Manchester United play Tottenham Hotspur in an all-English Europa League final as both teams look to end a disastrous domestic season on a high.
Who: Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur
What: UEFA Europa League final 2025
Where: San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain
When: Wednesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
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Manchester United clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday in an all-English Europa League final, which has major implications on and off the field.
The winner of this final not only – and unexpectedly, based on their horrendous bottom-five domestic form – take home a European crown, but also punch their golden ticket for entry into next season’s lucrative UEFA Champions League, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in extra revenue.
media Sport chronicles the key talking points ahead of a classic winner-takes-most showdown between two of England’s highest-profile clubs looking to reverse their regrettable seasons with an unexpected European triumph.
There has never been any final, in any UEFA competition, where both clubs have been so low in their domestic league tables.
Both clubs head to Bilbao for the final, assailed by stinging criticism amid their worst seasons of the English Premier League era.
United sit 16th on the ladder, and Tottenham are one point worse off in 17th, with just one league game remaining.
Only the struggles of relegated trio Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton saved United and Tottenham from a highly embarrassing battle to avoid crashing into the second-tier championship.
UEFA allows the winners of their second-tier Europa League competition direct entry into the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League, without the need for additional qualifying matches.
Additionally, they will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2024-25 Champions League in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13.
For the losers of the final in Bilbao, the hangover from this catastrophic domestic season threatens to be a long one, with the possibility of European football exile until at least the 2026-27 season.
The winners of the Europa League final could receive up to a 65-million-euro ($73m) boost.
This calculation is reached by combining the Europa League prize money and the TV and gate revenue derived from the winning team’s participation in the league phase of next season’s Champions League.
The teams last met at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on February 16, with James Maddison’s 13th-minute game-winner handing the home team a 1-0 victory against United.
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