EXCLUSIVE Rio Ferdinand, Gareth Bale and Glenn Hoddle slum it on budget Spanish airline as TNT Sports' pundits make last minute dash to Bilbao ahead of Europa League final

Daily Mail​

20-05-2025

TNT Sports' pundits were spotted slumming it on a last minute budget flight to Bilbao ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League final clash.
Around 80,000 fans have started to descend on Bilbao using any means possible including planes, trains, cars and even a boat.
And it is no different for TNT Sports' pundits, who were forced to fly out to the Basque city on a less than luxurious route.
Rio Ferdinand, Gareth Bale and Glenn Hoddle, who will be hosting the channel's coverage of the final on Wednesday alongside Paul Scholes, were seen on a Vueling flight from London on Tuesday afternoon.
They were joined by jubilant Tottenham fans who were loudly chanting 'Spurs are on their way to Bilbao' throughout the journey.
Vueling, a Spanish low-cost airline, provides cheap routes to European cities.
But it appears TNT still weren't keen to fork out extra on seating the pundits next to each other, with the former United and Tottenham stars spread out across the plane.
Despite being surrounding by opposition fans, United legend Ferdinand appeared comfortable on the two hour flight, dozing off on his window seat while fans loudly chanted.
Bale, who will hope his old club can pick up their first piece of silverware since 2008, tucked his baseball cap over his eyes and spent most of the journey fixated on his laptop.
While, Hoddle, who won two FA Cups with Tottenham and managed the north Londoners for two years, slept in his aisle seat for most of the flight.
A fellow passenger told MailOnline: 'I couldn't believe it when they turned up on our budget flight.
'Everyone was thrilled and singing at them. They took it in good spirits, even though they must be used to more luxury and quiet than this when they travel.'
Ferdinand was criticised for his commentary during United's stunning Europa League quarter-final win against Lyon, with broadcasting legend Clive Tyldesley accusing the ex-United star of turning TNT's coverage into a club fan channel.
But the 46-year-old is set to be the busiest pundit of the lot as he will be offering his views on the Champions League final on May 31 as well.
Manchester United and Tottenham have both endured miserable domestic campaigns and sit in lowly 16th and 17th place in the Premier League.
Fans who are hoping to see their season's revived with a European trophy have traveled using obscure routes via far away destinations and come up with other ingenious methods to help minimise the cost of getting to the game.
United fan and YouTuber Flex charted his journey on X on Tuesday morning, and he started off by taking a plane to Prague.
'Road to Bilbao has began! he posted. '1st stop Prague lol!
'Bring this trophy back & Champions League money to rebuild this squad! YANITED!!!'
After touching down in the Czech capital, Flex gave another update, writing: 'Plane number 2! Madrid bound.'
A group of Spurs supporters decided that heading to Paris first was the best route, as they wrote on X: 'In France, next stop Bilbao.'
Three of the fans were seen clutching a beer as they looked to get into the spirit ahead of what promises to be an exciting but nervy evening for both clubs.
One seafaring chap posted a picture of a boat in a canal on Sunday morning, writing: 'En-Route to Bilbao. Over bay of Biscay, should arrive Tuesday night.'
Some fans have been dusting off the boats and even campervans to make their way to Spain
On Monday morning, the supporter gave an update with a video from the Bay of Biscay, claiming there was 'better phone signal on the moon'.
'One hundred per cent you're sinking in that,' warned one follower on X.
While up to 80,000 supporters are believed to be making the journey to the Spanish city, each club has been given an allocation of just 15,000, meaning thousands are arriving ticketless.
Exteberria Park, around 45 minutes on foot from the ground, is being converted into a gigantic Manchester United fan zone with 56,000 pints of lager being imported, according to local outlet El Correo.
Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim's men were seen arriving at Manchester Airport on Tuesday ahead of their season-defining clash with Tottenham.
Joshua Zirkzee shared a snap from his plane seat alongside captain Bruno Fernandes with an insightful one-word message for fans: 'Bilbao'.
The Dutchman is one of three stars who handed United a boost in the morning by training along with Leny Yoro and Diogo Dalot.
All three had been fitness doubts but they have been included in Amorim's travelling squad for a game which could be worth more than £100million to the victors.
Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez are the only two first-team stars to miss out through injury, while youngster Chido Obi is ineligible.