'Absolutely fuming' - Chelsea fans accuse Blues of exploitation ahead of Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge in Champions League

To add insult to injury, the number of junior and senior concession tickets has been cut, leaving families and long-standing season-ticket holders fuming. Many fans say the announcement, made just a week before kick-off, feels like a brazen cash grab timed perfectly for Mourinho’s much-hyped return.

The outrage isn’t just about Chelsea, say supporters, it’s about the wider direction of the sport. In an interview with The Telegraph,David Johnstone, of the CFCUK fanzine, didn’t mince his words: "I am absolutely fuming. And I’m not just fuming because it’s a Chelsea thing. It’s a football thing. These people running football now are absolutely killing it. I haven’t got a problem if people want to pay £10,000 to sit in that Dugout Club. If they want champagne and bells and whistles, good luck to them. 

"But don’t forget the majority of people who are struggling to pay their electricity, gas bills, pay their mortgages, put food on the table, for whom football is the one release at the end of the day, at the end of the week. I’ve got a 12-year-old kid, he’s 12 on Saturday, and I’m having to pay £50 for a ticket for him, because I can’t get a kids’ one. In 10 years’ time, he isn’t going to be able to afford to go to a game. It’s shocking.”

Tim Rolls, ex-chair of the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST), echoed the fury.

“There’s a number of issues around the short notice, the increase in pricing, the removal of concession pricing," he said. “By removing the concession pricing without any advance notice, they’ve just increased prices for youngsters, for over-66s. They probably are happy to alienate groups of season-ticket holders, especially the older ones, because they think that they can sell tickets – especially for this type of game – to one-offs. People who are happy to pay more because of the Mourinho effect. And it will inevitably have an effect.”

Many suspect the categorisation was no coincidence, though Johnstone disagrees.

“They’d have done it anyway," he claimed. “They don’t want oiks like me who struggle to get £800 for a season ticket. We’re no good to them. Why’s the atmosphere so rubbish? Because they’re filling it up with tourists. If people want to come and see Chelsea, I welcome them from anywhere in the world. It must be great. They’d rather have those people paying £70, £80, £90 for an ordinary ticket and going and spending £300 in the megastore and coming once in their life. People like me, at the bottom of the food chain, we’re not going to have anything left.”

This row follows hot on the heels of another storm three weeks ago, when Chelsea flogged bundle tickets for all four group games, against Benfica, Ajax, Barcelona, and Pafos, at a discounted rate. Season-ticket holders feared losing their usual seats unless they stumped up more cash.

A CST spokesperson said: “The Chelsea Supporters Trust is deeply concerned with the club’s handling of ticket sales for upcoming Uefa Champions League fixtures. Recent decisions have been marked by poor communication, unjustifiable price increases and a disregard for supporters. The message is clear – stop exploiting our loyalty.”

Mourinho, a man who once defined the modern Chelsea era, will stride into Stamford Bridge next Tuesday as Benfica’s manager. For some fans, it should have been an occasion to remember. Instead, the build-up is dominated by anger, with chants of “Judas” now likely to be accompanied by chants about prices.

Chelsea have so far declined to publicly address the uproar, though insiders insist the £83 top price is comparable to what other elite clubs charge for similar fixtures. They also point out that changes to the concession structure had been discussed earlier this year with the club’s Fan Advisory Board. Nonetheless, what should have been a nostalgic, emotional night welcoming back the club’s most successful manager has been overshadowed by accusations of greed and alienation.