Manchester United are widely regarded as one of the biggest clubs in world football, one steeped in history and that has won several trophies across multiple competitions.
The 20-time English top-flight champions have had plenty of success on the domestic front and have also celebrated glory in Europe, winning the Champions League on three occasions to date.
Man United have also come out on top in the Europa League, and here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at their record in Europe's secondary club competition.
© Imago
Man United have competed in Europe's secondary club competition a total of 12 times under three different names - the Inter-City Fairs Cup, UEFA Cup and Europa League.
The Red Devils narrowly missed out on glory during the club's first involvement in the 1964-65 Inter-City Fair Cup, losing to Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros 2-1 in an all-or-nothing playoff after drawing 3-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Man United then struggled in their next three appearances in the newly-named UEFA Cup, firstly losing to Juventus 3-1 on aggregate in the second round before falling at the first-round stage to Widzew Lodz and Valencia in 1980-81 and 1982-83 respectively.
Under the tutelage of Ron Atkinson, Man United reached the quarter-finals two years later, but suffered a 5-4 penalty-shootout defeat to Videoton - now known as Fehervar FC - before coming up short against Russian opposition in the first round in 1992-93 and 1995-96 in the early years of Sir Alex Ferguson, surprisingly losing 4-3 on penalties to Torpedo Moscow, before crashing out via the away goals rule against Rotor Volgograd.
Man United were Champions League regulars under Ferguson, but they had to settle for Europa League football in 2011-12 - the Scotsman's penultimate year in charge - and progressed to the last 16 where they suffered a 5-3 aggregate loss to Spanish side Athletic Bilbao.
In the post-Ferguson era, Man United have competed in the Europa League a further four times, including a last-16 exit under Louis van Gaal in the 2015-16 competition at the hands of English rival Liverpool, losing 3-1 on aggregate with a 2-0 defeat at Anfield followed by ay 1-1 second-leg draw at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils entered Europe's secondary club competition for the 10th time in 2016-17 and despite finishing second in the group stage, Jose Mourinho's side navigated their way past Saint-Etienne, FC Rostov, Anderlecht and Celta Vigo before beating Dutch giants Ajax 2-0 in the final, with goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan securing United's first and only Europa League trophy to date.
Three years later, Man United reached the Europa League semi-finals where they were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Sevilla, before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side suffered a heartbreaking loss in the 2020-21 final to another Spanish team in Villarreal, who celebrated a 11-10 penalty-shootout victory following a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes.
Erik ten Hag's Man United have qualified for the 2024-25 Europa League - a newly-expanded 36-team tournament - thanks to winning the FA Cup in the previous season, despite finishing eighth in the Premier League.
Man United's Europa League record:
1964-65 | Inter-City Fairs Cup | Semi-finals | Man United 3-3 Ferencvaros (Ferencvaros win 2-1 in playoff)
1976-77 | UEFA Cup | Second Round | Man United 1-3 Juventus (on aggregate)
1980-81 | UEFA Cup | First Round | Man United 1-1 Widzew Lodz (Lodz won on away goals)
1982-83 | UEFA Cup | First Round | Man Utd 1-2 Valencia (on aggregate)
1984-85 | UEFA Cup | Quarter-finals | Man Utd 1-1 Videoton (Videoton win 5-4 on pens)
1992-93 | UEFA Cup | First Round | Man Utd 0-0 Torpedo Moscow (Torpedo win 4-3 on pens)
1995-96 | UEFA Cup | First Round | Man Utd 2-2 Rotor Volgograd (Volgograd won on away goals)
2011-12 | Europa League | Last 16 | Man Utd 3-5 Athletic Bilbao (on aggregate)
2015-16 | Europa League | Last 16 | Man Utd 1-3 Liverpool (on aggregate)
2016-17 | Europa League | Final - Winners | Man Utd 2-0 Ajax
2019-20 | Europa League | Semi-finals | Man Utd 1-2 Sevilla (on aggregate)
2020-21 | Europa League | Runners-up – Final | Man Utd 1-1 Villarreal (Villarreal win 11-10 on pens)
Oliver Thomas
