The Independent

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United face off in one of the most highly-anticipated cup finals in modern history with the Europa League on the line Wednesday night in Bilbao.

Spurs and United have lost a combined 39 matches in the Premier League, with Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim under intense pressure to inspire change heading into next season and deliver on the big stage in a ‘shambolic’ final built by Uefa’s design.

With up to 80,000 fans travelling to the Basque Country and encountering a ‘scandalous’ travel situation, history will be made at the San Mames, with a trophy somewhat easing all of the painful months to get to this point.

TNT Sports has confirmed a huge change to its coverage by making the three major men’s European finals available to watch for free, including the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. The match is now available to watch for free, here’s how you can take advantage:

The Europa League final is on 21 May at San Mames, Bilbao, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm BST.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 or TNT Sports Ultimate with coverage beginning at 6pm BST, though you will need a subscription for TNT Sports. Subscribers via Discovery+ Premium, EE, Sky or Virgin Media TV can also take in all the build-up and in-game coverage. But there is a live stream online made available for free through the Discovery+ app.

Subscribers will also have access to the match but those without a subscription can download the app and register their details without signing up for a subscription.

Prime Video customers with the basic Discovery+ account will be able to watch the Uefa finals on the Prime Video app.

But viewers without Discovery+ just need to download the app, register their details online, and enjoy the games for free. No subscriptions are required.

For the Europa League final, expert analysis comes from Bale, Ferdinand, Scholes and Glenn Hoddle while Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist are on commentary duties.

Michail Antonio, Joe Cole and Steve Sidwell are in the studio for Chelsea’s attempt to win the Conference League with commentary provided by Adam Summerton and Lucy Ward.

Finally in the Champions League, Ferdinand is joined by Karen Carney and Owen Hargreaves to provide punditry while Fletcher and McCoist return on comms.

The sheer volume of English media commitments is one of the many things that has caught Ruben Amorim completely by surprise since taking over at Manchester United.

He has taken his increased workload in good spirits, but his reluctance to fulfil interview after interview, press conference after press conference, is certainly rather palpable.

The answers, like many managers at modern day elite clubs, are worn out by the multitude of TV, radio and written press obligations after matches, leaving signs of weariness.

That is with one exception: When the Portuguese is speaking glowingly about a certain English midfielder, who could make his biggest impression yet as a United player as a forward.

“I really love Mason Mount," Amorim began an impassioned March eulogy, even though, at this point, Mount had started one game under his tutelage. "Because I see him, I know how he suffers and I know he does everything right.

“He eats right, his physical aspect is perfect and he’s trying too much. Maybe he’s thinking too much about everything. He was a European champion.

“He’s a really talented player. And when the player does everything like he does, he will always have the support of everybody here in the club”.

To watch Amorim get so animated about an injury-plagued Mount tells you everything you need to know about what he has seen away from the cameras.

Amorim has not been afraid to call out those not willing to put the work in. He insisted he would rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach on the bench over Marcus Rashford, has withdrawn Alejandro Garnacho from a Manchester derby squad over application issues, all while consistently labelling his current misfiring squad the worst-ever Manchester United team. Or worse.

Mount is often subject to unfair criticism from supporters, frustrated that yet another big-money player has failed to make an impact at Old Trafford.

Last season, even when fit, Mount was the squarest of pegs in a sea of round holes in Erik ten Hag’s system. Despite the Dutchman being the one to bring the then Chelsea midfielder to Manchester, Mount simply had no home in that rigid system, which struggled to accommodate another midfielder in the shape of Bruno Fernandes.

It is a different story now, though, hence the new coach’s penchant for a slice of Mount. As a No. 10 with license to drift wide or inside, Mount can operate in the pockets of space his playing style thrives in, just as he did when forging a burgeoning reputation at Stamford Bridge.

“It has not been easy," Mount said of his injury woes since joining United in 2023 this week. "But I've stayed very focused and always had the end goal in my mind, always felt it would come good, that something will happen and I'll get a moment.

“I have had many days at Carrington sitting on the treatment bed, when I want to be training. I have been in the stands watching games when I wanted to be playing.

"But that was the circumstances. I gave everything to continue my rehab to try and get back. I have learned a lot from these moments. You really appreciate it more."

Given he is such a likable figure, team-mates readily rally round to offer support upon the latest injury setback, making what has happened to him over the past few seasons so difficult to witness.

In anything but a packed field, his three recent goals since making his long-awaited return from injury represent his best form in a United shirt. The 26-year-old’s performance when coming off the bench to rescue United in the semi-final second leg victory over Athletic Bilbao, with Mount’s two sensational finishes belying his lack of game time, alone should earn him a starting spot against Tottenham.

It may take something of a Pep Guardiola madcap last-minute epiphany, but Rasmus Hojlund’s race is run this season, and needs taking out the firing line. Whether Mount, Amad Diallo or Alejandro Garnacho are deployed as a False 9 is no easy decision, but either of those options would provide substantially more threat than a striker who seems to have let a miserable campaign get the better of him.

