Online Reporter
This was repeatedly called the £100-million final. But is that true?
Manchester United have potentially missed out on much more after losing the Europa League final, while Tottenham could reap rewards well into nine figures.
The consequences of this result — Tottenham Hotspur one, Manchester United nil — could reverberate for years to come, affecting each club’s revenue, the players they can attract, and how they plan for the future.
“We have two plans, even for the market, and we have to understand it’s tough for a club like ours not to be in the Champions League,” Ruben Amorim admitted after the defeat.
And, according to the Financial Times, United’s shares fell by seven percent following the damaging defeat in Bilbao.
This equates to around £160m in total value in what is a major blow to the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
This has understandably left many concerns over the financial future of United given the club has posted net losses of more than £370m in the five years up to June 2024.
Ratcliffe has already embarked on a savage redundancy programme at the club since become a part-owner last year, with 250 staff sacked, while 200 more are currently at risk of losing their jobs having been informed in meetings earlier this month.
And, it was reported on Thursday that Ratcliffe was booed by United staff at a screening of the Europa League final as he presses ahead with the latest round of job cuts. Given the further financial blow of missing out on Europe for 2025-26, there are worries about the British billionaire implementing more cuts.
Meanwhile, alongside the impact on United’s share value, Mail Sport also calculated the potential lost income to the club in several other areas following the final.
First of all, there’s the immediate shortfall of being the runners-up rather than the winners. Then, there’s the lost prize money, matchday income, and sponsorship deals from the Champions League campaign that they have not qualified for.
Winning the Europa League bags you £10,95m in prize money, while the losing finalists earn £5,9m, so there’s an immediate disparity of £5,05m. There’s also qualification for the European Super Cup, which is worth a minimum of £3,4m, and up to £4,25m if you win.
But the real kick in the teeth is the missed income from their now non-existent Champions League campaign.
“A good season in the Champions League can be worth far in excess of £100m,’ football finance expert Kieran Maguire recently told BBC Sport.
“By the time you combine gate receipts, sponsor bonuses and the prize money available, the numbers involved are eye-watering.”
Every club that qualifies for the league phase earns an automatic windfall of £15,7m in prize money — even if they lose every match and finish dead last. But a win in the league phase is worth £1,8m, and a draw is worth £600 000. So, if you manage to win every group game, you’d earn yourself a pretty £14m.
Every position in the league phase is worth £230 000. The team who finished bottom this season, Young Boys, will have earned £230 000. For coming top, Liverpool banked £8,3m.
Moreover, you’re given a bonus of £1,7m for finishing in the top eight of the league phase, and around £0,85m for finishing ninth to 16th.
We’re not done there – you’re also handed a qualification bonus of £9,3m for reaching the last 16.
From there, the rewards rise stratospherically. Reaching the quarter-finals is worth an extra £1,5m, the semis are worth £12,6m, and making the final gives another boost of £16,6m. If you go on and win the final, you bank an extra £5,5m compared to the runners-up.
So, just going off prize money alone, if we’re assuming that Tottenham go on and have a perfect Super Cup and Champions League campaign, they’d be £103.9m BETTER OFF than Manchester United by June next year. And that’s not even counting gate receipts and other factors.
— Online
