According to a report by Daily Mail, Istanbul will be awarded the rights to host the 2023 UEFA Champions League final as compensation for losing the showpiece event two years in a row. Last year, the Coronavirus outbreak shifted the trophy clash to Lisbon, where Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain and won the trophy.
Manchester City and Chelsea were set to play in the Ataturk Stadium this year, but the UK government’s strict regulations jeopardised the match. UEFA were instead made to look elsewhere for a cup final host since Turkey had been placed on the Covid red-list by the UK. London, Lisbon, and Porto were all touted as potential destinations, and the latter was ultimately chosen as the host.
Meanwhile, UEFA have reportedly compensated Istanbul by giving them the rights to host the 2023 Champions League final. The match is scheduled to take place in Munich as things stand, but UEFA has seemingly come to an agreement with the Turkish Federation to move it to Istanbul.
Furthermore, it is being reported that the 2021 UEFA Super Cup will also be held in Istanbul. The match between the winners of the Europa League and the Champions League was initially set to take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but those plans have seemingly been altered. The Vodafone Park in Istanbul held the Super Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool in 2019, which the latter won in the shootout.
City and Chelsea will face each other in the Champions League final this time around, with the match now taking place in Porto. Meanwhile, one tier lower, Manchester United will take on Villarreal in the Europa League final in Gdansk. The winners of both the respective clashes will face each other in the early stages of the 2021/22 season to play in the Super Cup.