Whatever the role, nobody would deserve to line up in this season-defining encounter in the Bay of Biscay than Mount.

His smile after that 45-yard game clincher against Bilbao was brimming with emotion. He still wants this, which is more than can be said for many others around him.

Time for the manager to let everyone else in on what makes Mount so appealing.

Anyone who has watched Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this season might well be surprised at their camp this week. Many there have total belief they are going to win the Europa League. The group is calm, but focused. The extent of the conviction might seem unusual given recent performances, but there are rational reasons. One is their very Europa League run, as well as three wins from three against Manchester United this season. There is also the conviction of Ange Postecoglou himself, who many players are rowing in behind. “I think he proved all you guys wrong,” Micky van de Ven says.

It’s where statements like "I always win things in my second year”, as Postecoglou has insisted, can start to become so persuasive. One other factor emboldening Spurs is this season’s stirring trend of trophy droughts ending. There has already been Newcastle United, Bologna, Crystal Palace and even Tottenham’s own Harry Kane at Bayern Munich. That feeling can be contagious. Many within Spurs saw what happened at Wembley on Saturday and wondered "what if”…

An alternative view is that it would be vintage Spurs to actually defy all of this and end up losing, as they go for their own first trophy since 2008.

It could also be vintage Spurs in another way. The belief that they will win is only surpassed by conviction about something else. That is Postecoglou is leaving, even if he wins.

Should that departure happen after delivering major silverware, it would only follow the precedents of their last trophy-winning managers. Both 2008 League Cup winner Juande Ramos and 1999 League Cup winner George Graham were sacked shortly afterwards. Despite successes that are now historic for the club due to their very rarity, neither coach has much legacy at the club. That maybe says a bit.

It’s like it couldn't even be a Spurs win without some dysfunction. Fans naturally wouldn't care so long as they just win that trophy, and they would celebrate it like Palace did. Postecoglou may not be too bothered, either. There is a growing suspicion he could just resign, especially after stating “I usually move on the back of success”.

There’s still a more relevant disconnect, which is the real reason that Postecoglou is seen as unlikely to stay. The way Spurs have reached the Europa League final isn’t viewed as conducive to sustainable progress. And the person who most made this argument? Postecoglou himself, in his first weeks in the job.

“It is not a desperation around just winning something, because I don't think that gets you the sustainable opportunity to be successful,” the Australian said in September 2023. “The root of it is to play a certain way, which brings success.

“I am here because I want to give this club a chance to win trophies on a yearly basis. That's different. Winning the Carabao Cup and finishing 10th is not what this club should be about.” Instead, it might be 17th and the Europa League… but, ultimately, without that “play in a certain way”.

Postecoglou was clearly brought in for the right reasons. He was a coach whose career was on an upward trajectory, where his progressive football seemed perfect for a Tottenham finally trying to build something bigger. There was too long a period when they made reactive “big club appointments”, that didn’t fit what they were. Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte duly displayed extreme pragmatism, that didn’t work.

Except, for the most part, Postecoglou’s football hasn't worked either. Spurs really should have qualified for the Champions League last season, given they had no European football when Aston Villa did. Form has never been anywhere near as good as those angelic first 10 games. Now, Postecoglou’s football has collapsed along with the Premier League campaign.

There are admittedly numerous reasons for that, but it's also why Spurs’ Europa League run has been so interesting. It is a typical Tottenham irony that Postecoglou has got this far by repeating the approaches of his predecessors.

Rather than adhering to an ideology, he has consistently come up with approaches that suit individual games. It is old-fashioned cup football.

You couldn't have a better illustration than the last round. Tottenham should have had more than enough quality to defeat a side with 1% of their wage bill, like Bodo/Glimt. The semi-final was still fraught with danger, especially with the Norwegian club’s clever approach and Spurs’ injuries in midfield.

Postecoglou consequently eliminated risk. Midfield was bypassed, and Bodo were bludgeoned through long balls up to Dominic Solanke or Richarlison.

That approach actually has a highly relevant parallel. It was practiced by one of Spurs’ most pragmatic recent managers, when he was at Manchester United, in their last Europa League final victory.

Mourinho’s United should have had more than enough quality for a young Ajax in 2017, but he similarly eliminated risk. As the Portuguese explained in a university lecture actually attended by Ruben Amorim, Ajax were allowed 69% of possession, albeit with Matthijs de Ligt pressed rather than Davinson Sanchez. United then bludgeoned them with long balls to Marouane Fellaini.

The Europa League was won. There may be foreshadowing for Wednesday.

Some around Spurs do argue that Postecoglou has gone against his own principles. They are the same people who say he operates like “a CEO” in how he delegates responsibilities, rather than as the hands-on coach that modern ideologues tend to be. There was at one point a sense of Europa League hopes dragging the team through the season, in a competition where Spurs are far wealthier than most.

Others would say that's unfair, especially given criticism that Postecoglou has received for “naive” domestic performances. He has displayed a canniness many accused him of lacking. The quarter-final approach against a good Eintracht Frankfurt was a masterclass. Van de Ven shows he has his backers.

