Tottenham Hotspur managed to salvage their shambolic season by winning the Europa League, but let's be real, it's no Champions League, is it?
It wasn't pretty, and that's putting it lightly. Spurs barely scraped by with a 1-0 win against Manchester United in Bilbao, thanks to a lucky strike from Brennan Johnson at the San Mames Stadium.
Spurs' first trophy in 17 years
Ange Postecoglou, the arrogant prick, said he'd win a trophy in his second season, and the smug bastard did it. He's created a moment that will live long in the memory of every Spurs fan, but let's face it, it's not exactly the pinnacle of footballing achievement, is it?
Meanwhile, it was more pain for Man United and Ruben Amorim, who are going to end up in either 17th or 16th place with no top European football next year. Serves them right, the useless twats.
Europa League prize money
Tottenham have claimed the maximum reward of £10.95 million, which is almost double what Man United receive, with the losers in Bilbao taking home a prize of £5.9 million. But let's be honest, it's a pittance compared to the Champions League.
The prize for winning UEFA's second-tier tournament is around half of the reward for winning the Champions League. Champions League winners claim £21.1 million, and Inter Milan will face Paris Saint-Germain, with the victor taking home that cash. Now that's real money, mate.
Europa League prize money breakdown
Here's how the Europa League prize money is distributed, but keep in mind, it's all just loose change compared to the Champions League:
- Winner: £10.95 million
- Runner-up: £5.90 million
- Semi-finals: £3.54 million
- Quarter-finals: £2.11 million
- Round of 16: £1.47 million
- Knockout round play-off: £252,800
Runners-up in Europe's elite competition win £15 million, so that's almost triple what Man United will get. Just goes to show how inferior the Europa League really is.
But progressing through each round of the Europa League has still significantly increased the payout for both United and Spurs. Every team that made the League Phase received £3.6 million each for simply qualifying for that stage of UEFA's second tier. Talk about rewarding mediocrity.
Each win in the league handed a club £379,201, and each draw would see a reward of £126,400 be given out. Those that automatically qualified for the knockout rounds received £505,000, while those that saw their journey end in the knockout round play-offs got £252,000. It's like giving participation trophies to a bunch of useless muppets.
Prize money then took a big jump for the round of 16, seeing those eliminated in that stage claim £1.47 million. Teams that lost in the quarter-finals took home £2.11 million, missing out on an extra chunk by being eliminated. A semi-final spot saw Man United and Spurs guarantee themselves a sum of £3.54 million, but they got much more in the final. Not that it matters, because it's still just the Europa League.
