Manchester United handed £32m FFP boost as Sir Jim Ratcliffe handed major reprieve

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has explained how Manchester United could earn over £32million from their Europa League campaign next season.

The Red Devils are expected to be given permission to compete in Europe's second-tier competition after concerns that they may be demoted to the Europa Conference League after Ineos-owned Nice also qualified. Under UEFA rules, two clubs owned by the same entity cannot compete in the same European competition.

The French club would have been the only team owned by Ineos allowed in the Europa League due to their superior league finish of fifth in Ligue 1 compared to United's eighth in the Premier League. But both teams will now be able to compete in 2024/25 under certain conditions after the European governing body relaxed the rules for next season.

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And Maguire has explained the financial benefits to United playing in the Europa League. He breaks down how much money the club will be expected to earn if they reach the final in May next year.

“In terms of the value of the Europa League, there’s a minimum of four home games in the expanded Swiss style,” Maguire told Football Insider.

“Manchester United will be able to charge decent prices because the Europa League will provide some good matches against good teams. They will be generating somewhere in the region of £4m a match from ticket sales.

“So that’s £16m just from the group stage which would be doubled to £32m+ that by the time they get to the final. So those are sort of the numbers that that we would be looking at so it will be useful for Manchester United.”

Rivals Manchester City were put in a similar position with City Group-owned Girona joining Pep Guardiola's side in the Champions League. And like United and Nice, both clubs have been cleared to play in the same competition.