None of this is to say either view is right or wrong, but it is all relevant to how a final that is almost a referendum actually ends.

Spurs’ three victories over United this season did primarily come through Postecoglou’s ideology, but it feels misguided to place too much stock in that given the high variability. The first, a 3-0 in the league, was against Erik ten Hag. The second, a 4-3 in the Carabao Cup, was a blow-for-blow free-for-all that this final may end up like. The third, a dismal 1-0, felt more reflective of both sides’ league positions.

Postecoglou’s choice of tactics may actually be limited by his lack of choice in midfield. Spurs’ never-ending injury crisis has led to the loss of Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski. It would almost be fitting if the major theme of Postecoglou's time, fitness, has the final say.

Spurs could play his way and lose because they don't have that midfield, or the lack of that midfield may just cause them to lose full-stop. Alternatively, could injuries lead Postecoglou to a cannier approach more in-keeping with this Europa League run? They do have the pace United are most vulnerable to, and there are other ways to maximise that.

Postecoglou still has a lot to think about, amid so much emotion. Above all, there is one truth in all this.

Nothing is as sustainable as the memory of glory.

Liveupdated

Tottenham Hotspur face Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao with both clubs hoping to salvage some pride after disappointing campaigns.

After a harrowing experience in the Premier League for both clubs with a combined 39 defeats leaving them 16th and 17th in the table, as both sets of supporters bid to overcome limited travel options to watch the game in the Basque Country.

Ange Postecoglou boldly claimed he “always wins” a trophy in his second year in charge of clubs, while the Red Devils are unbeaten in Europe and have enjoyed a thrilling ride throughout the knockout stages. After victory over Ajax to win this competition in 2017, United fell to Villarreal on penalties in the 2021 final.

And United have not beaten Spurs in their last six matches, with three successive losses, but Ruben Amorim’s side can boost hopes of a successful summer transfer window with victory here.

Follow all the latest team news and updates from chief football writer Miguel Delaney in Bilbao, with both managers and players set to speak ahead of Wednesday’s game:

Will Diogo Dalot be fit for the final?

Manchester United have plenty of injury concerns and a big one if the fitness of versatile full-back Diogo Dalot.

Dalot has been absent from the most recent block of games with a calf injury obtained on Easter Sunday.

United head coach Ruben Amorim refused to rule Dalot out for the remainder of the season and on Wednesday last week, the defender was spotted doing an individual training session at Carrington before the main group session took place.

Amorim said: "Dalot is trying really bad. I don't want to risk Dalot, when you start getting one injury, a second injury is a big thing. We cannot have these kind of problems in our squad. He's working really hard to get in the final."

Mike Jones20 May 2025 11:00

Football fans face paying thousands of pounds for Europa League final trips

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur supporters booking last-minute trips to the Europa League final are being charged thousands of pounds.

Direct return flights from the UK to Bilbao in northern Spain cost from more than £1,000, hotel rooms are at least £1,200, while match tickets are available on resale websites from about £500.

The final kicks off at 9pm local time (8pm BST) on Wednesday.

Football fans face paying thousands of pounds for Europa League final trips

Direct return flights from the UK to Bilbao in northern Spain cost from more than £1,000, while hotel rooms are at least £1,200.

Mike Jones20 May 2025 10:50

Spurs feeling confident

“The truth is we have very good feelings. Ignoring the Premier League, we are feeling good, the job the team has done in Europe has been enormous and I think we feel we’re in a good place. Those feelings have to carry over to the day of the final now,” Pedro Porro explained.

“It would be a dream because as we already know when I arrived here, we knew it had been a long time since we had won a trophy here.

“So, it would be very, very important for us and for me personally it would be a story of faith. Something I dreamt of ever since I was little. It’s my first European final and everyone in the world would have motivation for that.”

Mike Jones20 May 2025 10:40

'Every game is different'

Pedro Porro doesn’t think Tottenham’s poor league for or the fact they have already beaten Man Utd this season will have any bearing on the outcome of tomorrow’s match.

“Let’s see, every game has a world of its own, right? Playing in a final is very different from playing a league game because it involves a lot of factors,” he said.

“Football is a world of its own and I think we are focused on that point. We know every game is different, especially a final where anything can happen.

“I don’t think they’ve lost in the Europa League. They’re a very good team, with a very good coach no?

“In the end they haven’t had the luck in the Premier League, it’s like us isn’t it? But we’re two teams that know how to deliver and it’s going to be a very beautiful final. I hope we’re the happy ones at the end.”

Mike Jones20 May 2025 10:30

Porro praises Amorim

Tottenham full-back Pedro Porro admits Manchester United’s “magnificent coach” Ruben Amorim helped his football explode at Sporting Lisbon.

“When I arrived (at Sporting), it was a little bit difficult for me but like everything in football, sometimes it’s hard at first right? Things in life don’t always go the way you want them to but when I got there, the truth is I had a lot of help from him,” Porro explained.

“And at that moment, my football exploded. To be honest I’m really grateful to him for that.

“I worked with him for three years and he’s a magnificent coach. I know him very well. It’s the way he treats the players.

