After Sunday’s victory over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford, Manchester United will finish no lower or higher than 3rd place in the Premier League this season, meaning their prize money will have been confirmed at Premier League HQ.
Once the season is over, it could be that Michael Carrick’s side finish with a 15-point cushion in the race for the Champions League, a situation which was fanciful when Ruben Amorim was dismissed in January.
Official confirmation is pending but Carrick is now destined to get the job on a permanent basis.
Had he not steered United into the Champions League where prize money and matchday income will likely be worth north of £100m even in a worst-case scenario, the club would either have had to go cap in hand to a financially-strained Sir Jim Ratcliffe or sanction mass player sales.
But with qualification sewn up at the beginning of May and their final Premier League position now confirmed, the summer transfer budget will now be locked in.
So, how much money have United earned for finishing 3rd, 11 places better off than 2025-26?
Michael Carrick and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are set for ‘formal talks’ over the Man Utd job / What is your reaction?
Manchester United’s Premier League prize money
Each season, the Premier League distributes money it earns from its domestic and international TV deals, as well as from the central commercial agreements it has in place with the likes of Coca-Cola and EA Sports.
There are six pots in total:
- UK equal share – About 50 per cent of the value of the domestic TV deal, split equally among clubs
- UK facility fees – A set fee paid each time a club’s match is televised domestically
- UK merit payment – Increasing increments of £1.6m for every position in the league
- International equal share – About 85 per cent of the league’s international TV deals, split evenly among clubs
- International merit – Increasing increments of about £1.1m for each position in the league
- Central commercial equal share – An equal share of the Premier League’s central commercial income
Official Premier League data shows that United earned £136.2m across all six pots in 2024-25. That was higher than four teams who placed above them in the final league table, thanks to the fact that United matches were televised more often, thus earning greater facility fees.
This season, their payout will be significantly higher because A) they finished higher in the league, B) they were televised more often and C) the Premier League made more TV and commercial income.
By United in Focus’s calculations, United will have appeared on Sky Sports or TNT Sports on 33 occasions this season. Based on last season’s facility fees, that will equate to somewhere in the region of £27m in distributions from the Premier League.
On top of that, the 2024-25 data implies that 3rd place will yield £29.8m as an equal share, a £29m domestic merit payment, a £59m equal share, £18.7m international merit payment, and a £7.9m equal commercial payment. In total, that’s £171.4m.
However, 2025-26 was the first season of a new £1.6bn-a-year domestic Premier League TV deal which represented a four per cent uplift on the previous cycle.
Assuming a similar uplift in the value of the overseas rights and central commercial income – which most experts consulted by United in Focus agree is a fair estimate – United’s prize money could reach slightly higher than £178m.
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?
That is about £42m more than last season.
The broader increase in domestic TV income also partly explains why United’s second-quarter financial results showed broadcast revenue of £62.3m for the three months up to 31 December despite having no European football.
There are other variables at play here too, such as how much the Premier League will subtract in legal and other central costs. But given that there has been less administrative drama this season than others in recent history, those expenses should eat into the total amount less significantly.
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