Ecstatic City fans party until sun rises in Istanbul after Champions League win
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Jubilant Manchester City fans partied until sunrise in Istanbul after winning the Champions League final.
On Saturday night, there was barely an inch between the club’s swarming supporters as they danced and celebrated on the city’s popular Nevizade street.
Strangers hugged and kissed each other in the minutes after the final whistle as the street adopted a festival atmosphere.
Stephen Woods, 30, said: “We were on the steps outside our hotel until 6am. They were still going until 8am.
“Our room overlooks (Nevizade Street). We slept for something like an hour, but it is what it is.”
He said that even the locals got involved in the celebrations.
“All of the locals got involved, which we didn’t expect,” he said.
“Getting out of their cars with boom boxes and singing with us. We just didn’t expect that, it’s the craziest city we’ve ever been to.”
Richard Dickinson, 50, from Sheffield, also celebrated the win with family and friends until sunrise.
“It was a surreal experience,” he said.
“We were always typical City, we were never going to be a big team, and everything like that.
“My grandad always said our time will come.”
Some Manchester City fans said they struggled to make it back to Istanbul city centre after the Champions League final.
Ian Blake, 55, originally from Manchester but now based in north London, did not get back from the stadium until 4am.
“I was exhausted anyway, but the coach journey back didn’t help,” he said.
“It was about four hours just in the car park, I could have crawled back.”
He added: “That was chaotic, but it was well worth it.”
In the end, he said he left the coach and got a taxi back into the city centre.
Rod Van-Der-Chys, from Melbourne, Australia, said: “We got back to the city at 5am, believe it or not. That’s after a 10pm kick-off.”
Celebrations will continue in Manchester on Monday when the team will hold an open-top bus parade to mark their treble – only previously achieved by rivals Manchester United in 1999.