“He always spoke to me as a person, it’s not just how he treated me from a football perspective. The way he works on the pitch is also very good but in this case, I hope I’m the happy one.”

Mike Jones20 May 2025 10:20

The farcical and fragile moments behind Manchester United’s lucky Europa League run

One of the largest clubs in the world has reached the Europa League final. Furnished with one of the biggest budgets in the game, in a year when their transfer outlay exceeded £230m, they arguably started the Europa League as favourites, finished third in the group stage, and are the only unbeaten side in all three European competitions.

It makes it sound simple. Manchester United being Manchester United, it has not been. But, they have flirted with ignominy time and again and stand on the brink of triumph.

The farcical and fragile moments behind Man United’s lucky Europa League run

They can argue they earned their luck with indefatigability, moments of inspiration, and individuals delivering in improbable ways

Richard Jolly20 May 2025 10:10

Manchester United's route to the final

On paper a tough tie but in reality the easiest battle in the knockout rounds for Man Utd.

Semi-finals: Athletic Bilbao – 3-0 (a); 4-1 (h); 7-1 on aggregate

The Premier League side sealed their place in the final by overcoming Bilbao, whose San Mames stadium was stunned as Ruben Amorim oversaw a famous away win.

Athletic flew out the blocks in the first leg but imploded after Casemiro put United ahead in the 30th minute, with Bruno Fernandes keeping his cool to score from the spot after Dani Vivian saw red for bringing down Rasmus Hojlund.

The nerveless captain added another before the break to complete a 3-0 victory for the Red Devils, who bounced back from Mikel Jaureguizar’s brilliant opener in the reverse fixture.

Substitute Mason Mount settled nerves through his fantastic turn and finish, with Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund scoring before the United midfielder scored a stunner from distance.

Mike Jones20 May 2025 09:58

Manchester United's route to the final

Another tricky tie for the Red Devils was made worse by the loose lips of Andre Onana in the build up as he fought a war of words with Lyon midfielder (and former Man Utd player) Nemanja Matic before the first leg.

Quarter-finals: Lyon – 2-2 (a); 5-4 (AET) (h); 7-6 on aggregate after extra-time

Andre Onana endured a nightmare first leg in France, where his barny with Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matic was followed by him all-too easily allowing in a Thiago Almada free-kick.

Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee put United ahead, but the under-fire goalkeeper parried the ball into the path of Rayan Cherki to level in stoppage-time.

A scarcely-believable second leg followed at Old Trafford. Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot first-half efforts had United in control, only for the visitors to score four without reply.

Corentin Tolisso and Nicolas Tagliafico goals in quick succession took the match to extra-time, when Lyon kicked on despite Tolisso’s sending off for two bookable offences as Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette rocked the home side.

But Ruben Amorim’s men dug deep as a Bruno Fernandes penalty was followed by Kobbie Mainoo’s excellent 120th-minute leveller and Harry Maguire’s match-winning header moments later.

Mike Jones20 May 2025 09:51

Manchester United's route to the final

Following United’s unbeaten run through the group stages Ruben Amorim’s men where given a tough tough against Spanish side Real Sociedad in the round of 16.

Last 16: Real Sociedad – 1-1 (a); 4-1 (h); 5-2 on aggregate

Absentee-hit United failed to turn a positive performance into victory in San Sebastian, where Joshua Zirkzee put the visitors into a deserved lead only for Mikel Oyarzabal to level from the spot with the hosts’ first shot on target.

The VAR spotted a handball from Bruno Fernandes, whose second-leg hat-trick inspired an eye-catching comeback win against 10-man Real Sociedad.

Oyarzabal’s second penalty of the tie had given United a scare, before the captain’s treble and a Diogo Dalot effort in the second leg sent them through with ease.

Mike Jones20 May 2025 09:44

Manchester United's route to the final

Despite suffering one of their worst ever seasons in the English top-flight, Manchester United have been incredible in Europe this season.

They are yet to lose a game and if they are successful against Tottenham in the final it will prove to be one of the best European campaigns in recent history.

But will they prove to be worthy Europa League champions?

Here’s a look at how they reached the final in Bilbao:

Group stage: Man Utd – third of 36 teams, 18pts

United made an inauspicious start to the new-look group phase under Erik ten Hag, whose former club Twente secured a shock 1-1 Old Trafford draw in September.

Harry Maguire’s late goal saw the 10-man Red Devils record a 3-3 draw at Porto the following month, before Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce held them to a 1-1 stalemate in Turkey.

After Ten Hag was sacked, interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy oversaw the end of United’s 380-day wait for a European win by beating PAOK 2-0 at Old Trafford, where Ruben Amorim took charge for the first time in the hard-fought 3-2 triumph against eventual semi-finalists Bodo/Glimt.

United followed that up with 2-1 wins away to Viktoria Plzen and at home to Rangers, before rounding things off with a 2-0 victory over FCSB in Romania as they avoided the knockout phase play-offs.

