South Korea’s Son Heung-min leaves Bilbao without a medal

Bilbao, Spain: Striker Son Heung-min was among the Tottenham players left without winner’s medals during the awards ceremony for the Europa League final on Wednesday.

Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin appeared to be caught by surprise when the medals ran out before all Tottenham players had received them following the team’s 1-0 win over Manchester United.

Uefa later said that the problem occurred because Tottenham sent too many people to receive their medals during the ceremony.

Football’s European governing body said the clubs had been informed that only 30 medals would be presented on stage to each club. It said 20 further medals were given to the club following the ceremony for distribution to players and staff.

Son, who lifted the trophy in front of his teammates in the awards ceremony, was among the few players who didn’t receive his medal on the field. It was Tottenham’s first major title since 2008.

United lost the final courtesy of a Brennan Johnson goal, compounding a miserable season for the club.

Manager Ruben Amorim said after the defeat that if the club no longer wanted him he would quit “without any conversation about compensation”.

Now his captain Bruno Fernandes, 30, has followed suit, aware of United’s need for an overhaul of the playing staff despite financial constraints.

“I have always been honest. I’ve always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go,” said Fernandes.

“I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club to the great days. But I’ve always said it and I keep my word in the same way. On the day that the club thinks that I’m too much or it’s time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it.”

Fernandes has been United’s standout player for United this season but failed to make an impact against Spurs at the San Mames stadium.

‘Very sad day’

He said the defeat was a crushing blow.

“We wanted to win more than anything in this final,” he said. “It’s a very sad day because we’ve done some very good things in this competition until today.

“But today (Wednesday) was the day that mattered, the most important day of the competition. It was the day we could have been in the history of the Europa League, but it’s not like that. And football is cruel, and it’s been our turn to lose.”

The midfielder, who joined United in 2020, insisted his compatriot Amorim was still the right man to lead United, despite a terrible record since arriving at Old Trafford in November.

United have won just six league games on his watch and are 16th in the Premier League, destined for their lowest finish since relegation in 1974.

“We (the players) just agreed that he’s the right man,” said Fernandes. “He has done a lot of good things. We know that the manager is looked at by the results.

“Obviously we see more than that as players. We know for everyone it will be about him bringing back the positivity in the club.

“To try to bring the club back to fight for trophies, fight for the big trophies. And we all agree that he’s the right man.”