Manchester United and Tottenham can secure the qualification of the Champions League with the victory in the Europa League final – but the path has been interviewed by people like Gary Neville and Arsene Wenger
Gary Neville claims that the glory of claiming the Europa League has been reduced – with teams that only see it as a route to the Champions League. Tottenham and Manchester United will dispute the final in a matter of weeks, but all the talk is about securing a place on Europe's top table.
Their exploits in the Europa League have indicated for both teams for terrible Premier League campaigns. The Manchester and Tottenham outfit will both end in the bottom half of the table, but can still be one of the six English teams in the Premier League of next season.
Arsene Wenger recently made both Spurs and United fans angry, when he came out and suggested that the winners of the Europa League should not get a route to the Champions League. Instead, he suggested that winners should give the chance to defend their title if they had not automatically qualified.
Roy Keane was in full agreement with Neville and also claimed that the ex -arenal manager had a valid point with all the conversation around the Europa League that focused on the possibility of Champions League income -not the chance to win a historical trophy.
He said: “Arsene Wenger said no, they should automatically qualify for the Europa League, but not necessarily for the Champions League. Especially when you are in the Premier League where five teams are already eligible.
Keane answered quickly and said, “I agree with that. I think it is perfect. To have five or six teams … It is called a Champions League.” The Irishman added: “I think that is a kind of stimulus for smaller teams, they can come in through the back door. But Man Utd loses a lot of competitions last year and loses many games this year. Spurs are the same.”
Of the last five winners, only Seville in 2020 and Atalanta won the Europa League last year, but also qualified for the Champions League in itself after their competition performance. Frankfurt in 2022 and Sevilla the following year both Champions League spots landed despite ending in the bottom half that season.
Neville underlined the fact that the Landing Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup, was once seen as a huge achievement, but is now secondary to the financial implications involved.
“I actually agree with Arsene Wenger,” he said. “Every competition we watch at the moment we just talk about the money at the bet. Nobody is talking about winning the Europa League to win a trophy.
“Uefa Cup and Cup Winners' Cup used to be big trophies that Club could win. Now, the first thing you hear is:” Yes, you get the Champions League, it's a £ 60 million game. “The FA Cup is devalued, really great competitions have been devalued.”
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