Mike Jones20 May 2025 09:37

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One of the largest clubs in the world has reached the Europa League final. Furnished with one of the biggest budgets in the game, in a year when their transfer outlay exceeded £230m, they arguably started the Europa League as favourites, finished third in the group stage, and are the only unbeaten side in all three European competitions.

It makes it sound simple. Manchester United being Manchester United, it has not been. The 16th side in the Premier League face Spurs, the team in 17th, in the Bilbao showpiece. United were 21st in the Europa League when they sacked Erik ten Hag. They have had three managers on their route to the final, trailed to teams from Portugal, Norway, Czechia and France. Harry Maguire has a 91st-minute equaliser and a 121st-minute winner. They have left it late to secure victory against Viktoria Plzen and Rangers, even later to beat Lyon. They have flirted with ignominy time and again and stand on the brink of triumph.

They have contrived to be everything they are not in England: in Europe, they are a team who never lose and who can find a way to win – a prolific side. The bare facts are that United have 18 goals in their last five Europa League games, more than they have scored in their last four months in the Premier League. All that, when they contrived to omit their finest striking prospect, Chido Obi, from their European squad.

But then the dramatic finale against Lyon came courtesy of pseudo strikers: Kobbie Mainoo and Maguire, a midfielder and a defender thrown up front and, some might say, finishing better than the specialist forwards. That was just the second 5-4 victory in United’s history. The first was earned by the Busby Babes, in the final game on English soil in 1958. The second came courtesy of a rather lesser team.

But, while they have been mired in a historically bad domestic season, United have offered some of the right echoes of their past in Europe. The late goals, the comebacks, the drama that all contributed to the mystique of the club have been reserved for Thursday nights.

But the final, like their opener, is on a Wednesday. It was a false start against Ten Hag’s hometown club, FC Twente, at Old Trafford. “It’s not nice to have to hurt the ones you love,” the Dutchman said. Although, really, United were hurt more, in part by their own inadequacies after allowing Twente right back Bart van Rooij to run 50 yards, past a host of Ten Hag’s players, in the build-up to Sam Lammers’s equaliser.

When Ten Hag was dismissed, he had a 100 per cent record in the Europa League: three games, three draws. Should United beat Tottenham, Bruno Fernandes ought to be named the player of the tournament – so far, no one has more goals and only two players have more assists – but he had an inauspicious start, too, with a red card in his native Portugal against Porto. None of which fully explains why, when Ten Hag unveiled his replacement as a No 10 against Fenerbahce, it was a suitably surprised full back, Noussair Mazraoui.

So the caretaker Ruud van Nistelrooy oversaw United’s belated first win, against PAOK. Ruben Amorim’s record in this competition, at least, is excellent: eight wins out of 10, with creditable draws away against Real Sociedad and Lyon. It does not tell the whole story, though.

United scored in the first minute of his European bow, through Alejandro Garnacho against Bodo/Glimt, and yet found themselves losing. They were behind to Viktoria Plzen, too. They were rescued by back-to-back braces by Rasmus Hojlund who, like Christian Eriksen and Diogo Dalot, has more goals in the Europa League than the Premier League this season. Jack Butland, signed by United in 2023, scored for them, although as he is now the Rangers goalkeeper and punched a corner into his own net, it was an embarrassing mishap, rather than a cause for celebration.

The knockout stages have yielded a flurry of goals and celebrations in second legs at Old Trafford; a Fernandes hat-trick against Sociedad, a late treble of goals in seven minutes against Lyon, a burst of four in 19 against Athletic Bilbao.

There have been magical moments: Maguire’s sudden transformation into a twinkle-toed winger to set up Casemiro’s opener in the San Mames, Manuel Ugarte’s backheeled assist in Bilbao, Mason Mount’s fantastic 50-yard finish against Athletic. There was a dominant first 45 minutes at home to Lyon – as well as United have played under Amorim – and the control they exerted with a 3-0 lead in Bilbao.

There have, though, been elements of farce and fragility. Andre Onana went to Lyon branded one of the worst goalkeepers in United’s history by Nemanja Matic and blundered twice for goals. From 2-0 up and excelling in the second leg, United somehow found themselves 4-2 down at home to 10 men.

A recurring theme has been seeing opponents depleted. Both Sociedad and Athletic were unhappy with their red cards against United; some of Bilbao’s grievance lay in their belief that Garnacho had handled shortly before Dani Vivian fouled Hojlund to earn his marching orders.

It may indicate that fortune has favoured United. They can argue they earned their luck with indefatigability, moments of inspiration, and individuals delivering when it mattered – sometimes in improbable ways.

Mainoo and Maguire, like a 21st-century Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, turned rescuers. They kept United’s season going when, in each round, it had been on the brink of ending with no silver lining, no saving grace. And now they are in Bilbao, in what is otherwise a disaster of a season, closing in on a return to the Champions League.

A biography of United’s first European Cup-winning manager, Sir Matt Busby, was called A Strange Kind Of Glory. And this would be a very strange kind of European glory.

While some rival executives have literally been laughing at this “shambolic” Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, elements of it are by their own design.

