What impact could Champions League football have at Tottenham in 2025/26?

Following a desperate domestic campaign, littered with painful losses and cringeworthy capitulations, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham are a side seriously under the pump.

The only glimmer of hope Spurs fans can cling onto from the 2024/25 season is the Europa League.

Following a decent campaign in 2023/24, Spurs qualified for the Europa League through a more than respectable league placing of 5^th and they were quickly installed by many bookmakers as one of the favourites to lift the trophy.

As with most things involving Spurs, peril has never been too far away but all American and Canadian sportsbooks fancied Tottenham and their enigmatic squad to be front-runners for European club football’s secondary trophy.

There have been plenty of scares along the way, but Ange Postecoglou’s side find themselves on the brink of Europa League glory. Ostensibly, winning the Europa League trophy doesn’t change too much for Spurs, they still have a long way to go in order to be competing at the sharp end of European football.

However, there is the huge carrot of one spot in next season’s Champions League going to the team that wins the Europa League – something that is interesting Spurs and fellow Premier League flops Manchester United.

With no major trophy in the cabinet since 2008, there is no saying that Tottenham will etch their name into Europa League history, but should they manage to break new ground, the impact of Champions League football could be huge for the club moving forwards.

Angelic Ange

The days of Ange Postecoglou being serenaded Robbie Williams’s smash hit Angels very much feel like a thing of the past on the terraces at Tottenham but a Europa League win and a return to the Champions League would silence even the most ardent Ange critics.

Over his almost two-year tenure, Postecoglou has had to ride the full range of emotions that comes with being a Premier League manager, from topping the table for his first few months in charge, to languishing down at the bottom of the league for the majority of his second campaign.

Should Spurs manage to qualify for the Champions League through winning the Europa League, it is hard to see the famously pragmatic Daniel Levy deciding to relieve him of his managerial duties.

Transitioning Spurs into a Champions League winning side feels very ambitious, even for a manager with the self-belief of Postecoglou but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he was at the helm for Tottenham next season.

Financial gains

The modern age of football remains dominated by financial riches and should Tottenham manage to qualify for the Champions League, it will push them into another sphere financially.

It is estimated that qualifying for the Champions League can be worth as much as £100 million for the teams involved, precious funds that can be used by Tottenham moving forwards.

Chairman Daniel Levy is known for his frugality when it comes to Premier League spending but with additional funds in the bank, Spurs could look to continue building for the future.

Not all doom and gloom

There is no denying that Tottenham have endured a very rough season in the Premier League and their anticipated bottom half finish certainly won’t sit well with most Spurs fans.

However, there have been a few mitigating circumstances that are often overlooked by fans and onlookers.

Injuries to key players have dominated the agenda for Spurs this season, with the likes of Micky van der Ven, Cristian Romero and James Maddison all having gone through lengthy spells on the sidelines.

Much of what Ange has tried to do during his two-year tenure in North London has centred around lowering the average age of the squad.

Archie Gray, Brennan Johnson, Djed Spence and Lucas Bergvall are just four examples of players that have excelled from being given more minutes than expected at Tottenham this season and they all look to be bright prospects for the future of the club.

Winning the Europa League would only paper over some glaring cracks at Spurs this season, but it would give them a platform to build upon in the future.

Exposure to Europe’s elite will enable their squad to develop moving forwards and whether or not Ange Postecoglou is part of that journey next season remains to be seen.

The end of the 2024/25 season feels hugely significant for Tottenham and the 2025/26 campaign could have a very different outlook, if they were plying their trade in the Champions League.