Manchester United will fiercely oppose any move by Premier League mid-table clubs to redirect more of their European revenues to the EFL, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
United have had no European football of any description for the first time in a decade this season. But Michael Carrick’s side are 3rd in the Premier League with seven games remaining and on course for the Champions League in 2026-27.
Financially, that would be a blessing for the club. United’s quarterly accounts have presented revenues for the season so far that are more encouraging than once feared, but United are very highly leveraged in terms of the wage bill, transfer instalments and interest payments.
Without money from UEFA, Sir Jim Ratcliffe would almost certainly need to inject more money into the club, which is not in his plans given his own struggles with Ineos in their wider business.
Since the expansion of the competition last season – which, incidentally, the Glazer family lobbied for – the Champions League has become even more lucrative. As a baseline, United would expect revenue of at least £100m from the competition in prize money, matchday income and commercial benefits. And that is in a worst-case scenario; if United made good progress in the competition, it could be double.
However, critics argue that the Champions League is further widening the gap between the haves and have-nots in the Premier League. With big questions about the financial structures of English football on the agenda, some clubs want those with European football to give up more revenue.
Since 2023, the Premier League and EFL have been deadlocked in negotiations about the possibility of more money flowing from the top flight to the rest of the pyramid. Now, The Guardian report that a group of mid-ranking Premier League clubs want United and their elite peers to foot more of the bill.
Is the Premier League’s financial distribution system fair?
Do United deserve more cash for attracting viewers? Or should prize money be decided on the pitch?
Manchester United v Real Sociedad de Futbol - UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Southampton FC at Old Trafford on January 16, 2025 in Manchester, England.
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Manchester United will fight proposal to give more cash to EFL
Currently, the Premier League gives around 16 per cent of its TV income to the EFL in the form of parachute and solidarity payments. Across the league, that equates to about £300m. For United, that is around £15m per season, based on last season’s official distribution data.
However, United in Focu s understands that the EFL is still arguing for a 25 per cent cut, which would take the total revenue forfeited by United and their peers per season closer to the £30m mark. Significantly, the newly-formed Independent Football Regulator now has the power to step in if the two sides cannot agree a deal independently.
Ratcliffe is not a fan of the regulator, which he says “won’t be good” for English football.
According to The Guardian, the Premier League’s last offer was an extra £880m over six years. And in a new detail, several of what the outlet describes as mid-ranking clubs are now pushing for teams competing in Europe to shoulder more of the burden.
So, how will United respond to that proposal? Speaking exclusively to United in Focus, University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire said: “Ratcliffe’s personal position is that he has no responsibility to pay tax in the UK to help people less fortunate than him, so why should his position with Man United be any different?”
“United earn the money they do because of their brand. Should they have to share that? They don’t think so. That’s what I hear regularly.
“If they were to be relegated, that has a huge impact on the overall value of the Premier League product. If one of Bournemouth, Brighton or Palace get relegated, nobody cares and it doesn’t really affect the interest in the league as a whole and, by extension, the TV rights.”
United’s marketing team regularly claim that the club has over a billion followers worldwide. Despite years of underperformance, their annual commercial income was £333m at the last count, which was only slightly lower than the rest of the clubs outside the so-called ‘Big Six’ combined.
Depending on how much more money teams in UEFA competitions would be expected to forfeit under the proposal, the initiative could rewire the finances of the English game for a generation.
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Advocates argue that would create a more level playing field not only within the Premier League but throughout the pyramid, drastically reducing the cliff edge between the top flight and the rest, as well as the growing schisms within the Premier League itself.
Even if the Premier League and UEFA’s prize money was split evenly among all 20 teams with a chunk earmarked for the EFL too, United’s spending power would still dwarf nearly all of their competitors because of their outsized commercial and matchday income.
At a new 100,000-seater stadium, that effect would be further exacerbated. That kind of system would, in some ways, look like that in action in the NFL, where the Glazer family have benefited significantly with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Equally, a greater distribution of wealth in the Premier League could strike legal challenges. And any overhaul would need a two-thirds majority vote to proceed, unless the regulator steps in.
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