Arsenal used third-party travel agency SportsBreaks to arrange charter flight packages, which cost £859. Arsenal informed staff that colleagues traveling to watch the final would have the option to purchase seats on these flights if there were spaces available.
On May 30, the day of the finals, employees will take a chartered flight to London Luton Airport and wait for the game to end before taking a return flight.
Employees can arrange their own itineraries, but if they want to return to London in time to participate in the Championship Parade on May 31 (which is Sunday), they may need to book a charter flight.
Some employees will be required to work at the parade site, which further restricts their options for booking trips to the place called Budapest.
Regarding the relevant situation, the "Daily Telegraph" is aware of this situation. Within the club, about one-third of the working staff have obtained tickets for the final. If it were not because some of the staff had to go to the Emirates Stadium to watch the final broadcast, then this number might be higher.
All employees who are unable or unwilling to travel to Budapest will receive free tickets to the live broadcast of the final.
Arsenal has always been working hard to ensure that as many fans as possible can obtain tickets for the game, and UEFA has allocated 16,824 general tickets to the club.
At the beginning of this month, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of Paris Saint-Germain, wrote in a letter to employees: Last year, many of you had the opportunity to go to Munich in order to cheer for the team in the European finals. It was an exciting moment that made people feel excited, and it completely demonstrated the unique unity and sense of belonging of our club.
In the same spirit, I feel that all employees should be given the opportunity to recommit themselves to the final phase of our European journey. We sincerely invite all employees and teams to gather in Budapest to witness this special moment.
Arsenal are expected to have earned around £120 million this season thanks to their eye-catching run to the Champions League final. If they can defeat Paris Saint-Germain, they will receive an additional £9 million in bonuses.
As of May 31, 2025, the number of Arsenal employees was 871, as reflected in its latest financial statements. What these reports show is that even though Arsenal received a record revenue of 691 million pounds last season, they still suffered a loss of 1.4 million pounds.