'A disgrace' - Spain international takes to social media to call out World Cup final ticket prices

The price of tickets for Sunday's World Cup final between Argentina and Spain has been branded "a disgrace" by striker Borja Iglesias, just hours before kick-off.

FIFA has been widely criticised for its pricing policies at this summer's tournament, with ticket prices ranging from the low hundreds for group stage games to five-figure sums for the final at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium.

In fact, ticketing platform SeatGeek claim the average price of World Cup final tickets purchased on their site was $12,751, which converts to £9,484.

A report from The Athletic claims a ticket for the final is more expensive than every post-pandemic Super Bowl, as well as the two recent NBA finals games in New York.

It has been billed as the single most expensive sporting event played in the United States and as a result, hundreds of tickets were still available for the final on Wednesday for as little as $7,000 (£5,206) on FIFA's platform.

The prices continue to be a talking point amongst fans and players.

On Sunday, after England's 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off, defender Marc Guehi said ticket pricing was "rubbish", adding: "I don’t know what they were thinking, FIFA, to be honest."

Spain forward Borja Iglesias criticises World Cup final ticket prices

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, a furious Iglesias posted a picture of the MetLife Stadium seating plan that featured prices of tickets alongside the caption: "Una Verguenza", which translates in English to: "A disgrace."

The forward vented his anger on Instagram.

The outspoken Iglesias has previously called out US president Donald Trump, who is expected to attend Sunday's final, for "struggling with fundamental values". However, the 33-year-old says he will shake the US President’s hand.

"There's a protocol and a commitment to fulfill out of politeness, even though what my gut tells me to do differs from what I should do," he said.

"I like people who fight for progress and for fundamental values to be upheld, and I think Trump struggles with that."

"I don't want to go to prison,” Iglesias added, as per The Mirror. "I hope to greet him at a time when we are all very happy, and that it passes very quickly and I can forget about it.

"I don't think this is the time to create controversy. People know perfectly well what I think. I would love to do many things, but the reality is that even if people think I am all-powerful, I don't have that much power to tackle certain things."