With the season coming to a close, we know the finalists for the three European competitions – and some players could achieve some personal goals in the coming weeks.
Firstly, the Europa League final sees Jose Mourinho‘s Roma looking to follow-up their Europa Conference League win last season with another trophy, although standing in their way in Budapest on May 31 are perennial European winners Sevilla.
One week later, West Ham and Fiorentina travel to Prague to decide who will succeed Roma as Conference League winners.
And then on the following Saturday, June 10, Inter Milan and Manchester City will duke it out for the Champions League, Europe’s highest club honour.
Three players can complete the set of all three trophies – the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League – and they can all succeed too.
Former Chelsea players including Tammy Abraham are just one game from a trio of success
One man has two UEFA trophies – and could complete the set in the Champions League final
Tammy Abraham
Champions League (Chelsea, 2021), Europa Conference League (Roma, 2022), Europa League (Roma?, 2023)
First up is 25-year-old Londoner Tammy Abraham, who worked his way through Chelsea’s youth system to be part of the squad that won the Champions League trophy in 2021 – seeing off Manchester City in a closely-contested final.
However, Abraham was always struggling for opportunities at Stamford Bridge, and when Jose Mourinho offered him the chance to move to Roma that summer, he took it. That season, the Italian club went and won the inaugural Europa Conference League.
So the striker can complete the set in consecutive seasons if Roma can see off Sevilla in Budapest at the end of this month. They played an extremely defensive game to see off Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 on aggregate across two semi-final legs, and undoubtedly the Europa League final will also be a close encounter.
Tammy Abraham started a run of European trophies with the Champions League in 2021
After the Europa Conference League last year, Abraham could complete the set with Roma
Emerson Palmieri
Europa League (Chelsea, 2019), Champions League (Chelsea, 2021), Europa Conference League (West Ham?, 2023)
The Brazilian left-back joined Chelsea in January 2018, and within 18 months, he had made his way into the first-team, setting up Olivier Giroud’s opener in their 4-1 Europa League final win over London rivals Arsenal in May 2019.
Two years later, he would have been frustrated to have remained an unused substitute in the Champions League final – but came away with a medal for his role in getting the team to glory in the 2020/21 season.
Now 28, he’s got West Ham to the Europa Conference League final, after joining the Hammers in August. Now he can complete the set with two London clubs within a very dominant four-year spell for the Brazilian. All eyes on Prague to see if he achieves it – although Fiorentina won’t let it be that easy.
Emerson Palmeiri made an assist in Chelsea’s Europa League win over Arsenal in 2019
The left-back will win a third UEFA club trophy if West Ham succeed in Prague next month
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Europa League (Manchester United, 2017), Europa Conference League (Roma, 2022), Champions League (Inter Milan?, 2023)
In his first season at Manchester United, Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored in the Europa League final, as they beat Ajax to lift the trophy in 2017. He became the first Armenian player to win a major European trophy in the process.
Following a spell at Arsenal, Mkhitaryan joined Roma, and there, he was part of the team with Tammy Abraham who won last year’s Europa Conference League final, before switching to Serie A rivals Inter Milan that summer.
So the Armenian is just one game away from joining Abraham and Emerson Palmieri as Champions League winners – as long as his new Inter teammates can help see off the challenge of Manchester City in Istanbul.
You wouldn’t put it past Mkhitaryan either – his first goal for Inter was in the competition’s group stages, and he scored one of the goals in their victorious first leg against arch-rivals AC Milan. If he can score again in the tournament on June 10, anything is possible.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored for Manchester United in the Europa League final win in 2017
He became the first Armenian to win a UEFA senior trophy by helping to see of Ajax that year
The winger will complete the three-part set if Inter Milan win the trophy in Istanbul in June
