Last week saw Manchester United punch their ticket to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League with a 2-0 win at Romanian side FCSB.
It rounded off the league phase of the revamped competition with United in third with a record of five wins and three draws, behind second placed Athletic Bilbao and table-topping Lazio. Tottenham Hotspur were a place back in fourth.
For United, and for co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, returning the club to the top tier European knockout competition that is the Champions League is of paramount importance, and with the numbers involved it is easy to see why.
Barring a miraculous run of results, Manchester United won’t be making the top four this season and guaranteeing themselves Champions League football, but they could still qualify by virtue of winning the Europa League, although with big names such as Ajax, Lazio, Olympique Lyonnais, Athletic Bibao, Spurs and Eintracht Frankfurt all in the mix, it won’t be an easy task for a woefully out of sorts United, who have yet to turn a corner under boss Ruben Amorim.
With the league phase now done and dusted, the true financial benefit of United competing in the Europa League can be seen, with the club having achieved a little over £19million in attributed revenue. That comes from €450,000 (£370,000) per win, of which there were five, making it €2.25million (£1.9million), as well as three draws, which delivered a total of €450,000 (£370,000).
That comes on top of participation funds of €4.3million (£3.6million), and a league ranking qualification payment of €2.8million (£2.3million). Booking a spot in the last 16 brings in a further €1.75million (£1.5million).
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It is the broadcast rights that are particularly valuable, as is the case in the Champions League, with the combined slice of the European and non-European part of the value pillar, which averages the club market value and the five-year UEFA coefficient, where United were top in both, saw the club rake in €10.6million (£8.8million). If the revenue of four home games already in the bank for the club is used, as well as the guaranteed extra one in the last 16, then based on a rough estimate of £4m in income for one match, that is a potential £20m in additional matchday revenue to be taken into account.
While the money from the Europa League will go a little way to easing some of the pain caused by a lack of Champions League football, the revenue comparison with Europe’s biggest competition shows the potential for rivals to close the gap.
Not taking into account additional matchday revenue for each club, Liverpool have earned £84million, Arsenal have earned £78million, Manchester City have bagged £65million, and Aston Villa have already banked nearly £60m from competing so far, with all of them making it to the next stage of the competition.
There is also the impact that can be felt on commercial deals, where some partners see the value of their deals increased in line with the additional exposure in the Champions League, while success in the competition provides clubs with the leverage to ask for more when either seeking new commercial partners or renegotiating with existing ones.
There is a £65million gap in revenue between Liverpool and Manchester United from just the group stage of the competition, underlining the huge importance that being a regular in the competition has on the finances of major clubs.
Liverpool dropped a place in the Deloitte Football Money League that was published last month, with revenues impacted by a season in the Europa League. They were leapfrogged by Arsenal after the Gunners made their return to Champions League football and had access to the revenues associated with that.
A season out of the competition hurts finances but can be addressed, and Liverpool are likely to see a significant bounce back in the 2024/25 financial year with a loss anticipated for the 2023/24 period. But remaining outside of the competition for too long will be severely impactful for United’s finances, and even with the strength of commercial deals and matchday revenue being so high, it will be hard to stop their rivals gaining financial ground in a significant way.
This season’s Europa League should take on greater significance, and next season’s Premier League campaign will go the same way.
