Manchester United can hit a £100million jackpot by beating Tottenham in the Europa League final – and then kiss it goodbye.

The two Premier League rivals are set to compete at San Mames in Bilbao on Wednesday night, with the winner securing direct entry into next season’s Champions League.

This opportunity is estimated to be valued at least £100m. However, Confidential has revealed that United is expected to face a similar loss amount this financial year, as the club is preparing to report a substantial third-quarter loss of £40m in the upcoming weeks.

United’s total debt, including around £300m owing on transfers, is now in excess of £1billion.

Even though the club anticipates generating up to £160m from routine activities this year, it will still result in a sixth consecutive year of financial losses, amassing a total of £450m.

It was revealed last week that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment in United is already worth half the £1.25bn he paid for the minority stake after United’s share price dropped from £26 to under £11 – a paper loss of more than £600m.

Ratcliffe, who has warned that United could have gone bust by Christmas without savage cost-cutting measures, saw his personal wealth fall by an eye-watering £7bn to £17bn in the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

Even if United win the final in Bilbao, protest group The 1958 are already planning an anti-Glazer march for Sunday’s home game against Aston Villa so fans can vent their anger over the Glazers’ ownership, which began 20 years ago this month.

Staff jobs up in the air

The football staff whose jobs are at risk in the latest round of redundancies at United have been told they won’t discover their fate until after the club’s post-season tour of Hong Kong and Malaysia.

It means that a number of employees who have flown to Bilbao for the Europa League final will then get on a plane to the Far East with their jobs hanging in the balance. Confidential has learned that group includes United’s team of analysts, but other football departments are believed to be affected by the 200 extra job cuts being made by Ratcliffe and Ineos.

Last week it emerged that Ruben Amorim has paid for 30 staff and their families to go to the final at the San Mames because the club has not given them complimentary tickets – unlike Spurs who have offered one to all 700 full-time employees. Most United staff have been invited to a screening at Diecast in Manchester where they will be offered two free drinks.

United’s players were also unhappy at only being offered two tickets each and seats on a charter flight to Santander.

United will still have enough staff and guests in Bilbao to need access to three hotels. The squad will be based in a UEFA-designated hotel, but the squeeze on accommodation for the final has meant United having to find rooms in two other hotels to put up staff, guests and sponsors.

One is the Melia Hotel – where the United team stayed for the semi-final against Athletic Club and would like to have used again if UEFA did not have alternative plans for them – and the other is just out of town.

Sir Jim takes another £25k hit

If  Ratcliffe didn’t have enough to scowl at on Friday night, when he was at Stamford Bridge to see United fall to an 18th Premier League defeat this season, he had to watch another £25,000 go down the drain.

Ratcliffe may be conducting a brutal cost-cutting process but one thing he cannot control is on-pitch performance and, in this instance, ill-discipline on the pitch.

United picked up six yellow cards against Chelsea, two of those coming after the 90th minute for substitutes Manuel Ugarte and Ayden Heaven, which saw Ruben Amorim’s side hit with an obligatory fine.

Premier League rules state that teams are fined £25,000 if they receive six or more yellow cards in a single match, making it the icing on the cake after another miserable night for United and their hierarchy. When it rains, it pours…

Banking on experience

Finals so often come down to small margins, but one thing that cannot be underestimated is the experience of having played in major finals before.

Based on Manchester United’s starting XI versus Chelsea on Friday night, those 11 players have 70 final appearances across their careers, winning 54 of them.

Casemiro, who has had a renaissance for United in the second half of the season – particularly in the Europa League campaign – has played in 19 career finals, and has won every single one of them.

Mason Mount has played in nine finals, winning five, Andre Onana has six wins from eight finals, while Victor Lindelof has a 100 per cent record from the seven finals he has been part of.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin is Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side who, based on the XI that played the second leg away to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals, have made 24 final appearances between them.

Rodrigo Bentancur has won all five of his finals, while Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min have both played in four finals, Romero winning all four and Son winning just one of them.

When the lights are brightest in Bilbao, United will hope their wealth of experience pulls them over the line.

Onana’s treble yell

Andre Onana is set to become the first goalkeeper to play in European finals for three different clubs when United take on Spurs in Bilbao.

Onana was in goal for Ajax when United beat the Dutch side in the 2017 Europa League final, and also played for Inter Milan in their Champions League final defeat by Manchester City in 2023. The Cameroon international will be hoping to make it third time lucky at the San Mames.

Onana’s closest rival is Edwin van der Sar, who won the Champions League, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup with Ajax, and the Champions League with United. He also won the Intertoto Cup with Juventus in 1999, but seeing as that was a summer competition that produced multiple winners who advanced to the UEFA Cup, Confidential has decided it doesn’t count.

United will be hoping Onana produces the kind of performance which frustrated City for so long in Istanbul two years ago. Speaking about his team-mate, defender Noussair Mazraoui said: ‘He’s a great goalkeeper. I think he also showed this season a lot of great saves.

‘You have to give him the confidence and you have to trust him because he is your No 1 goalkeeper. I don’t have the feeling like I’m scared to let somebody shoot.’

Bruno’s a Captain Fantastic

If United prevail in Bilbao on Wednesday, Bruno Fernandes will become the first United captain to win cup finals in three consecutive seasons.

