Last night saw two of the weakest teams from the English Premier League contest the Europa League Final played in Bilbao, Spain. Tottenham Hotspur who lie in 17th pace in the league table played Manchester United who were one spot higher lying in 16th place. This one match last night had so much riding on it as the winner qualified for the Champions League next season.
Tottenham won the final 1-0 leaving United's season in tatters with no European football next season. The quality on show by both teams was sorely lacking and it was evident why both teams have struggled this season. If the 3 sides who were eventually relegated were just a little stronger then there would be no complaints if United and Tottenham were relegated as they are that bad. They are not the giants of Europe and you have to wonder if and how these clubs can be turned around next season.
The knock on effect of having no European football will affect United far more revenue wise as not only by having less matches televised they also have less gate revenue. United's share price fell by 7% which equates to a £160m value drop over night.
The knock on effect is actually far worse with the club already having a £370m loss over the last 5 years. The club has been laying off staff through redundancy packages which will now see more staff released knowing there is even less revenue next year.
United missing out on any European football also reduces their chances of attracting top players which has been an ongoing problem for the team over a number of seasons already. A talented footballer looking to secure his future will think twice about signing for United and most likely will give them a wide berth and sign elsewhere. European football along with the chance of trophies is what every top player wants. A top half finish next season in the Premier League looks even further away next season.
United will pay a £10m penalty to their shirt sponsors Adidas for failing to qualify for Champions League football next season. They have a clause that every two years without Champions League football they pay a £10m penalty. The gate revenue for home games is worth £6m for every home game not played whereas Tottenham score roughly £5m for every extra home game besides the prize money for just being in the tournament.
Big Financial Revenue Swing
Comparing that to Tottenham who are boosted by Champions League football next season which will see their revenue upwards of a £100m boost and who knows maybe more, but highly doubtful if they went into the knockout stages. They at least have a chance to strengthen their squad and would be far more attractive to attract top players than United.
Financial fair play which is a system in place that protects clubs from overspending will hit United very hard as they will have far less money to use buying players. They will have to sell players in order to strengthen their squad and missing out on the £100m Champions League is a massive blow. The one escape clause they have from Financial Fair Play is if they are building or redeveloping a stadium and another reason they have to break ground next year on this project.
The problem is United are a giant club with massive over heads and their business model is geared around success and expected revenue from being involved in European competitions. The problem now is the club needs to be run on a shoe string to be able to bounce back and they do not have the players to do so.