The £100m final Man Utd cannot afford to lose?

It’s a “crossroads moment,” the author says.

Rene Meulensteen, a former first-team coach at Manchester United, delivered that verdict on Wednesday’s Europa League game against Tottenham.

Like all United fans, the Dutchman is coming to terms with a bitterly disappointing domestic campaign, and dreading the consequences of failure in Bilbao.

There would be a bright side to this. The most disastrous season won’t be made up for it, Meulensteen told BBC Sport, with United currently 16th in the Premier League and facing their lowest top-flight result in more than 50 years.

“But if they don’t win it, why would we expect anything different next season? To attract players, the trophy would free up some money.

We won’t be in Europe if they don’t win, and that’s what I really worry about the future.

With qualification for the lucrative Champions League the prize for the Europa League winners, and set against the backdrop of United’s long decline, it is easy to see why the match is being portrayed as such a defining moment at Old Trafford.

But just how significant is it in reality?

According to Kieran Maguire, a specialist in football finance, it was the most significant game in the club’s history financially.

” Champions League participation is crucial, because it could generate over £100m from tickets, broadcast money, and sponsor bonuses. “

With four guaranteed home games, Maguire projects that if United enters the competition head on, there could be an additional £30 million to £40 million.

Spurs obviously benefits from returning to the expanded Champions League, but United arguably needs it more.

Spurs recorded an annual loss of £26m last year, while United’s deficit was £113m over the same period. That brought their total losses over the previous three years to £300 million.

Given that United made $651 million in total revenue last year, which is the fourth-highest ever by any club in international football, the underperformance is even worse.

But due largely to the leveraged takeover by majority owners the Glazer family in 2005, the club are also more than £1bn in debt, which costs tens of millions of pounds a year to service. And refinancing and higher interest rates are expected to make that burden more costly in the coming years.

Meanwhile, reports of potential moves for Liam Delap, Antoine Semenyo, and Matheus Cunha are clinging to the news. Acquisitions could hinge on what happens in Bilbao, however, if United fails to sell high-paying, loaned players like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Antony.

Luring new players to Old Trafford is likely to be much easier if the club can offer European football. And United has acknowledged that they must cut out spending to improve their underperforming squad, which is why Ratcliffe’s hundreds of staff layoffs and ticket price increases, which have sparked protests among fans.

“United still have one of the Premier League’s highest wage bills. They have a squad which has cost more than £1bn, and many of those deals have been on credit, so they have outstanding instalments of over £300m that need to be paid, “says Maguire.

They must first begin recruiting the players the manager wants before they can meet their ongoing financial obligations. They do this by relying on the Champions League. The club will receive a much stronger position in terms of a reboot thanks to the additional revenue.

Such thoughts are echoed by former United defender Rio Ferdinand who told PA that victory could spark a” new era “for the club.

He said, “With Manchester United, they need the money to hire this manager, and it’s a crucial time for him.” If these are the men who won, then I believe there is a chance to press the restart button.

With each finishing position in the Premier League table worth around £3m, United have made around £30m less than the club’s executives would have been planning for.

A trophy would also make up for the Ineos hierarchy’s £14.5 million spent on the hiring and firing of former sporting director Dan Ashworth and former manager Erik ten Hag’s retention and transfer market support last summer.

Club managers are yet to explain how they will pay for the construction of a proposed new stadium, which is estimated to cost at least £2 billion, despite the increasing scrutiny over these decisions.

At a time when Ratcliffe is reducing his other sports investments, including an Ineos sponsorship agreement with Spurs, in a challenging economic landscape for the chemicals industry, a first European trophy since taking over at Old Trafford would be a very timely boost.

There would be a price for winning in Bilbao. According to Maguire, United could have to pay out 25% more in wages as a result of heavily incentive-driven player contracts. But he maintains that the Champions League would still be” transformative”.

Manager Ruben Amorim made the same conceit when he admitted that winning the Europa League was more important to him than winning the Champions League. The Champions League, not the cup, is what will help us rise to the top in a few years, he said.

The chance to win a trophy for Spurs’ first team since 2008 serves as another chance to salvage something from a desperate Premier League campaign that redefined what domestic failure looks like for a ‘Big Six’ club, just like United.

Their season has also featured furious fan protests over a perceived lack of investment by the club’s owner Enic and the approach of chairman Daniel Levy.

According to Maguire, “Qualifying for the Champions League would be preferable for Spurs rather than essential.”

They are the Premier League’s best-run company, they claim. They have the most profits historically. They consistently have a way to raise money from non-football activities, which is a far greater benefit than any other club.

Under the terms of their agreement, United will have to pay a £10 million penalty to kit provider Adidas for a second consecutive season out of the Champions League.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one former senior United figure predicts that the sponsorship revenue the club have prided themselves on over so many years could be at risk of” collapsing “if they are out of Europe for only the second time in 35 years, and that their brand value is now at a pivotal moment.

They pointed out the end of Tezos’ sponsorship of the club’s training kit this summer, saying that “being a European team creates more existential issues around the entire model.”

People start to question whether you are still a “big club,” and it’s not healthy. But win, and it keeps the wheels spinning. The cash will serve as their “lifeblood,” allowing them to continue trading. If not, they may consider selling local talent like Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo to give them the funds they need.

Some United fans travelling to Bilbao will hope the match evokes memories of the 1991 Cup Winners ‘ Cup triumph – which helped spark the subsequent Sir Alex Ferguson glory years, and showed the club could perform again at a European level.

When Jose Mourinho’s team won the Europa League final to clinch Champions League qualification after finishing sixth in the Premier League, others will take inspiration from 2017. This seems much more significant given how significantly United’s league performance has deteriorated.

Lose against Spurs, and many will feel that Ineos ‘ already ambitious Mission 21 plan to turn United into Premier League champions by 2028 could start to look like Mission Impossible. Senior United insiders disagree with the notion that this is a “win or lose” situation, arguing that the club’s cost-cutting program is intended to give flexibility during the summer transfer window and is based on a “no-Europe” scenario.

They claim the key to fixing the club’s structure is winning the Europa League, despite the fact that winning would give it a significant boost.

Both Amorim and his counterpart, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, have played down suggestions that the Europa League offers some kind of panacea. Even if Spurs lose, Amorim seems confident in his job, even if his team loses, because victory may not be enough to keep Postecoglou in his job, even as Spurs are on the verge of their worst Premier League season.

However, there is no denying that Wednesday will still have a lot of money on it, making it one of the most eagerly awaited games of the season.

While the neutrals can enjoy the jeopardy, United and Spurs fans will long for a much-needed sense of hope at the end of a season to forget. A chance to start a revival here in Bilbao, a city known for its regeneration, exists.