UEFA are set to announce a raft of new TV deals which will supercharge Manchester United’s revenue next season, when they are all but confirmed to be playing in the Champions League.
United have an 11-point cushion on 6th-place Brighton with four matches remaining. This season, 5th place will deliver Champions League football, potentially 6th too if Aston Villa qualify via winning the Europa League.
That means victory over Liverpool on Sunday would mathematically secure qualification, though Michael Carrick’s side could go into the clash against their arch-rivals knowing they have already made it should Brighton drop points against Newcastle United on Saturday.
As well as restoring some pride to an Old Trafford faithful starved of Champions League football since 2023, it would also be a blessed relief for Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is – for all intents and purposes – the club’s sole financial backer given the Glazers’ absenteeism.
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Without qualifying for Europe’s elite competition, the Ineos billionaire would almost certainly have to inject more money into the business just to pay day-to-day bills, let alone fund another summer of new signings.
Given that he is out of pocket to the tune of £1.3bn since buying nearly 30 per cent of the club in February 2024 and his wider business is highly indebted, that would have been difficult for Ratcliffe. Taking on more debt or mass player sales would have been the only other options, and the club is already highly leveraged on both fronts.
So, the Champions League, where this season’s winner will collect around £150m in prize money, plus more in matchday income and participation in the Club World Cup, could be United’s salvation.
And the latest news from UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland – which, incidentally, are half an hour’s drive from one of Ratcliffe’s other football clubs, Lausanne Sport – means there has never been a better moment to get back in the big time.
UEFA secure £4.3bn TV rights victory – United set to cash in
This season, UEFA distributed a little over £3bn to European football clubs.
Around 75 per cent of that figure went to Champions League participants, with the remainder split between Europa and Conference League clubs, as well as solidarity payments to non-participants.
But as reported by several outlets, that £3bn figure is set to rise to around £4.3bn thanks to a tranche of new media rights deals that UEFA has struck for 19 territories in Europe and the Americas.
That is a remarkable increase at a time when media rights, as United are well aware given the Premier League’s recent stagnation, are plateauing globally. It also means that, from next season, Champions League clubs can expect a surge in TV money.
That money is distributed through both performance-related prize money and UEFA’s so-called ‘value pillar’, which takes into account clubs’ five and 10-year coefficients, as well as the value of their member nation’s TV deal for the European competitions.
In the context of their history, United’s five and 10-year coefficients are at a low ebb. They will, however, benefit from the UK’s TV deal for the Champions League, which is the most valuable on the continent.
The 19 new TV deals kick in from 2027 and will continue the financial gains UEFA has made since expanding the Champions League, where 36 teams now compete in ‘Swiss System’ league phase before the knockout rounds.
The new system means that, unless United finish in the bottom third of the table, they are guaranteed at least five matchdays at Old Trafford, which will be worth at least £30m in ticketing revenue – and probably significantly more.
There will be commercial benefits too. Adidas, for example, give United a £10m rebate from their kit deal for every season they compete in the Champions League. And with the club reportedly looking for new training kit, training ground naming rights and sleeve sponsors, qualification would give them significant leverage.
The Champions League isn’t a silver bullet. Real, sustained success domestically and in Europe is the only real pathway to United becoming a sustainable business once again. But in the short term, it would be transformational for the club’s top and bottom line.
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