The two English sides might have found it much more difficult to get to Bilbao had Juventus and Manchester City dropped down from the Champions League in the way those outside the top 16 used to, but this was one of the subjects discussed in the major negotiations between 2019 and 2021 that ultimately led to the Super League crisis.

The wealthiest clubs wanted more guarantees about qualifying for the Champions League, especially if they endured crisis seasons like United and Spurs have. Insiders insist that one reason they consequently removed the drop into the Europa League was specifically to give such clubs a clearer route back to the top.

This is now precisely what’s happening, in the first season after the changes. In other words, this is the biggest safety net possible. “It was an insurance policy,” as one prominent source puts it. “They’ve considerably weakened the Europa League.”

It is consequently not an exaggeration to describe this as perhaps the most desperate final in European history. The numbers illustrate it.

There has never been any final, in any of Uefa’s competitions, where both clubs have been so low in their domestic leagues. There’s never even been one when a club has been just above the relegation zone, like Spurs now. West Ham United were 18th when reaching the 1975-76 Cup Winners Cup final but that was in a 24-team league. The image now is even worse in how both finalists sit there, in 16th and 17th in the Premier League. Peering down at the Championship but somehow looking at the Champions League.

It’s certainly a far cry from the 1975-76 Uefa Cup final, when English champions Liverpool faced Belgian champions Brugge, a year before they met again in the European Cup final.

And yet it somehow feels even further from just last year. After that Europa League final in Dublin, when Atalanta beat Bayern Leverkusen in a grand meeting of overachievers who greatly valued the competition, Gian Piero Gasperini stirred emotions with the following.

"Winning with Atalanta is one of those footballing fairytales that rarely crop up. It gives scope for meritocracy: there is still scope for ideas and it doesn't have to come down to cold, hard money.”

This final is the total opposite.

United and Spurs have really only got here because of cold, hard money. They've been facing oppositions with mere fractions of their wage bills. Bodo/Glimt’s was estimated to be less than 1 per cent of Spurs’. Even Athletic's was around 20 per cent of United’s.

Worse than the money the two English clubs spend now is how much they've spent over the last half-decade, to even get to this point, where they somehow need even more money to try and get back to the top. We are talking about billions in Premier League revenue, even in that short a time.

As has been said on these pages before, their respective positions at fourth and ninth on the Deloitte money list mean it shouldn't actually be possible for both United and Spurs to be this bad. They might have switched off in the league, but the lights shouldn't be out altogether. In a world where there is a 90 per cent correlation between wage bill and league position, they are not just the 10% who represent aberrations but the 0.1 per cent almost representing reverse alchemy.

That sheer waste has now created this desperation, that frames this entire game. It actually looks the total opposite of what continental football should be about, let alone to Gasperini’s thoughts about “meritocracy”.

Such talk also brings another dimension, that represents a more troubling development in football. It is the extent of the game’s “financialisation”. So much is now put in terms of money; what it might mean for what next rather than just the moment. That’s exactly why Crystal Palace's FA Cup victory felt so joyfully pure.

It shouldn’t be overlooked that Spurs would value this Europa League in a comparable way, especially given all the frustration at how they haven’t won anything since 2008. Manchester United fans naturally relish the glory of still consistently winning trophies despite their trouble, and it would clearly be psychologically important for Ruben Amorim’s era. As long as it might last.

United have still won this competition as recently as 2017, though, and the dysfunction since means this is really all about the resources. It similarly can’t be overlooked that Spurs are a club where the message about Champions League finances was so deep that former manager Mauricio Pochettino became strikingly open about how he was greatly prioritising the Premier League over any cups.

Such priorities have only been deepened in the PSR era. So much of this still comes down to the potential £100m from Champions League qualification. The latter was of course only included because Uefa needed to make the competition more attractive for the most commercially powerful clubs. The grand old Uefa Cup trophy apparently wasn't enough any more.

Chris Hughton, who was the right-back for Spurs’ last Uefa Cup win in 1983-84, can’t help but remark on the difference.

“Back then, there wasn’t even a thought about money. There would have been bonuses, sure, but it was solely about the glory of it; of winning a European trophy.”

The financial gaps of the time were too small. Now, they’re immense, to the point the Europa League final is arguably the most pronounced illustration of this “financalisation” of the sport. It has probably gone beyond the Championship play-off as “the richest game in football", given the gaps in England, as well as the importance attached to the Champions League.

It is football as financial instrument, to the point that clubs now decide not to buy in January because they are looking at things in terms of differences in potential prize money rather than season ambition.

There is likely even further effect on the actual play.

Throughout this season, United’s run has seemed to show how European atmospheres can still cause teams to emotionally raise it in vintage fashion. But has that actually happened? Is it possible that United and Spurs have just played a series of clubs well below Premier League level, as illustrated in the wage gaps?

Bruno Fernandes recently revealed that Amorim expressed surprise at how competitive Ipswich Town were in his first game. The Europa League may have been well below that.

Many in Europe will respond to that by pointing to how there are again no English side in the Champions League final, but that is a competition that features most of the super clubs. Many of them utterly dominate their domestic leagues. That is just this same problem extended.

