Why Premier League are giving Everton £10m less prize money than Man United despite finishing above them

Everton have had an uneasy if not outright hostile relationship with the Premier League in recent years. To many Toffees, Manchester United are ring leaders of its so-called ‘red cartel’.

When Man United had around £75m worth of ‘exceptional costs’ related to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s part-takeover and revenue lost during the pandemic approved by the Premier League, it helped them comply with 2023-24 Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) and convinced some that they had received special treatment.

After all, there had been no allowances of that scale when Everton were hit with two separate points deductions for breaching PSR in 2021-22 and 2022-23, had there?

The truth, TBR Football understands, is that there was very little backlash within the football finance industry, with executives accepting that the exceptional costs were legitimate.

And when the Premier League comes to assess compliance with PSR in 2024-25, Everton will likely be given the same grace for costs associated with Dan Friedkin’s takeover.

At one stage, there was genuine antipathy between the Premier League and Everton, who felt they were made an example of during their PSR troubles. The accusation was that the league wanted to prove to the government that they could self regulate – and there was certainly some truth in that.

Everton later sided with Manchester City in their fight against the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) Rules.

Incidentally, the Toffees eventually switched sides, but one of the outcomes of that case was that the league rewrote its rules on interest-free shareholder loans, of which Everton were the biggest recipient at the time.

Had it not been for Dan Friedkin, who converted the loans from Farhad Moshiri to equity after he bought the club, those borrowings could have now had a nominal fair market value rate applied for PSR purposes under the new APT Rules, which could have been disastrous for PSR.

It’s all very drab, technical stuff, but this is where the bitterness between Everton and Richard Masters – which Friedkin has attempted to soothe since his takeover – has come from.

It is a fact that very few smart people dispute, however, that there are elements of the Premier League and football’s broader financial ecosystem that are kinder to clubs like Man United than they are to Everton.

And the latest analysis shows one of those trump cards on full display.

• READ MORE: Everton to make another big hire after Angus Kinnear, they will get instant £70m mission

Facility fees give Manchester United bigger slice of Premier League TV revenue than Everton

At Christmas, just days after The Friedkin Group takeover, Everton were just four points above the relegation zone.

But an excellent second half of the season under David Moyes has seen the Toffees secure 13th place and a total of 45 points ahead of Sunday’s final-day game against Newcastle United.

Manchester United meanwhile have been pitiful in the Premier League, even factoring in that they have clearly been concentrating their firepower in Europe.

Wednesday’s Europa League final was a chance to salvage their season, but defeat to Tottenham means the Red Devils will finish between 14th and 17th and without silverware.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
9	BrentfordBrentford	37	16	7	14	65	56	9	55
10	FulhamFulham	37	15	9	13	54	52	2	54
11	B’mouthBournemouth	37	14	11	12	56	46	10	53
12	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	37	13	13	11	50	50	0	52
13	EvertonEverton	37	10	15	12	41	44	-3	45
14	WolvesWolves	37	12	5	20	53	68	-15	41
15	West HamWest Ham	37	10	10	17	43	61	-18	40
16	Man UtdManchester United	37	10	9	18	42	54	-12	39

However, as per the latest analysis from Greg Cordell, United will still earn more in Premier League prize money than their counterparts on Merseyside.

The reason? Facility fees, the payments clubs receive each time their matches are broadcast domestically.

Cordell, author of the Vanity, Sanity and Reality football finance newsletter, forecasts that United will have received £24.4m in facility fees by the season’s end, £10m more than Everton’s £14.4m.

In total, it is projected that Everton’s prize money will be £134.5m, whereas United’s will be £136m. The projections are based on the Premier League table as it stands.

• READ MORE: Everton should re-sign ‘incredible’ striker after saving £30m on Armando Broja deal

How will prize money affect Man United and Everton’s PSR calculation ahead of summer transfer window?

The current is changing with respect to the PSR fates of Everton and Man United.

Thanks to the additional revenue from Bramley Mill Dock, whose naming rights has now christened it the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton can expect additional revenues of up to £50m next season.

There will be increased costs too, of course, but several seasons of restraint in the transfer marker plus a reduction in the wage bill means they have room to spend under PSR again this summer.

Man United, however, are in a quandy.

With no European football next season, their revenue could fall by up to £100m. They posted losses of £113m last season and this season’s deficit is expected to be around £50m.

There is work to do in the sales market before they can spend to improve Ruben Amorim’s squad.

Homegrown talent like Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo could be among the first offered up as sacrificial lambs given that they have no amortised book value and their sales would be the most efficient for PSR purposes.

United also have cash issues, which is a separate problem for PSR. That means they may resort to selling players on whom they will actually register a PSR loss, such as as Rasmus Hojlund and Anthony, so as to boost the real-world bank balance.

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