Manchester United set to earn £191.5m prize money after third-place finish | OneFootball

The transformation of Manchester United under Michael Carrick has been remarkable on the pitch, and the financial rewards of that revival are now clear.

A third-place Premier League finish is set to earn the Red Devils £191.5 million in prize money, a sum that gives INEOS a formidable platform for the summer rebuild already underway at Old Trafford.

Several factors have driven this uplift. The 2025–26 campaign marked the first season of a new £1.675bn-a-year domestic Premier League television deal, while United’s league position and commercial profile secured them far more live TV appearances than last season, when they finished 15th.

The breakdown tells its own story. Third place yields a domestic merit payment of around £30.9m, an equal share of the domestic broadcast deal of approximately £31.9m, an international equal share of about £56.5m, an international merit payment of roughly £36.8m, and central commercial income.

Add a central commercial earning of £11.5m together with facility fees generated by United’s global reach and frequent live appearances—estimated at £23.9m—and the total rises rapidly.

The contrast with last season could hardly be more stark. A 15th-place finish under Ruben Amorim yielded just £136.2m. The extra £55m generated by finishing third provides a genuine and immediate boost to United’s spending power.

Combined with revenue from a return to the Champions League, United are entering the summer with financial strength not seen in a while.

For too long, INEOS cited financial constraints as the main obstacle to the ambitious rebuild the squad required. The numbers generated by Carrick’s third-place finish have now removed that barrier.