All or nothing: United, Spurs in Europa League final fight for salvation

London: It’s all or nothing when Manchester United and Tottenham meet in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

For the winner of the all-English showdown in Bilbao lies the mother of all get-out-of-jail-free cards: entry to next season’s Champions League. For the loser, it’s the abyss — no European football, unwanted records, and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over key figures.

That’s what’s on the line at Estadio de San Mames when two Premier League giants get one last shot at salvaging disastrous seasons.

Long gone are the days when United dominated England and contended for European crowns. But even by their recent standards, this season has hit a new low.

United are 16th in the table after a club-record 18 league defeats — their worst in the Premier League era. They are also set to record their lowest-ever points tally and finish.

“We know this season has been nowhere near good enough for this club and for our standards,” admitted defender Harry Maguire.

Spurs are just one place below them, with 21 losses — also a club record in the Premier League era.

The 2019 Champions League runners-up are seeking a first trophy since the 2008 League Cup. For a side that regularly flirted with the elite under Mauricio Pochettino, it’s a humbling fall.

Rarely does a final carry such high stakes beyond the trophy itself. Neither team finished anywhere near the top five, which would have guaranteed Champions League football. But the Europa League offers a backdoor into Europe’s top table — and all the riches and prestige it brings.

Real Madrid earned nearly $154 million for winning the Champions League last season. The total prize pot has jumped from $2 billion to $2.7 billion this year.

United could certainly use the money amid job cuts and restructuring under new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe. Coach Ruben Amorim, who replaced Erik ten Hag in November, knows what’s at stake.

“We are supposed to be in the Champions League. Europa League here is not enough and you have that feeling here,” Amorim said. “The best way to help us get in the top in a few years is the Champions League — it’s not (just) the cup.”

While a return to Europe’s top tier would be welcome at Spurs, the chance to end a 17-year wait for silverware might matter even more.

Not even serial winners like Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte could bring a trophy to North London. But manager Ange Postecoglou, now in his second season, had boldly claimed earlier this year that he “always wins something in year two.”

That was true at Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F. Marinos, and Celtic — but doing it with Spurs, in the middle of a season this bleak, would be something else.

“It’s not for the want of world-class players… or managers. They’ve had both,” Postecoglou said. “It’s something else that’s going to change this club.”

Despite their domestic struggles, United have continued to find ways to win silverware — lifting the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024. Victory in Bilbao would make it three seasons in a row with a trophy.

Amorim has struggled to steady the ship, though, with 14 defeats in 26 league games, including six of the last eight. While his job doesn’t appear to be under immediate threat, the pressure is mounting.

Postecoglou, too, has endured a rocky ride in his second year, following a promising fifth-place finish in his debut season. He acknowledges the strange duality of chasing European glory while enduring domestic disappointment.

“We’re kind of dealing with similar things — something fantastic in terms of a European run, and also the opposite extreme in the league,” he said.

In a boost to United, Joshua Zirkzee, Diogo Dalot and Leny Yoro returned to training ahead of the final. Zirkzee had been sidelined since April with a hamstring injury, while Dalot and Yoro also missed recent matches with calf and foot issues, respectively.

Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, however, remains unavailable.

United are desperate for reinforcements and momentum as they face Spurs in what may be their last route into Europe — and redemption.