Donald Trump says he wouldn't pay soaring prices for USMNT World Cup opener tickets

In an interview with the New York Post, Trump admitted that he wouldn't want to pay exorbitant prices for World Cup games.

"I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you," he said after being told that tickets started at around $1,000 for the U.S.'s opening game against Paraguay.

Initial tickets were sold for unprecedented sums, with the cheapest Category 3 ticket going for more than $1,000 for the U.S.'s opening match. Although ticket prices have since dropped on the secondary market, they remain close to $1,000.

In the same interview, Trump expressed concern about the accessibility of the tournament, although he insisted that ticket sales have been a success thus far.

“I haven’t seen that (the prices), but I would have to take a look at it,” he said. “If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can’t go, I would be disappointed, but, at the same time, it’s an amazing success.

"I would like the people who voted for me to be able to go. I know that it is extremely successful, setting every record in the book. They’ve never had anything like it."

Trump's comments came shortly after FIFA President Gianni Infantino strongly defended ticket prices. During an appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Infantino claimed that prices are lower than many think.

"In reality, 25% of group-stage tickets are available for less than $300," he said.

The FIFA president also claimed that high ticket prices are standard practice for U.S. sporting events.

"In the U.S., you can’t attend a college game, let alone a top-tier professional event, for under $300. And this is the World Cup. We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates. In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at a price that is too low, these tickets would be resold at a much higher price," he said.

Still, there have been widespread reports that there are thousands of unsold tickets for the USMNT's opener, while prices continue to fluctuate on the resale market. One fan listed a World Cup final ticket at north of $2 million. FIFA opened another window in which fans can buy on Thursday morning.