Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will face off in the final of the Europa League on May 21, with the winning team qualifying for next season’s Champions League
Ahead of the Europa League final on May 21, the men in charge of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have taken different approaches. Spurs plan to give out around 700 free tickets to the final in Bilbao – one for each of the club’s full-time employees – in contrast to their opponents at San Mames.
The two struggling Premier League teams have a chance to salvage something from their season in the Basque Country. United and Spurs sit 16th and 17th respectively in the table, but progressed to the Europa League final after decisive semi-final wins against Athletic Club and Bodo/Glimt respectively.
Both teams will have an allocation of 15,000 tickets for the final, with the winners earning a spot in next season’s Champions League. According to The Mail, Spurs have offered a free ticket to each staff member, though the offer is not understood to include travel or accommodation.
United, in contrast, won’t be doling out free tickets to staff. The news comes against a backdrop of significant cost-cutting under billionaire part-owner Ratcliffe, with the workforce trimmed substantially since his arrival partway through the 2023-24 season.
A small number of United’s staff members will have the chance to win tickets via a ballot, while those unable to attend will be able to watch a screening of the game. They will reportedly be given two free drinks at the screening, while any plus-one they bring will have to pay for their own refreshments.
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Spurs will be playing in just their second European final of the 21st century and their second against English opposition. The first came in 2019, when they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final.
For United, it’s a sixth European final since the turn of the century and a chance for a third win. They beat Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final and overcame Ajax to win the Europa League in 2017, while they also suffered final losses against Barcelona (twice) and Villarreal.
United and Spurs both suffered 2-0 home defeats in the league at the weekend after ringing the changes ahead of the European final. Ruben Amorim’s team were beaten by West Ham, while Ange Postecoglou’s side fell to FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace.
“Everybody is focused on the final. The final is not the biggest thing in our football club. We need to change a lot of things,” United boss Amorim told Match of the Day after the latest defeat.
“If we don’t change the way we play and perform and feel this urgency of winning every game, we should not play in the Champions League. We should just stay in the Premier League and learn how to be competitive one week at a time.
“The biggest focus on our football club is to change a lot of things. It’s not just the final.”
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