Manchester United against Barcelona is not the biggest game of the year. It is not even the biggest game of the week. Two of England's most traditional clubs go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium today in a match worth 20 times more than the Champions League final - and one of them is backed very publicly by the Malta Tourism Authority.
The winners in Rome on Wednesday will pick up just €3 million more than the losers in terms of prize money. By contrast, gaining promotion to the Premier League guarantees a £60 million (€68 million) payday, making the English Football League Championship play-off final the richest game in the world.
Sheffield United, who have VisitMALTA.com emblazoned across their shirts as part of a wide-reaching sponsorship deal agreed with the MTA last summer, will take on Burnley under the famous Giant Arch as the world watches on.
Last Thursday, the English Football League confirmed that 124 countries in total had signed up for rights to show live action from the game. Further coverage of the event will be shown in another 36 countries, bringing the story of the final to more than one billion households.
One household in particular, situated five minutes out of Valletta, is mainly what matters most to Justin Haber, the Malta national team goalkeeper who has been on the books of Sheffield United since July and will be part of the party travelling down to Wembley, extending the links with the island even further.
Although unlikely to start the game, he is highly thought of by manager Kevin Blackwell, himself a former goalkeeper, and, at just 27 years old, still has plenty of time to break through into the first team.
"My mum and dad were going to come but my grandfather is ill, so they will be watching live on the television," the Maltese goalkeeper said. "Then I am going home the following day - hopefully as a Premier League player.
"I went down to Wembley last week with the rest of the squad for a tour. Wow! It is a great stadium. I just hope that one day I will definitely play there.
"I don't wish the other two goalkeepers get injured or anything but a small part of me always hopes. I have been ready for my chance since the first day I joined Sheffield United. Miracles do happen but, given what is at stake for Sheffield United, I don't mind if this one doesn't."
The goalkeeper, who has made 34 international appearances for Malta, hopes to be the first player from his country to play in the Premier League. It is a national pride that is fuelled further every day he comes into work.
"Whenever I walk into Bramall Lane it is a nice feeling to see my country's name all over the place," he said. "It makes me very proud. The only thing that would be nicer would be to play more often with the first team. But I am happy at the club and work hard in training and the gaffer seems to be pleased with me. Hopefully, I can get my chance in the Premier League!"
The MTA's CEO, Josef Formosa Gauci, is just as pleased with the sponsorship arrangements, albeit through more practical eyes.
"The relationship that has developed between the MTA and Sheffield United has gone from strength to strength," he said. "The Malta name is being significantly promoted in the region and throughout the UK by way of the team shirt sponsorship and through many other promotional opportunities incorporated within our agreement.
"VisitMALTA.com is proudly displayed all across the Bramall Lane stadium, including the Malta Family Stand, and at the club's academy. We're ever-present in the match programmes, on the club's website, the team's newsletters, various other publications and in a number of other initiatives. Through this ground-breaking partnership between a destination and a football club, Malta's presence in Sheffield and beyond has never been more prominent.
"This season has provided added value with two additional play-off semi-finals broadcast on Sky as well as today's final. At Wembley, the VisitMALTA.com brand will be seen by 90,000 spectators and also broadcast all over the world. This is definitely the first time ever that Malta is being so centrally featured and promoted in such a high profile football match."
The MTA announced in March that the current deal would be extended for two years along identical lines if Sheffield United remains in the Championship. Should the Blades become a Premier League club this evening, discussions will then continue between both sides in an effort to address Sheffield United's significant change of status.
That, after all, remains the aim. Sheffield United has its eyes fixed firmly on what its group executive director Mike Farnan describes as the "global A-list celebrity status of the Premier League". And with years working on international projects for both Manchester United and Formula One, the emphasis is unashamedly "global".
The link with Malta is something believed to be unique in football. No other team has government funding from a foreign country. But the international links do not end there. Sheffield United owns a team in China, Chengdu Blades, and Ferencvaros in Hungary. There are partnerships set up with clubs in Belgium and Australia and associations formed in Sao Paolo, Brazil, with the help of footballing legend Pele. It is testament to the famous name of the club that they have been embraced so readily by the worldwide football fraternity. Premier League status, though, is the key to Sheffield United really being able to penetrate the consciousness of fans in Malta as much as elsewhere.
"When you are in the Premier League, people get used to seeing the team on highlights programmes or even live," Mr Farnan said. "Football fans tend to choose a team off the television to support. We hope the islanders will have even more affinity with Sheffield United if we are on their screens regularly. This is a more tangible sponsorship than most. We are trying to create a relationship with Malta."
Whatever the result at Wembley, plans for one Sheffield United party in Malta later in the summer will go ahead for sure. A recent internet poll of fans showed a 125 per cent rise in interest in coming to the island and in the next few days they will be given the perfect excuse.
The club's pre-season tour of the island is timed to coincide with the popular Isle of MTV music festival, headlined by Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas, and Sheffield will be decamping en masse to the island for one week in July.
Mr Farnan added: "Win or lose, we are chartering flights for fans and putting details of various packages on our website next week. Hopefully, we will be bringing a significant number of people to Malta that week.
"We are looking to run a number of events - parties and barbecues, that sort of thing. We are also working with our other partners such as the brewers Marston's and with the students in the city, of which there are 55,000, to get people interested in coming to the island. Football and music is a great combination."