Newcastle and Manchester United have £43.6m FFP transfer bonus at stake before a nervous wait

Newcastle United are still in line for a substantial merit payment if the Magpies can get the result they need at Brentford on the final day.

Newcastle currently lie in seventh place in the Premier League - three points behind Chelsea - as the race for Europe goes down to the wire. In-form Chelsea are in the driving seat for sixth, ahead of the visit of Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and the Blues require just a point to secure a top six finish and, potentially, a place in the Europa League.

Newcastle, on account of their superior goal difference, could still catch Chelsea if Eddie Howe's former team do him a favour and win in London, but the Magpies will simply be focusing on their own clash in the capital as they look to bounce back from a painful 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford. Newcastle can at least seal a seventh-placed finish with a win against Brentford - regardless of eight-placed Manchester United's result at Brighton - but the black-and-whites will have to wait until the outcome of next week's FA Cup final for confirmation on Europe.

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If Manchester City defeat bitter rivals Manchester United at Wembley, Newcastle will qualify for the Europa Conference League provided that the Magpies finish in seventh. If that is not a big enough carrot for the club, merit payments are awarded based on where a team finishes. So, last season, for instance, Aston Villa took home a combined merit payment of £43.6m from UK and international broadcasters for ending up in seventh.

Playing in Europe also brings with it additional bonuses. Although the Europa Conference League is not particularly lucrative - teams received £2.4m for qualifying this season while winning the group was only worth £600,000 - there is money to be made from going deep in the competition as well generating additional revenue from having extra games at St James'.

Perhaps, most importantly, as West Ham showed last year, it would be a realistic trophy for Newcastle to target following an eternal wait for silverware and the Magpies desperately need to boost their UEFA coefficient by qualifying for these competitions. As it stands, even Brighton have a higher ranking.