Man Utd are playing a Europa League final with more than £100m and silverware at stake

As Manchester United prepare to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final tonight in Bilbao, the pressure extends far beyond silverware — with more than £100 million in potential revenue riding on the result.

After finishing a disappointing 16th in the Premier League, United have no route into the Champions League unless they win tonight.

That single result could define the club’s financial flexibility, summer transfer activity, and broader rebuild under manager Rúben Amorim and part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

According to AS, the windfall for winning the Europa League includes:

“This is the biggest game of United’s season, not just for sporting reasons — the financial implications are enormous,” a senior club official told AS.

United have already agreed a deal for Matheus Cunha worth £62.5 million and are in talks for further signings including Bryan Mbeumo and Viktor Gyökeres. But without Champions League football, their transfer budget will be tightly constrained by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

“Win tonight, and they have flexibility. Lose, and they’ll need to sell before buying,” said football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

Missing out on the Champions League for a second consecutive season would also risk alienating commercial partners and weakening United’s global standing — something Ratcliffe’s INEOS group is desperate to avoid as they push through structural and sporting reforms.

For manager Amorim, the stakes are just as personal. Victory would validate a chaotic debut campaign and secure both time and resources to reshape the squad in his image.

A loss, meanwhile, could stall momentum and increase pressure from fans and pundits — regardless of assurances about his long-term job security.

Tonight’s result in Bilbao will therefore have implications that go far beyond the final whistle — shaping United’s immediate future both on and off the pitch.