Few finals like this come to be so fearful, but that's the case with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs' fight for the Europa League trophy in Bilbao this week.
Both sides arrive in the Basque Country and need victory because finance and lineup construction are the same reasons as morale, especially Manchester United, which is the extent to which the club has fallen since the regular challenge of the highest honor.
United are preparing for the Ninth European Major Final when fans arrive in St. Maas on Wednesday in the travel conditions. But the current situation has become a suitable illustration of the decline of this month 20 years ago, when twenty years of neglect, mismanagement and contempt were ignored because the Glazer family controlled the club.
It was in May 2005 that Glazers purchased the club's controlling stake, and fan protests took over from all angles.
The way to buy clubs is still the root cause of fan dissatisfaction, while Glazers uses leveraged buyouts to fund purchases. In short, Manchester United's own assets were used as collateral for buying the club's loans, suddenly placing its debt of at least £550 million. This is the first time the club has entered the red color since 1931.
"At the time, it was certainly very radical, using the club's assets to provide funding."
“I don’t think it’s very well aware of the nature of the acquisition,” said joint season ticket holder Wayne Barton, who has become a prominent historian for the club in recent years, and has written several books, including biography of George Best and Eric Cantona.
When asked about the general feeling at the time, he said: "Confirm questions, sure prudence, clear distrust." "There has never been an overwhelming feeling, which would be a good thing for Manchester United". This is not the case.
"Of course, in the early years, when interest rates were high, 14.25% of the loans accounted for a large part of the club's revenue," Maguire said.
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He reiterated that United have been “having been a competitive budget since 2005” but explained: “Debt has been an emotional issue, as much as anything else” rather than affecting current spending in particular.
"It's symbolic in terms of lack of progress," he added.
Patton is a bit animated, although when he reminds "other clubs in England will go bankrupt if they are burdened by Manchester United's debt".
"These numbers are there. If you take away money that has been exhausted from the United money, including the original debt and the interest paid, they will go bankrupt if you put it on other clubs in British football."
These numbers are indeed very distinct. Manchester United currently has more than £1 billion in debt, and the club has paid only £800 million in interest since the acquisition. In addition, the driver's own stock sales and dividends made more than £1 billion from the club. sports.
"They don't want to invest, they're fair, no one makes them invest, and they don't do it. They never invest a penny," Patton said.
But besides the concept of financial debt and concepts of the club's financial future, moral debt associated with the Glazer is rarely mentioned in discussions of fan sentiment.
In a 4-1 victory over Bilbao in the second leg of the semifinals earlier this month, fans sitting in line in front of Sir Jim Ratcliffe stood up to protest and were forced to withdraw from their decades-old seats, the area will be used as a hotel seat for the next season.
It's a problem that affects fans overall, but it's a symbol of the collapse of Glazer's ownership - the erosion of the fan experience and the decline of the relationship between the club and the fans.
When Glazers completely changed the process of maximizing revenue streams, they have also been pioneers of slow disruption in the average fan experience.
This is a problem that starts happening anywhere. Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is allegedly a director of a ticket sales website that has tickets to the match against Manchester United last weekend for £442. Manchester City has proposed a new policy that all season ticket holders must personally participate in 10 of the 19 home Premier League matches next season and will lose their tickets next season if they don't. Aston Villa has come under fire for the ridiculous Champions League ticket price earlier this season.
All this points to something even more sinister, as the “traditional fans” mentioned in the Super League plan are priced and move on.
These questions often stem from simple misunderstandings about clubs, which Patton emphasizes that they are “still a community asset” of the “romantic elements” associated with.
It is in this romantic element that the light shines. For Manchester United fans, the concept of billionaire owners is not to bore them, but to the intangible disregard of many intangible assets, which makes the club what it is today.
"The accusation is that they (the Lazers) disrespect history," Patton said.
He added: "The people of old Manchester United, who have represented Manchester United since the late 1980s, see themselves as custodians ahead. What the club should represent and what it should represent."
Since Ferguson retired, there have been few forms of numbers that could not continue to serve as these custodians.
Saturday’s scene at Crystal Palace in Wembley is a timely reminder of what football clubs should represent, from fans and community to shared experiences – whether it’s weekly routines or a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
But for Manchester United fans, these scenarios will remind people that clubs that once palace-like in terms of values have become corporate machines and often express disdain for their fans, history and the communities they should represent.
For the advanced number of Manchester United's current iterations, look at Saturday's activities, hoping to copy them only because of revenue. They hardly care if you have 20 years of memories to watch the club every week with relatives who are now past. They also don’t care whether you or your friends are priced from participating in games or taking care of children.
So Wednesday night is both the town, Newcastle and Palace, and what we have seen in recent weeks are both Manchester United fans who should also pay attention to. Victory or Loss, football is about this kind of night, whether it's the first trophy or the 50th cup, no matter how the club's form looks like a court.
Wednesday’s game has two types of importance, one of which was discussed in the balance sheet on the board. But the other is unquantifiable, which is included in the life experiences of St. Mames or Stretford and the seven sisters’ terraces.
It is this experience that forms the basis for why people follow the club, whether they have experienced it for the first time last week, or they will participate in the weekly weekly, hoping that one day it will happen.
For Manchester United fans, experiences like defeating Lyon in Wednesday or the 5-4 quarter are “a fairy tale part, a part of romanticism”.
While Glazers may be able to effectively take away your season pass through price increases or restrictions, they can’t take away the personal experience.
"Everything is attached to the club's DNA," Patton added.
"They can never have it."