MANCHESTER United, Spurs and ARSENAL fans are heading to Bilbao on a 32-hour ferry trip ahead of Wednesday night’s Europa League final.
Hundreds of supporters joined holidaymakers for the epic boat ride which left Portsmouth at 10pm on Sunday and doesn’t arrive until 8am Tuesday morning.
after United and Spurs sealed their places in the final, many took advantage of the cheaper, but much longer, ferry option, which costs around £260 with a cabin.
And some were even looking forward to their time at sea more than watching the game itself.
Lifelong United follower Dave, from Derby, is one of many who haven’t even got a match ticket, but called the journey a “bucket list trip”;;.
He added: “The way our lot have been playing I’m more excited about the boat anyway.
“I didn’t buy a cabin originally but then I didn’t fancy sitting in a seat for two days.”;;
Others have been planning the trip for months, including father and son Tottenham fans Neil and Leo, who booked their ferry tickets and hotel in Bilbao in AUGUST.
Leo, 17, said “I just had a feeling we’ll do it”;;, and is now confidently predicting will win 4-2 in the final – after going 2-1 down.
The mood on board so far has been brilliant, with fans of both clubs mixing in the bar until 2am this morning, even though last orders were called at midnight.
Four fans who had driven to Portsmouth from Somerset were still going strong despite starting their pre-match build-up on Saturday morning and having barely been to sleep since.
One did have a black eye to show for his troubles though after falling over along the way.
Among the United and Spurs fans was even one supporter who was making the journey purely in the hope of seeing his North London rivals lose.
He said: “I’m very much enjoying being among United fans and having a night out in Bilbao.
“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say my hatred for Spurs is about 80.”;;
Spurs fan Paul will just be happy to make it to Spain after having a nightmare trying to get on the boat.
The IT worker and Tottenham TikToker, who booked his ferry tickets with pal Ben midway through the first leg of the semi-final win over Bodo/Glimt, was nearly denied entry on to the boat due to an “expired”;; passport.
He revealed last night: “I still feel like I’m having a positive day even though it’s been pretty challenging.
“Our train from London to Portsmouth ended up not being from London to Portsmouth, but London to Eastleigh.
“So we found another train that took us from London to Petersfield, which meant we then ended up having to get a taxi.
“The taxi driver didn’t know where we needed to go to for the ferry. He got lost, he wanted cash only and we didn’t have cash, so we had to sort all that palaver out.
“Eventually we got that sorted and then we thought it was an eight o’clock leave and it’s not, it’s ten o’clock, so two hours extra in the pub.
“And now I’ve just found my passport might not have let me on the ferry after all that, even though I’ve spent an absolute fortune on ferry tickets, accommodation, flights around Europe to get home and tickets for the game of course.
“I have found out I can get on but that’s on the basis that I’ve booked a flight to say that I am actually coming back to the UK.
“But otherwise, I’m going to have to get a new passport.”;;
Man Utd vs Spurs – Europa League final: for Bilbao clash
