To say that Tottenham and Manchester United have pinned all their hopes for the 2024/25 season on one game would be something of an understatement.
When Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim’s teams meet in the Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday, May 21, not only will they be duking it out for a European trophy, but the winners will also claim a place in next season’s Champions League.
That will mean a huge financial boost for one of these two teams, who have both suffered disastrous Premier League campaigns so far, as they currently occupy 16th and 17th place in the table, with only the three relegated teams worse off.
Who are the worst Premier League teams to qualify for Europe?
But would Manchester United or Tottenham be the worst teams playing in English football to ever qualify for Europe?
Not quite, but this season’s Europa League winners will be the worst to ever qualify for the Champions League, given that Chelsea (2011/12) and Manchester United (2016/17) are the currently lowest Premier League finishers to earn a Champions League spot. Both sides finished sixth in the top flight, but earned a place in the Champions League by winning other European competitions.
For the lowest-ranked team to qualify for Europe from the English leagues, you have to go to Wrexham who qualified for the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994/95 after winning the Welsh Cup. That came after they finished 13th in the English third tier.
Millwall are the only other club from outside the Premier League to qualify for Europe, as they took their place in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup after losing to Manchester United in the 2004 FA Cup final, after finishing 10th in the second tier.
A further four teams have qualified for Europe in the same season they were relegated from the Premier League.
Crystal Palace finished rock bottom in 1997/98, but were the only team who applied for the Intertoto Cup, while Wigan’s 2013 FA Cup win saw them earn a Europa League spot, despite an 18th-place finish.
Birmingham City were another 18th-place Premier League finisher in 2010/11, but won the League Cup, so found themselves in the Europa League, while Ipswich were relegated in 2001/02, but got a UEFA Cup spot thanks to the Fair Play League.
Bradford City survived the drop by one place in 1999/2000 and found themselves in the Intertoto Cup when an Italian side pulled out, while Hull City’s 2014 FA Cup final defeat meant they had a Europa League spot to go with their 16th-place Premier League finish.
So while we can safely say that either Manchester United or Tottenham will be English football’s worst-ever Champions League qualifier in terms of final league position, they won’t quite match the achievement of Wrexham and Millwall in booking a European spot from outside the top flight.
