Manchester United embark on the UEFA Europa League final knowing that only a victory will salvage this dismal 2024/25 campaign.
A win over Tottenham in Bilbao would emphatically gloss over the fact Ruben Amorim currently has Manchester United sitting 16th in the Premier League, and facing the prospect of no European football for the first time since the 2014/15 campaign.
One Manchester United icon in Rio Ferdinand is particularly excited ahead of the showpiece event in Spain, where the Red Devils will automatically qualify for the UEFA Champions League if they beat Spurs, with the TNT Sports pundit clearly valuing the UEFA Europa League highly.
Bilbao Bound ✈️
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
YANITED YANITED ❤️ pic.twitter.com/4OoiofnjVq
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) May 20, 2025
However, that was not always the case.
Rio Ferdinand once called the UEFA Europa League “embarrassing” to be involved in
The 46-year-old was highly critical of Manchester United taking part in the UEFA Europa League back in December 2015, after Louis van Gaal took the Red Devils out of the UEFA Champions League into the lesser competition.
The Guardian quote Ferdinand as saying: “It is embarrassing. I was in a squad that went into the Europa League. It is an embarrassment. You don’t want to come out of your house, or walk around Manchester. You look at people looking at you thinking, you are not good enough, questioning you and questioning the team.”
So, to see the Londoner now buzzing ahead of the final in Bilbao just goes to show how far standards have slipped at Old Trafford across the last decade.
Ferdinand – who sat on the fence when asked to predict the final – doubled down on his criticism of the UEFA Europa League in 2015 as well, writing on X (previously known as Twitter): “As a Manchester United player I was embarrassed going from the Champions league to the Europa league. We expected more of ourselves.”
As a @ManUtd player I was embarrassed going from the Champions league to the Europa league…we expected more of ourselves.
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) December 8, 2015
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be desperate for glory
It has been well documented that money is tight at Old Trafford, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe cancelling many benefits for staff members to cut costs.
However, winning the UEFA Europa League would see Manchester United receive £10.95m in prize money, which is sure to provide some financial relief for INEOS.
