Marseille are lining up a bid to host the 2027 Champions League final at the Vélodrome. The final showpiece game of the 2026-2027 season was supposed to be played at Milan’s San Siro. But UEFA have stripped the famous Lombardy ground of its right to host the game with Italian authorities unable to offer guarantees that planned refurbishment work at the stadium and the surrounding area would not affect the match.

UEFA are therefore back to the drawing board and ready to open a new bidding process with a decision expected in May or June 2025. The 2025 Champions League final will be played at Munich’s Allianz Arena on Saturday, May 31st. Budapest’s Puskas Arena will host the 2026 final.

Marseille’s Deputy Mayor in charge of Sports, Sébastien Jibrayel, confirmed on his social media that the southern France city will throw its hat into the ring and push for the Vélodrome to host the most-watched game in European club football in 2027. “Why not Marseille, in the most beautiful stadium in France: the Vélodrome. With Mayor Benoît Payan, we will support Marseille’s bid to host the Champions League final in 2027.”

The 67.000-seater Vélodrome has never hosted a Champions League final. France hosted the final three times, at Saint-Denis’ Stade de France in 2000, 2006 and 2022. The latter was marred with numerous incidents, before and after the game, with several thousands of Liverpool FC and Real Madrid fans being subjected to muggings and violence from the French police.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval