How to watch the UEFA Champions League, Europa League & Conference League finals 'free' or cheap

First, the bad news...

Unlike last year, you can't stream the three men's European finals live totally for free this year. In fact, it's the first year since 2016 that the Champions League and Europa League finals can't be streamed live entirely free, and the first since the early 1990s where you can't watch the men's Champions League final totally free full stop.

I asked TNT Sports, the TV channel that holds the broadcasting rights, why this was, but sadly it chose not to provide an answer. Make of that what you will...

Who's playing who, when they are playing them, and where

The teams, the dates, the times and the locations:

⚽ UEFA Europa League final – Wednesday 20 May. SC Freiburg vs Aston Villa in Istanbul, Turkey. Kick-off 8pm, with match coverage starting at 6pm.

MSE Kelvin's prediction: Ex-Norwich boy Buendia bangs in a brace to bag the Villans their first trophy since 1996.

⚽ UEFA Women's Champions League final – Saturday 23 May. Barcelona vs OL Lyonnes in Oslo, Norway. Kick-off 5pm, with match coverage starting at 4.30pm.

MSE Kelvin's prediction: The three times holders against the eight times holders – Vicky López to blast Blaugrana to a fourth victory with a late winner to break Lyonnaise hearts.

⚽ UEFA Conference League final – Wednesday 27 May. Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig, Germany. Kick-off 8pm, with match coverage starting at 6.30pm.

MSE Kelvin's prediction: The soaring Eagles to suffer a shock at the hands of Rayito ('Little Thunderbolt') much to the chagrin of MSE Haris and MSE Kit.

⚽ UEFA Champions League final – Saturday 30 May. Paris Saint-Germain vs Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary. Kick-off 5pm, with match coverage starting at 3pm.

MSE Kelvin's prediction: Les Parisiens score from a corner, the Gunners from a 26-pass counter; a shoot-out of perfect penalties follows till the match is decided on which manager has the tightest trousers – Arsenal win.

How to watch the men's Champions League, Europa League & Conference League finals for 'free'

How this works will depend on what TV subscriptions you currently have...

Have a TNT Sports subscription?

Let's get the blindingly obvious out of the way first – if you already have a TNT Sports subscription, you'll be able to watch all three finals at no extra cost, the same as you've been able to watch all the other matches. This is the case whether you've a subscription via streaming service HBO Max, have the channels as part of a digital TV package with BT, EE, Sky or Virgin Media, or have added TNT Sports to your Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Have an HBO Max subscription?

Usually, you'd have to pay around £25 to £30 a month extra to get TNT Sports too, but if you've got an HBO Max plan, you'll be able to watch all three finals at no extra cost. Again, this is the case whether you subscribe via the HBO Max website or you have HBO Max as part of a BT, EE, Sky or Virgin Media TV package or Amazon Prime Video subscription.

It's included as standard with some EE and Sky TV packages, so if it's worth checking if you've got it.

How to watch the men's Champions League, Europa League & Conference League finals for £5

If you don't already have HBO Max or TNT Sports, you can watch all three finals for (marginally) less than a fiver by subscribing to the HBO Max 'Basic with Ads' plan (hit 'see more monthly plans' to find it).

It costs £4.99 a month and allows you to stream on two devices at the same time in full high-definition. There are pricier plans without ads and with more content and features, but this is about MoneySaving, not ultra HD streaming. For full info, see the TNT Sports website.

IMPORTANT: If you're only subscribing to watch the football and don't want to keep it after, cancel the subscription immediately (you'll still have access to HBO Max for a month) or set a reminder to do so before the month is up, otherwise you'll automatically be charged for another. A month when there's no football on. Ew.

How to watch the men's Champions League, Europa League & Conference League finals for the price of a pint

This is by far my preferred option. How better to enjoy the climax of the European football season than in the company of freshly-poured beer (or whatever bevvy you prefer) and the bosom of your fellow football supporter? And you get to support your local too.

You can find which bars and pubs near you are showing the three finals in seconds using the very handy Fanzo website (also available as an app for Android and iOS devices). Enter a city, town, street or postcode into the 'sports bars and pubs' section, and you're away.

If you're on the ale, it can pay to be aware of your pint rights. And, of course, please be Drinkaware.

How to watch the Women's Champions League final totally FREE

Unlike the men's finals, this is being broadcast on regular television this year, so (provided you have a TV licence) you can watch it for free on either BBC Two or BBC iPlayer. Easy! Easy!