Struggling English football giants, Tottenham and Manchester United, brace for a tense showdown aiming to clinch a Champions League spot amidst dismal European qualifying campaigns.
English Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur stand on the brink of history as they prepare for their Europa League final clash in Bilbao on May 21. The winners of this eagerly anticipated encounter will not only secure a coveted European trophy but also secure a coveted berth in the 2024/25 Champions League.
Financial reward and a chance to compete against the continent's elite await the victor, as both teams have endured disappointing campaigns in the Premier League, currently languishing in 16th and 17th place respectively. Their positions in the lower reaches of the table serve as a stark reminder of the high stakes involved in the European showdown.
While the battle for the Europa League title will be intensely fought, the question remains: will this season's winner be the worst English football team ever to qualify for the Champions League? The West London club Chelsea, who finished sixth in the Premier League in the 2011/12 season and qualified for the Champions League due to their success in the Champions League and Europa League respectively, currently hold that dubious distinction. Manchester United themselves achieved this feat in 2016/17, finishing sixth and clinching a Champions League spot by virtue of their triumph in the Europa League.
The record for the lowest-ranked team to qualify for Europe from the English leagues is held by Wrexham, who secured a Cup Winners' Cup spot in 1994/95 by winning the Welsh Cup while finishing 13th in the third tier of English football. Millwall is the only other club from outside the Premier League to have qualified for Europe, securing a UEFA Cup berth in 2003/04 after a FA Cup final loss to Manchester United, following a tenth-place finish in the second tier.
Four teams have managed to qualify for Europe in the same season as they were relegated from the Premier League. Crystal Palace, Wigan, Birmingham City, and Ipswich have all achieved this feat, albeit in slightly different circumstances. In cases where a team loses a domestic cup final, they are often granted a European spot – as was the case for Wigan in 2013 and Hull City in 2014.
While it is certain that next season's Champions League will feature either Manchester United or Tottenham, their league positions will not break records for the lowest-ranked English clubs to qualify for Europe. The teams outside the Premier League, such as Wrexham and Millwall, have achieved that distinction in the past.
The victor of the Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, despite their less-than-impressive Premier League standings, will secure a berth in the 2024/25 Champions League, potentially adding another chapter to the league's history of low-ranked teams qualifying for European competitions. Remarkably, teams outside the Premier League, such as Wrexham and Millwall, have already etched their names in such records in the past.
