UEFA rule change leaves Spurs fearing the worst as Man Utd spared humiliation after final defeat

A UEFA rule change could make life much harder for Spurs in the Champions League after they secured qualification with a Europa League final triumph.

Ange Postecoglou lived up to his prediction by guiding Spurs to a trophy in his second season and their first bit of silverware in 17 years with a narrow 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Bilbao.

Not only did Spurs finally end their trophy drought and end a wretched run in finals, the North London side will return to the coveted Champions League next season as well as being in line for an estimated £100 million in revenue.

A Champions League place has been up for grabs for the Europa League winner since the 2015/16 season and brings an added incentive to winning UEFA's secondary club competition.

But there has been a tweak to the rules in recent times, which could be damaging to 2019 Champions League finalists Spurs.

The 2024/25 season saw a radical overhaul to UEFA's competitions as a league format was introduced, featuring 36 teams in one table.

In the Champions League, teams played eight games with different opponents through randomly drawn fixtures and the top eight qualified for the knockout stages, with the next 16 going into the knockout phase play-offs.

Spurs will play in the Champions League next season. Image: Getty

UEFA rule change could hamper Spurs next season

The previous format which saw teams from the Champions League to the Europa League was scrapped and that same approach will apply next season.

But another change brought in involves the seeding system. Under the old ruling, the Europa League winners would go straight into Pot One for the Champions League group stage draw.

Yet that is no longer the case as their seeding is dictated by their UEFA coefficient. Atalanta were in Pot Two for the 2024/25 Champions League season and ended up having to play Arsenal, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Finishing ninth, the Serie A outfit were beaten by Club Brugge in the play-offs. According to UEFA, Spurs are 27th in the UEFA coefficient rankings with 70.250 points, based off performance in European competition in recent seasons.

Spurs will be the sixth English representative in next season's Champions League after the Premier League secured an extra place for fifth spot through performance in Europe.

They are likely to be in the second or third pot when the draw for the league phase is made on 28 August 2025.

United, meanwhile, will not be involved in European football at any level next season as they look to start afresh under Ruben Amorim.