The permutations surrounding qualification for European football has become a major talking point at the end of this season, so what difference will Chelsea’s result in the final of the Europa Conference League make?
An incredible nine Premier League clubs have booked their places in European competition next season, with almost half the league going on continental adventures.
The top five in the table have qualified for the Champions League – Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
They have been joined by Tottenham, who finished a lowly 17th in the Premier League, but their Europa League triumph sees them return to the Champions League.
Two sides make it to the Europa League, with sixth-placed Aston Villa joined by the FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
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Just one team qualifies for the Conference League, with Nottingham Forest joining that competition after finishing seventh.
The season is not quite done yet, though, with Chelsea still to play Real Betis in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.
What happens if Chelsea win the Europa Conference League final?
Well…nothing much. Whether Chelsea win or lose against Real Betis on Wednesday, there is no impact on European qualification from the Premier League.
The winner of the Conference League earns a spot in next season’s Europa League, but seen as the Blues have already booked their place in the Champions League, they will not take it up.
The club is actually given the choice of which competition they want to play in, but obviously they will opt for the Champions League.
The Europa League place for the winners of the Conference League will not be dished out to another Premier League side.
Real Betis have already secured their place in next season’s Europa League as well by finishing sixth in La Liga.
So in terms of further European qualification there is nothing on the line on Wednesday night in Wroclaw, Poland.
UEFA.com has hyped up the trophy that is on the line, writing: ‘The UEFA Conference League trophy stands 57.5cm tall and weighs 11kg. It consists of 32 hexagonal spines that twist and curve from the trophy base.’
There is also the chance to win the €7m (£5.90m) on offer for the champions, while the runners-up receive €4m (£3.37m).
This comes on top of what has been won over the competition so far, with the prize money breakdown as follows.
Europa Conference League prize money breakdown
Winner: €7m (£5.90m)
Runner-up: €4m (£3.37m)
Semi-finalists: €2.5m (£2.11m)
Quarter-finalists: €1.3m (£1.10m)
Round of 16: €800,000 (£674,135)
Reaching knockout round play-off: €200,000 (£168,533)
League-phase wins: €400,000 (£337,067)
League-phase draws: €133,000 (£112,075)