Let me elaborate. UEFA has raised a "suggestion" to be discussed mid-may, that 2 wild card places for CL will be granted to top co-efficient clubs in Europe, that miss their CL qualification. This suggestion is almost created for EPL due to our competitive nature, and also perfectly built for clubs like MU, because we miss our Top 4 every few years. There are several amendment being discussed but let's keep it simple at this point, from 2023-24 season onwards, 2 extra places for the top failed clubs.
Co-efficient is measured by collecting previous 5 seasons of points scored in European competition, so Europa counts. MU is currently at 9th of the table, and each participating clubs typically scored 10-20 points every season. Should we draw blank in 1 season, we will only have 4 seasons to count, hence handicap for the next 4 seasons.
Being Top 10 is important, because the likes of BM, RM, Barca (may be not), PSG etc. will not miss their qualification even for a bad season, so 9th should almost guarantee a wild card entry should we become 5th in a particular season. Unless you are so confident that MU will be so reform in the next few seasons and start challenging for the Top spot rightaway.