Instead, the Europa League might well display deeper strength. That is a problem for Uefa, especially with how many English clubs are going to be in Europe next season.

It may also be profoundly influential for the Premier League. This match could represent a sliding doors moment. If United win, the income could help propel them back towards the top, after so much waste. If they don’t, there could be ructions.

There are such immense stakes. It also has a considerable irony. So much comes down to the unpredictability of one football match, and that is entirely by design.

Manchester United plan to host a barbecue for players and staff at the club’s training ground if they win the Europa League this week, instead of staging an open bus parade in the city.

According to the Times, United would have little time to stage any celebrations if they defeat Tottenham Hotspur in the final in Bilbao. United will be heading off on the club’s first post-season tour, with friendlies organised in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, straight after the final weekend of the Premier League.

If successful in Bilbao, United plan to celebrate the first trophy under Ruben Amorim with a small event involving players and their families and the club’s training ground before their final game of the Premier League season against Aston Villa on 25 May.

United have not staged an open bus parade since winning their last Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, and there were no such celebrations when they last won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho in 2017, or when they lifted either the Carabao Cup or FA Cup under Erik ten Hag.

Newcastle United commemorated the end of their trophy drought with a celebration in the city when they lifted the Carabao Cup this season. Liverpool also plan to mark a second title in 35 years with a parade in the city on Monday 26 May, the day after they lift the title at Anfield.

Tottenham Hotspur would be expected to organise a parade in north London should Ange Postecoglou’s side win the Europa League, which would be the club’s first trophy in 17 years.

Meanwhile, the BBC have reported that Manchester United players will be limited to two free tickets each for the Europa League final, while it has also been reported that staff will not receive free tickets for the match in Bilbao.

It is 7am on Sunday morning at Gatwick airport, three days before the Europa League final, and there are already a lot of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur shirts. Some are travelling to Bilbao this early because flights are almost a thousand pounds cheaper.

A few have friends on connections hundreds of miles in the opposite direction, through Malaga and even Marrakesh. A group are getting the 35-hour ferry from Portsmouth. Some are only in Bilbao for the game itself, due to a total lack of accommodation. Even hostels are going for £550.

Spurs fan Adam Nathan talks of "spending the best part of another season ticket to attend the game".

“Planning the trip was made difficult by the scandalous pricing of direct flights and limited accommodation,” adds Dale O’Donnell, a United fan. “We looked at all the routes, before deciding to fly to Bordeaux. We’ll leave in the early hours after the game.”

Bilbao is simply a brilliant city, as well as a brilliant football city, with a great stadium too. But its infrastructure isn't quite equipped for 80,000 fans, or more, arriving. That’s almost a quarter of its own population. Bilbao could be overwhelmed, diluting much of its good.

And while prices are always going to rise for major events, this has been up there with the worst in recent years. That's all the more remarkable given this is a trip to northern Spain.

“There is profiteering everywhere but, with so little time to book, it's just wrong that this happens every final," says Barney Chilton of the Red News fanzine. “I'm not sure what Uefa can do, but surely something. The majority get royally done over just wanting to see their team in a rare European final.”

While much of this is just “demand”, why not stage potentially mass-attended finals where there is more supply?

It certainly raises the key question of why supporters so often have to bear the cost of decisions taken way above their heads, not to mention about the nature of those decisions. Numerous sources describe host selection processes as “not very transparent”.

For Uefa’s part, there is obvious merit to spreading such showpieces around Europe. English fan groups like the Football Supporters' Association naturally agree “it's important to remember the wider continental dynamic”.

That’s all the more pointed when one view within Uefa is that "it's usually just the English clubs who complain". That's partly true, but only because their sheer sizes mean tens of thousands are always guaranteed to travel for finals. Given the Premier League’s modern strength, too, Uefa’s more noble intentions must surely be tempered by health and safety concerns as well as some duty to fan loyalty?

"Football asks so much of fans to create atmosphere, and you’re always reminded how little they care about you," Nathan says.

None of this is new, either. There was “great concern” within Uefa last year, when it became clear Dublin would have struggled with the 200,000 Liverpool fans who planned to travel for the Europa League final, and what might have been Jurgen Klopp's last game. That anxiety only rose when it looked like Rangers or West Ham United might meet them there. None of them got that far, and Dublin ended up being ideal for Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen.

That’s the other side of this. Bilbao would have had no issue with Lyon against Eintracht Frankfurt, either. This will to spread the fixture is also deepened by the awareness that the Champions League final is now such a mega-event that there are currently probably only seven cities with the scale to stage it: London, Berlin, Munich, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon and now Budapest.

Paris has the necessary 70,000-seater stadium in St Denis, but 2022 was a near disaster so it won't be used for some time. Istanbul's Ataturk involved similar issues in 2023 and Italy doesn’t have stadiums that are modern enough. Russia has obviously dropped from potential options, too.

That leaves many cities pitching for the Europa League, which then encounters problems when its final takes on Champions League scale. Uefa obviously don’t know whether that's going to be the case in the semi-finals, let alone four years before, when the hosts are usually chosen.

