Luke O'Nien of Sunderland lifts The Sky Bet Championship Play-Off trophy after his team's victory and subsequent promotion to the Premier League following the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final match between Sheffield United and Sunderland at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2025 in London, England.Luke O'Nien of Sunderland lifts The Sky Bet Championship Play-Off trophy after his team's victory and subsequent promotion to the Premier League following the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final match between Sheffield United and Sunderland at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2025 in London, England.
Luke O'Nien of Sunderland lifts The Sky Bet Championship Play-Off trophy after his team's victory and subsequent promotion to the Premier League following the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final match between Sheffield United and Sunderland at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2025 in London, England. | Getty Images
The 2025-26 Premier League line-up is complete following Sunderland’s win in the Championship play-off final
Manchester United and Manchester City now know every opponent they will face in their respective 2025-26 Premier League campaigns after Sunderland dramatically won the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
With Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City already relegated and with Leeds United and Burnley promoted - there was just one team left to confirm their place in next season’s top flight.
Sheffield United met Sunderland under the Wembley arch on Saturday afternoon and it was Chris Wilder’s side who took the lead with a perfectly-executed counter attack that was finished by Tyrese Campbell. The Blades had a goal disallowed to prevent them from going 2-0 up before half time.
Eliezer Mayenda fired Sunderland level on 76 minutes with a thunderous finish and then in the 95th minute Tom Watson produced an exquisite side foot finish into the bottom corner to send the Black Cats back into the Premier League.
Sunderland promotion costs Man Utd and Man City seven-figure windfall
Due to the method behind the Premier League’s parachute payments, a Sheffield United win on Saturday would have handed around £2m each to United and City. Parachute payments are paid to relegated clubs over a three year period, with the percentage each relegated side gets lowering each year. Some teams only get two years of payments depending on when they were promoted and relegated.
If Sheffield United had have been promoted, their pending parachute payment of £39m would not have been sent to Bramall and instead split between Premier League clubs. However, with the Blades remaining in the second tier, it means the likes of United and City will miss out on close to £2m each. Sunderland have not been in the Premier League since 2017 and therefore have not been in receipt of parachute payments.
Football finance expert explains all
Expanding on the parachute payments, football finance expert Kieran Maguire said on X: “Under Premier League rules, clubs are entitled to three years of parachute payments when they are relegated to the Championship, although this is restricted to two years if they had previously been promoted and were immediately relegated.
“The parachute payments are calculated as being 55%, 45% and 20% respectively of the equal share elements of the Premier League distribution to its member clubs. This works out as £48m, £39m and £17m for the relegated clubs over a three year period. If a relegated club is then immediately promoted, then the parachute payments it was due to receive are retained by the Premier League and given to its own clubs.”
It means that Burnley and Sheffield United would both have been handed £48m this season while Leeds would have received £39m. If the Blades are promoted next season, then it will see the final £17m payment due to them split between top-flight sides. The most money that can go back into the Premier League pot at the end of the 2025-26 campaign is £117m if Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich all bounce back immediately - which could land United and City close to £6m each.
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