Three European finals, three English clubs

English football is having a European spring like no other. Three clubs from the Premier League have reached the finals of all three major European club competitions in the same season — a feat that has never been achieved before. Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Arsenal will all play for continental silverware within the space of ten days, representing the full breadth of what English football can produce: a Conference League debutant, a club chasing history, and a side seeking their first ever European trophy.

Here is everything you need to know about all three finals.

Final 1: Crystal Palace vs Rayo Vallecano

Conference League final — Leipzig, Wednesday 27 May, 21:00 CEST

Crystal Palace's route to Leipzig is one of the stories of the European season. Oliver Glasner's side, who won the FA Cup last season, are appearing in their first ever major European final — their only previous continental experience before this campaign was a solitary appearance in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. They have peaked at exactly the right time, producing their best display of the campaign to beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in their semi-final first leg before progressing to the final.

Their opponents, Rayo Vallecano, are equally unfamiliar with this stage. The Madrid club are also appearing in their first ever European final — their only previous continental experience was a quarter-final defeat in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. Both sides are genuine first-timers, which makes this the most open and emotionally charged of the three finals.

The Red Bull Arena, home of RB Leipzig, hosted four matches at Euro 2024 and has staged Champions League football regularly in recent years. It holds around 40,000 spectators. Should Palace win, they would become only the third English club to lift the Conference League trophy, following West Ham in 2023 and Chelsea in 2024.

Final 2: Aston Villa vs SC Freiburg

Europa League final — Istanbul, Wednesday 20 May, 21:00 CEST

For Aston Villa, Istanbul represents a sentimental journey. The last time the club appeared in a major European final was 1982, when they won the European Cup — the forerunner of the Champions League — beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in Rotterdam. That remains the club's greatest night. Forty-four years on, Unai Emery has guided them back to a continental final.

Emery knows this competition better than perhaps anyone in football. The Spaniard won the Europa League four times as a manager — three with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) — making him the most successful manager in the tournament's history. He was also a losing finalist with Arsenal in 2019, meaning this will be his sixth Europa League final as a manager. Winning it with a fifth different club would be a remarkable achievement even by his own extraordinary standards.

SC Freiburg are appearing in their first ever European final. The German club, traditionally one of the Bundesliga's more modest outfits, have enjoyed a remarkable continental journey this season under Julian Schuster. Bešiktaš Park in Istanbul, which hosted the 2019 UEFA Super Cup, holds around 40,000 spectators.

Final 3: Arsenal vs PSG

Champions League final — Budapest, Saturday 30 May, 21:00 CEST

Arsenal are in the Champions League final for the first time in twenty years, and for the first time with a genuine chance of winning it. Their 2006 final, lost 2-1 to Barcelona in Paris, remains the only previous appearance. The club has never won the competition.

Getting here has been a masterclass in defensive organisation. Mikel Arteta's side topped the league phase with a perfect eight wins from eight, conceded just five goals across thirteen Champions League matches and kept clean sheets in ten of them. They beat Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atlético Madrid to reach Budapest, never conceding more than once in any tie.

Their opponents, Paris Saint-Germain, are the defending champions. PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in last season's final — the biggest winning margin in Champions League final history — and have been the most entertaining side in this season's competition. Their semi-final against Bayern Munich alone produced ten goals across two legs. PSG are attempting to become the first club to win back-to-back Champions League titles since Real Madrid in 2017.

The Puskás Aréna in Budapest holds 67,000 spectators and will host Hungary's first ever Champions League final. Get your tickets via our Champions League final tickets page.

The bigger picture: what a clean sweep would mean

No country has ever had three clubs win all three major European trophies in the same season. England came close in 2019, when Liverpool won the Champions League and Chelsea won the Europa League, but there was no Conference League at that point. The closest parallel is Spain in 2016, when Real Madrid won the Champions League and Sevilla won the Europa League.

For England, this is also a moment that reflects the extraordinary depth of the Premier League. Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Arsenal represent very different clubs at very different points in their histories — a first-time finalist, a club chasing a memory from 44 years ago, and one of the continent's elite seeking their first ever major European title. Together they make for one of the most compelling fortnights in the history of English football.

Key dates at a glance