- Manchester City is in the midst of a slump by their high standards.
- Their captains have announced they are refunding traveling fans after a brutal 3-1 Champions League loss to Bodo/Glimt in Norway.
- While it is rare, this is not the first instance of a team refunding fans for a poor performance.
Manchester City’s captains have revealed they are refunding fans who traveled to Norway for a disappointing 3-1 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday.
It doesn’t happen regularly, but teams and players paying back fans for a terrible performance has happened.
City Struggles in Norway After Tough Loss in the Manchester Derby
A statement from City captains Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland, Rodri, and Ruben Dias said:
“Our supporters mean everything to us.
We know the sacrifice that our fans make when they travel across the world to support us home and away, and we will never take it for granted. They are the best fans in the world.
We also recognize that it was a lot of traveling for the fans who supported us in the freezing cold throughout a difficult evening for us on the pitch. Covering the cost of these tickets for the fans who traveled to Bodo is the least we can do.”
It has been a tough week for City. In one of the UEFA Champions League picks that no one saw coming, the English giants lost 3-1 on the road to Bodo/Glimt. It was the first-ever Champions League win for the four-time Norwegian champions. It also had to feel wonderful to beat Haaland, who is already the greatest player in Norway’s history. Rodri suffered a red card in the 62nd minute, but Bodo/Glimt had already scored all three goals by then.
City will refund 374 fans a total of $12,559 for their troubles. Rodri, a Ballon d’Or winner, has the lowest contract of their captains at over $295,000 per week.
The loss was compounded by a 2-0 loss at Manchester United, in which the home team dominated City from start to finish in the Manchester derby. Since the start of January, City now has two wins, two losses, and three draws in seven games. That’s a slump at Manchester City. They’ll try to get back on track with a home game against relegation-threatened Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday.
Has a Team Ever Given Their Fans Refunds Before?
It rarely happens, and never in North American sports, but there are some recent examples of players and teams paying their traveling fans back for a bad performance. In April 2023, Tottenham players offered to refund their fans who traveled to Newcastle, and witnessed a 6-1 loss. Newcastle scored five times in the first 21 minutes, and the Tottenham players offered an apology, as well as refunds.
In November 2025, Non-League team Eastbourne Borough was thrashed 7-0 at Torquay United, and refunded the 45 fans that traveled 215 miles to watch their team. However, it didn’t stop the vitriol players received on social media.
These are nice gestures of accountability from the players from Manchester City, Tottenham, and Eastbourne Borough. However, their fans would trade all of those refunds for their teams to simply play better, especially those on hundreds of thousands of dollars per week like the EPL players!
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