Fernandes lifted the FA Cup after United beat Manchester City last May, and also collected the Carabao Cup the previous season when Erik ten Hag’s side overcame Newcastle at Wembley because he was captain in the absence of Harry Maguire, who started on the bench.

United won three successive finals between 1990 and 1992, and again between 2008 and 2010, but the matchday captaincy was split between Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce, and Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra.

Old Trafford gets a garlic bed

Speaking of food, it was noticeable on a visit to Old Trafford last week for United’s Europa League final media day that the pitch was getting a unique growth treatment. 

Hundreds of blobs of garlic had been placed across the turf to help regrowth with one game remaining of the 2024-25 season.

While it was an eye-catching sight for the few fans in the ground on a stadium tour, there is science behind it.

Garlic acts as an effective pesticide because it is high in sulphur, thus driving away insects and other creatures detrimental to the pitch. Less pests equals a healthier pitch.

Legends in the zone

Andy Cole and Denis Irwin will join supporters when United’s Bilbao fanzone opens at 11am on Wednesday morning.

United have been designated an area Etxebarria Parkea close to the old town, while Tottenham’s fans will be in the Ametzola area of Bilbao.

Club legends Cole and Irwin will be in the fanzone along with the MUTV cameras. The entertainment includes an acoustic set by Liam Fray of the band Courteeners and a DJ set by Stone Roses bassist Mani.

United and Spurs have been given an allocation of just under 15,000 tickets with thousands more fans from both clubs expected to make the journey to Bilbao.

Ticket warning to fans

UEFA have warned United and Tottenham fans that a strict ticket policy will be in place for Wednesday’s final. Supporters breaking the rules risk being refused entry to the San Mames or kicked out of the stadium.

UEFA have instructed fans not to buy tickets from third-party outlets, which could be cancelled at any time, and reminded them that authentic tickets are ‘100 per cent digital’.

A statement added: ‘Paper tickets and print-at-home tickets are not valid tickets.’ Supporters presenting screen shots of mobile tickets will also be refused entry.

‘UEFA warns fans not to purchase tickets on the secondary market, from unauthorised third parties, websites, agencies or from touts,’ said the governing body.

‘Such tickets may be cancelled by UEFA at any time and fans are likely to be refused entry or be ejected from the stadium. In addition, fans may not receive the tickets which they have purchased from these unauthorised third parties.

‘UEFA actively enforces its ticketing terms and conditions, including by monitoring the internet, and will take action (including cancelling tickets) where breaches of its terms and conditions are identified.

‘Tickets for the upcoming UEFA club competition finals have already been cancelled in this respect and further cancellations are likely to follow.

‘Fans are also strongly advised not to travel to the stadiums without tickets as entrance to the stadium is only authorised upon presentation of a valid ticket.’

Race for Kone heating up

There has been plenty of discourse around what the future holds for Sekou Kone now the academy season has come to an end.

Kone has appeared on the cusp of making his first-team debut at times this season. Ultimately, despite training regularly with the seniors, it never materialised.

Confidential now understands that Kone is set to leave on loan next season to further his development, with Swiss side Lausanne, owned by Ineos, emerging as a frontrunner.

Clubs on the continent in Belgium and France are also admirers of the young Mali midfielder, but United are understood to be keen to strengthen their relationship with Lausanne having seen rivals like Chelsea benefit greatly from their working model with Strasbourg.

United have already moved for 18-year-old Le Havre striker Enzo Kana-Biyik this year and the expectation is that he spends the season out on loan with Lausanne, too.

Kone, 19, has made huge strides playing under Travis Binnion in the Under 21s this season, adapting to both a No 6 and No 8 role in games. But internally it has been determined that there is immense value in allowing Kone to refine his game in a senior set-up while out on loan before coming back to make a push for the United first-team.

Neville’s feeling blue

Wayne Rooney joined the Everton legends who were paraded on the pitch as part of Everton’s last-ever game at Goodison Park on Sunday, but tributes from Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville went largely unnoticed unless you were at the game against Southampton.

They were played on the big screen at the end of Everton’s 2-0 win along with messages from Jose Mourinho, Sylvester Stallone and Dame Judi Dench.

Ferguson’s message received applause from the home fans, but it’s fair to say they were not quite so polite towards Neville.

Biancheri on Bellamy’s radar

A quick word of congratulations for academy striker Gabriele Biancheri.

Those who watch the academy regularly know plenty about Biancheri’s talents, but nonetheless it is hugely encouraging to see him earn a call-up to Wales’ senior group for a training camp.

Biancheri, who has also trained with Ruben Amorim’s senior squad at United on occasions this season, scored 21 goals across the Under 18s and Under 21s in 2024-25.

Now, Wales manager Craig Bellamy wants a closer look at him after selecting the teenager as part of a 29-man senior training camp. Bellamy is preparing for Wales’ crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month against Liechtenstein and Belgium.

While Biancheri remains an outside bet to feature in those games, it is still hugely beneficial to show Bellamy and Wales’ coaches of his qualities across two training camps.

The first began in Cardiff last week (May 14-18), but they are now in the second phase in Alicante, staying there until May 23.