Hearts could receive a bye into the Europa League's new-look league phase and earn more money

A specific scenario involving this year’s finals could benefit the Tynecastle side

Hearts could gain a bye into the Europa League’s new-look league phase next season depending on the outcome of this year’s Champions League and Europa League finals. Should Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta lift the two respective trophies and finish in Europa League slots domestically, the Tynecastle side can automatically bypass August’s Europa League play-off round and enter the league stage.

The situation transpires as a result of the German and Italian teams reaching their respective European finals. If they are successful, restructuring would take place throughout UEFA’s seeding system which could benefit Hearts.

Dortmund can finish in a Europa league place in the Bundesliga if they remain fifth, but they would then take a Champions League berth through UEFA’s new European Performance Slot scheme. That would leave one Europa League slot for Germany’s sixth-placed club, plus one extra if Dortmund were holders but would not be defending their trophy. The Germans have a tough task to overcome Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Atalanta are currently sitting fifth in Serie A, which is a Europa League slot. Should they also triumph against hitherto unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final as well as securing a Europa placing in Italy - either through Serie A or the Coppa Italia - that would also leave an extra slot open for next season’s competition.

Should only one of Dortmund or Atalanta lift European silverware in the coming weeks, then Belgium would benefit as the eighth-ranked UEFA nation. Their national cup winner would gain automatic entry into the Europa League’s new 36-team league stage. Hearts need both to be successful as Scotland would then stand to benefit as the country ranked ninth by UEFA.

In that event, Hearts - who take the Scottish Cup’s European slot after securing third place in the Premiership - would grab a spot in the prestigious league phase of the Europa. The Edinburgh club could then secure more than £7m in revenue from group matches against eight different teams. As things stand, Hearts will enter the Europa League play-off round and parachute into the Conference League groups in the event of defeat. They would earn more than £5m from Conference League participation.

Tynecastle supporters are now likely to be cheering on Dortmund and Atalanta in the hope that they can upset the odds against opponents from Madrid and Leverkusen. The Europa League final takes place in Dublin on 22 May, with the Champions League final following at Wembley on 1 June.

More details on the UEFA rebalancing which could prove fruitful for Hearts can be found on X via Scotland’s Co-efficient