The Miracle at Gate 51 of Craven Cottage

The first impression of Craven Cottage (Fulham's home) is of a textile mill from the Industrial Revolution. The Stevenage Road stand, named after former player Johnny Haynes, was designed in the Art Deco style by architect Archibald Leitch, along with similar ones at Anfield, Old Trafford, and Hampden Park, which have long since passed away. Dating from 1905 (the oldest in the Premier League ), it's listed as a historic building and can't be touched. Its old wooden seats aren't the most comfortable in the world, but they transport you back to a time when the game (and everything else) was very different.

The contrast couldn't be greater with the Riverside Stand, a metaphor for the two Great Britains and the fact that the richest 1% of people in the world amass 99% of the wealth. Passing through Gate 51, through which those who have purchased VIP tickets for between €3,600 and €25,000 (per match) enter, is like entering Wonderland without being Alice. Nine levels of the most sumptuous luxury imaginable, greater than that of any other stadium or sports arena on the planet, including SoFi in Los Angeles and ATT Stadium in Dallas.

Read also It has rooms, a nursery, a piano like the one on the 'Titanic' and an outdoor pool on the ninth floor.

It's more of a private club within a stadium than a grandstand, as evidenced by the fact that when there's no match on (which is the vast majority of the time) it's open to members who pay around a thousand euros a year, which entitles them to access the restaurants and bars on all nine levels (one with a grand piano reminiscent of the Titanic , another like the Orient Express in homage to Agatha Christie), and the open-air pool on the ninth floor, above the corner (from the water you can't see the game, but you can hear it, with a mojito or a glass of Veuve Clicquot in hand, weather permitting, of course, which isn't always, by any means). The atmosphere has been described as reminiscent of a Dubai skyscraper.

In the VIP area of ​​Craven Cottage, accessed via a golden staircase worthy of a James Bond film, there are private rooms reminiscent of a Mayfair club, with balconies overlooking the Thames (the stands are practically above the river), from where you can watch the canoes and sailing boats plying its polluted waters, and you'll find a signed jersey on the table. On match days, there's live music and catering supplied by some of the city's best chefs. There's even a nursery for children too young to enjoy football .

The VIP areas at other English stadiums are fine, but nowhere near those of Fulham, a team that will finish the season at the top of the table but without making it to the Europa League , which has been in the Premier League for four years in a row and is owned by the American magnate of Pakistani origin Shahid Khan. From Tottenham's Club Tunnel, you can see through a glass window how the players walk from the dressing room to the pitch; Chelsea's Club Bench is located just behind the bench with the manager, the masseur, and the substitutes, allowing access to the pitch after the match; Arsenal's Diamond Club offers seats with their own heating and individual television; and those who pay 1,200 euros at Everton's new stadium will have a personal butler at their disposal, and will have reclining armchairs reminiscent of a movie theater.

But there's nothing like entering football through the magical gate 51 of Craven Cottage. Even though what lies beyond is a monument to social inequality, wealth, and privilege, to which ordinary fans have no access.

Modern football Red carpet for tourists and millionaires who don't ask the price

Fans of Chelsea, Manchester City, United, and other clubs have protested against the rising prices of regular tickets, and the fact that fewer and fewer are being put on sale to make more room for VIPs and tourists who don't ask how much they cost and spend more money than home fans on food, drinks, and marketing. Some Old Trafford season ticket holders who had seats right behind the dugout have been moved to other areas of the stadium because their seats have been repurposed as premium seats. There is less and less of the working-class tradition of English football left.