David and Goliath in the big final — Rayo in “impossible mission” against dominant Crystal Palace

It is not that unusual for English and Spanish clubs to meet in a UEFA competition final. In fact, it is perhaps the most common pairing in finals in the 21st century. However, it is hard to remember a final in which one team was such a heavy favourite as Crystal Palace will be on Wednesday at 22:00 in Leipzig, when they face Rayo Vallecano in the Europa Conference League final.

The main reason is financial. One can debate whether Spain’s La Liga or England’s Premier League have stronger top clubs — Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid may even have an edge over Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United.

But when comparing the rest of the leagues, the lower you go down the table, the bigger the advantage becomes in favour of the English sides. Palace finished 15th in the Premier League, just six points above West Ham, who were relegated to the Championship. Yet bookmakers still give them far better odds than the eighth-placed team in Spain.

The only previous time such a gap was seen ahead of an English–Spanish final came last year, also in the Europa Conference League final between Chelsea and Real Betis. The London side justified their favourite status with a 4–1 victory.

That was the 11th final in the 21st century between English and Spanish clubs, with Spain leading 9–2 in those head-to-heads. Whenever top La Liga sides have reached finals, regardless of the English opposition, they have almost always lifted the trophy. The only exceptions were Betis and Alavés, clubs not considered part of the elite.

Neither Rayo Vallecano nor Crystal Palace have ever achieved significant success in European competition until this season. Although both clubs are over a century old, the Madrid suburb side are still without a trophy, while the London Eagles won their first and only major honour just last year, when they claimed the FA Cup.

Because of that, Palace were supposed to play in the Europa League, but they were denied a licence for that competition due to UEFA rules. Around 43% of the club is owned by John Textor, who is also the majority owner of Olympique Lyon.

Under the regulations, both clubs cannot compete in the same European competition, and since Lyon finished higher in the French league than Palace did in England, the Eagles were moved into the Conference League. Nottingham Forest took their place and reached the Europa League semi-finals. And that brings us back to the financial factor that creates the biggest gap in tonight’s final at the Red Bull Arena.

Euphoria in South London: Eagles are going for European glory

The English side built their squad last summer with the Europa League in mind. Head coach Oliver Glasner was left without Eberechi Eze, sold to Arsenal for nearly €70 million, but brought in Jeremy Pino from Villarreal (€30m), Jaidy Canvot from Toulouse (€23m) and Borna Sosa from Ajax (€2.3m). In January, Palace also sold Marc Guehi to Manchester City (€23m) and signed Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolverhampton (€49.7m) and Brennan Johnson from Tottenham (€40m).

In the last two transfer windows alone, Crystal Palace have spent around €145 million on transfer fees — more than Rayo Vallecano have spent in their entire 101-year history. And that is before even considering wages. While London clubs enjoy financial comfort, largely thanks to massive broadcasting revenues, Rayo are in a deep financial crisis. The situation is visible everywhere at the club, and last spring fans even staged major protests outside the stadium demanding that owner Raul Martin Presa invest more in the team.

The stadium in Vallecas is owned by the city, not Rayo. As its tenant, the club is responsible for maintaining the facilities, something Presa has been unwilling to do.

Year after year, the stadium’s condition worsened, but it only gained wider attention when Rayo hosted Polish champions Lech Poznan this season. The Polish club cheekily exposed various issues at the ground on social media, posting footage of its poor condition.

Rayo supporters were furious, and as the situation unfolded, coach Inigo Perez publicly complained that his players were not working in basic professional conditions. The showers had no hot water, towels were often missing, the training pitch was in poor shape, and images even surfaced showing leaking pipes, mouldy walls and exposed wiring.

La Liga eventually intervened, forcing Rayo to temporarily move their home matches to Leganes while improvements were made. For about a month in spring, Rayo were effectively without a home.

With no money for basic infrastructure, it is no surprise there was little room for major signings. This season Rayo mostly relied on loan deals, signing only three players outright: Alemao from Pachuca for €4.5 million, Augusto Batalla from River Plate for €1.6 million, and Fran Perez from Valencia for €1 million. With no major player sales, there was simply no financial room for bigger moves.

Still, Spanish clubs rarely make blockbuster transfers anyway. This squad was enough for a historic season, as Rayo eliminated Samsunspor (3–1), AEK Athens (4–3) and Strasbourg (2–0) on their way to the final.

But the question remains — is it enough to beat a Premier League side?

“When the competition started, all of us working in football, as well as fans and analysts, pointed to Crystal Palace as the main favourites to win. But we all know what football is like. Its beauty lies in the fact that it defies all analysis and predictions once things unfold on the pitch. Of course, Palace are a team with huge potential and they deserve to be here. That is why the most important thing for us is to control our emotions and be mentally prepared for the battle,” said Inigo Perez to the UEFA website.

UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE - FINAL

Wednesday

22.00: (2.07) Crystal Palace (3.25) Rayo Vallecano (4.25)