Revealed: Man United received huge payday for winning Europa League - and Leicester got more than Real Madrid
Manchester United Jose Mourinho has created some of his own problems in recent weeks
Manchester United secured a €44.5 million cash windfall from their Europa League success last season, it has been revealed.
Jose Mourinho led his side to success in UEFA’s second tier competition in May, securing a place in this season’s Champions League with a victory against Ajax in the final in Stockholm.
While the Europa League is viewed as an inconvenience by some Premier League managers and their supporters, United’s huge payday is evidence that it can be lucrative for English clubs to make progress in the competition.
The huge television deal signed by BT Sport to broadcast Champions League and Europa League matches in England has boosted the prize money up for grabs for Premier League clubs, with United benefiting from the big cash injection.
Europa League runners-up Ajax received just €16m for their run to the final, with the television deal in place for Dutch teams far less lucrative.
Meanwhile, Juventus have emerged as the big cash winners from last season’s Champions League, with their run to the final in Cardiff securing the Turin club €110.4m in prize money and revenue.
Remarkably, Leicester City earned more than eventual Champions League winners Real Madrid last season, with their run to the quarter-finals earning the Premier League club €81.68m courtesy of the huge prize pit available to English clubs.
Real Madrid collected a little over €81m, with Manchester City banking a little over €50m and Tottenham securing €43.2m despite their early exit in the group stages.
Celtic secured a bumper €31.74m from their appearance in last season’s competition, while Arsenal’s run to the knock-out stages saw the north London club collect a huge payment of €64.57m.
The full prize money table is revealed here: http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/competitions/General/02/51/12/21/2511221_DOWNLOAD.pdf