Bilbao was awarded this one in a 2021 settlement, after Covid restrictions meant it was removed as a host city of Euro 2020.

There hasn’t actually been a vote for the Europa League final since 2018, which was for the 2022 showpiece in Seville. Even those are naturally conditioned by politics. Many football executives remain exasperated by how much of the game is still influenced by who gets to host what. A final can make a huge difference for a national association's leadership, which can in turn ensure loyalty to the Uefa hierarchy. Such processes, as well as the apparent lack of checks and balances amid potential clientelism, have repeatedly been questioned by reformers. Insiders similarly talk of how there often feels a "one for me, one for you” approach.

Wembley generates by far the most income, for example, even though there is little “political” benefit to giving finals to the FA. That year’s revenue then leaves other fixtures freer to be chosen for more football or political reasons. A Conference League final in Tirana encourages genuine “legacy” investment from local authorities, so the game’s infrastructure is improved. Istanbul 2023, which was initially 2020, was meanwhile seen as a political vote.

Such politics can go even deeper. Uefa love the Spurs and Arsenal stadiums, but it is the national football associations that submit bids, and the FA naturally have an interest in promoting Wembley. The Bernabeu is meanwhile unlikely to be used for some time due to Uefa's dismal relationship with Real Madrid.

All of these form reasons why Uefa insist it is impossible to move finals at short notice. There are just too many agreements and works. While many naturally point to the precedents of the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Champions League finals being moved, they were down to exceptional circumstances. Turkey’s own Covid restrictions saw Istanbul’s final switched twice, while St Petersburg was stripped of 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.

Fan cost doesn't meet such criteria, something a little ironic when one of the arguments against moving finals is that cities themselves spend huge amounts on applications. They also require numerous agreements with local authorities, especially on security. Uefa themselves need to ensure accommodation for huge workforces, as well as sponsors. The latter is unlikely to generate much sympathy.

Even if a final was moved at short notice, though, the same venue could just have the same problem the next year.

Some in Uefa feel the clubs could charter more flights. Eintracht Frankfurt planned to do exactly that for the controversial 2019 final in Baku, only to fall short at the semi-finals. The Azerbaijani capital was one venue that did prompt more serious talk about moving the final, given the logistical difficulties Chelsea and Arsenal fans endured.

Such discussions haven’t actually happened for Bilbao. There is nevertheless an acceptance within Uefa that this is something they have to start thinking about more, especially given the strength of the Premier League.

The governing body has generally had to be more proactive, given the many self-inflicted issues through a series of finals over 2021 to 2023. Internal concerns about a loss of expertise have increased.

While such issues have calmed over the last year, there is a definite trepidation in Bilbao about the volume of fans arriving.

This needs to go well. The city deserves it, but not as much as fans who have spent so much.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma has praised head coach Ange Postecoglou for shielding the squad during a turbulent season, culminating in their Europa League final appearance.

Despite a record-breaking number of Premier League defeats, surpassing the 19 losses suffered in both the 1993-94 and 2003-04 seasons, Postecoglou has consistently refrained from blaming his players.

A significant injury crisis, spanning from November to March, undoubtedly hampered Spurs’ domestic campaign.

However, the team has rallied in the Europa League, overcoming AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Bodo/Glimt to secure a place in Wednesday's final against Manchester United. This resilience, Bissouma suggests, is a testament to Postecoglou's leadership.

“It’s never changed, never changed. We have a good relationship,” Bissouma said of Postecoglou.

“He’s like a dad or uncle for us. He’s always trying to make us understand what he really wants.

“For us, he’s Ange, he’s him. He’s got his idea. He’s trying to help us every time. It’s not easy (the style), especially at the start. We have to stick together like what we’re doing and that’s what we’re doing.”

Bissouma said the coach was “always protecting us”.

Every game when we lose or win. Like I said, he’s got a top mentality. He understands football. He knows it’s up and down. He never blames players.

“To have a coach like him is something. At the same time, with him, we are working hard.

“We want to improve every game and every training because it’s really important for us and the club. We’re all here for the club, for the same reason. It’s necessary to be together.”

Bissouma, a Mali international, played only 13 minutes of ties with AZ and Frankfurt following a string of poor displays before he starred – when Lucas Bergvall was ruled out with an ankle injury – after being required to start both matches against Bodo.

A season which started with a one-match club ban following a laughing-gas incident could finish with Bissouma being a key member of the team which ended Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought.

Quizzed on his laughing gas mishap, Bissouma said: “I don’t want to talk about that, sorry.

“Of course there’s more to come (from me). We are always here for learning, I’m still learning. This season has been hard for me because I didn’t play much.

“The most important thing is if the team does good. I’m here to work and when my time comes, I play.

“The only thing I know is you have to work hard and never give up and be ready when your team needs you. That’s what I’m always trying to do.

“We know what we have to do. We have to win this cup because for us, it’s really important. It’s an important game for us.

“As a player, it’s not coming every season. For the club, for the fans, it’s something special.”