Manchester United’s Europa League opportunities: Financial benefits and challenges

Manchester United can get much-needed financial resources if they secure a place in Europe’s second most prestigious club tournament – the Europa League.

It will provide better opportunities on the transfer market, but can also be important in terms of Financial Fair Play. (FFP)

Tottenham is, at the time of writing, safely placed in 5th place with a gap of six points to United. In addition, “The Lilywhites” have played one game less. Thus, it seems that United’s highest possible position this season could be 6th place.

That location can be very important to capture.

Next season, the Premier League will have seven representatives in UEFA’s European competitions. Four in the Champions League, two in the Europa League (5th place and FA Cup winner) and one team in the Conference League.

United will thus qualify for the Europa League if they win the FA Cup final against city rivals City at the end of May. However, should they do as they did in last year’s final, namely lose, 6th place in the league will still generate Europa League games next season.

That will mean money in the coffers for Sir Jim Ratcliffe & Co. Specifically £150m.

£46.7m of that will come from a possible 6th place finish in the league. The reason for that is that each season, each individual club receives a merit payment. This is paid based on where the teams end up in the table. Each placement is worth £3.1m. Southampton, who finished bottom of the table last year, thus received £3.1m. Manchester City reigned supreme, raking in a staggering £62.3m. A 6th place would bring the aforementioned £46.7m.

In addition to a merit payment, clubs are also entitled to a share of the Premier League’s revenue based on how many times their matches have been shown on television. This season, United will earn around £25m on this front, according to the Manchester Evening News.

On top of these two payments, all Premier League clubs earn an annual share of £79m from the Premier League’s current TV deal.

This will give a total income of around £150m from this year’s Premier League season. It will be a positive boost for Ratcliffe ahead of his first summer transfer window.

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If we look exclusively at the prize money from the Europa League, it is significantly lower than in the Champions League. Nevertheless, there can be money in the coffers if you get far in the tournament. In addition, income related to tickets and television rights will also play a role.

According to Sporting News, you can earn up to £20 if you win all your group stage matches. Furthermore, you will also get an increasing prize pool for each time you advance in the tournament.

The prize money for winning last year’s tournament was £7.3m.

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United are currently in the driver’s seat to secure 6th place, but Newcastle are hot on their heels. “The Magpies” are one point behind United. In addition, Chelsea is also a contender. The blue-clad are ninth in the table, but have played one game less than United. If they win it, they will be three poor points behind United.

An interesting date to mark in the calendar is 15 May. That is when United and Newcastle meet for a showdown at Old Trafford. The match starts at 21.00.

HERE Incidentally, can you secure tickets for that match.

Remaining match schedule:

United: Crystal Palace (B), Arsenal (H), Newcastle (H), Brighton (B)

New Castle: Burnley (B), Brighton (H), United (B), Brentford (B)

Chelsea: Tottenham (H), West Ham (H), Nottingham Forest (B), Brighton (B), Bournemouth (H)