Man City fans are eagerly awaiting tonight’s Champions League final (Picture: Reuters)
Manchester City fans in Istanbul have described how winning the Champions League would be among the best moments of their lives ahead of the final on Saturday night.
Thousands of fans are in Turkey as the excitement builds for the clash with Inter Milan, with many lining the streets of the city centre.
A win against Internazionale this evening would see City not only be crowned champions of Europe, but also complete a historic treble of silverware consisting of the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Premier League title.
The only other English team to achieve the near-impossible feat is none other Manchester United, City’s local rivals who lifted all three trophies in 1999 when the Blues were at their lowest ebb, fighting for promotion in the third tier of the domestic leagues.
Fans say watching their team lift win the treble will be one of the greatest moments of their lives (PIcture: PA)
Istanbul city centre has been flooded by travelling fans (Picture: PA)
For City fans such as Steve Rimmer, 68, who travelled to Istanbul from Middleton, Rochdale, winning the treble would mean that his team had finally dethroned United as the kings of English football.
‘It will mean everything, we’ll have the treble, we’ll have matched United,’ he said.
‘It will be history, it will be fantastic.’
Asked where winning the treble would rank in the best moments of his life, Mr Rimmer said: “Right at the top’.
He added: ‘It’s fantastic (to be here). I’m really looking forward to the game, really confident, and looking forward to lifting the trophy.’
Tony Prince, 57, from Blackley, Manchester, said it would be the ‘second biggest day’ of his life if Man City win in Istanbul.
‘I suppose I’ve got kids so I’ve got to say that kids are the most important thing,’ he said.
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The only other English team to win the treble was Manchester United in 1999 (Picture: Reuters)
‘This is definitely going to be the second biggest day in my life if we win it.’
He said the club have waited ‘a long time for this’, adding: ‘Hopefully we don’t screw it up.’
‘It would be amazing, it would be the most successful period in the club’s history,’ Mr Prince said.
‘We’ll be able to lord it over the Manchester United fans,’ he added.
Twenty thousand people have tickets for the game though Manchester City, with a similar number going to Italy’s Inter Milan but around 5,000 ticketless Blues supporters are expected to make the trip.
Dean Meredith, 55, and his wife Mandy, 54, said they came to Istanbul to watch the final along with their three children.
‘It’s bloody expensive this football lark, it’s cost me upwards of £3000 for us all to come out here and we were at Wembley last week for the FA Cup final as well,’ Dean told MailOnline.
Inter Milan fans are also keen to see their team lift the trophy (Picture: EPA)
‘But I wouldn’t miss this for the world, admittedly the youngest should be at school but he had an operation on his knee so has been given time off and we will show him some culture around Istanbul while we are here.
‘I saw David Beckham saying the other day they were the first to win the Treble so this doesn’t count but he’s talking out of his a***. What does he know? We’ve come up the hard way.
‘I reckon we will win 4-0 easily, I know Inter have the pedigree and the history but let’s face it we are unstoppable at the moment so I’m pretty confident we will win and there will be a massive party here and back home.’
The game will be played at the Ataturk Olympic stadium which is around 90 minutes from the centre.
Hundreds of police have been put on standby for the match which will kick off at 10pm local time and two fan parks for tickets holders of City and Inter Milan have been set up ten minutes from the ground to provide entertainment.
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Fans can’t wait to see their team win the treble!