Man City could owe Premier League rivals £528m in prize money

28 Sept 2026 16:01 BST | 2 min read

Enzo Maresca, Erling Haaland, Man City, 114 charges guilty — © IMAGO

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

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Manchester City could owe their Premier League rivals as much as £528 million in Premier League prize money, a study has claimed, with Everton, Manchester United and West Ham in line for the biggest dividend payments.

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Following reports that City have been found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levelled against them by the Premier League for breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, a report from OLBG has detailed how much each of their rivals over that period stands to potentially earn.

A study conducted by the company focused on the additional amount each club would have been entitled to in central payments from the Premier League beginning from the 2011/12 season, when the 115 charges against the club began. However, these figures are hypothetical and do not represent a confirmed debt or compensation order.

This report details each side that has been involved in the Premier League over the last 15 years and takes payments for the 2025/26 season as estimated figures.

Over that period, City’s £558m merit payments have dwarfed that of any other club, with Arsenal coming next on £504m followed by Liverpool’s £499m.

However, the study has concluded that when Man City’s payments are excluded, Everton stand to gain the most followed by Man Utd and Crystal Palace.

Everton, who have been under significant financial stress for much of this period, would be an estimated £28.9m richer, representing an increase of more than 10% on the merit payments they have received from the Premier League over that period.

City’s Manchester rivals Man Utd would stand to gain £28.1m, with West Ham claiming almost the same figure.

As many as 14 clubs could be due a payment of £20m or over – including Premier League giants Chelsea (£25.8m), Tottenham (£25.5m), Liverpool (£24.4m) and Arsenal (£21.3m).

Difference in Merit Payments 2011/12 – 2025/26*
Team	Difference in Merit Payments
Everton	£28,944,186
Manchester United	£28,118,305
West Ham United	£28,089,124
Crystal Palace	£27,333,243
Newcastle United	£26,902,577
Chelsea	£25,787,679
Tottenham Hotspur	£25,540,172
Liverpool	£24,423,357
Aston Villa	£23,052,791
Brighton & Hove Albion	£21,769,248
Bournemouth	£21,415,229
Arsenal	£21,290,352
Southampton	£21,228,124
Wolverhampton Wanderers	£20,492,042
Burnley	£19,203,326
Fulham	£19,024,448
Leicester City	£17,994,755
Brentford	£14,200,387
Nottingham Forest	£12,611,429
Sunderland	£10,935,938
West Bromwich Albion	£10,854,801
Watford	£10,492,758
Leeds United	£10,297,033
Swansea City	£9,107,386
Stoke City	£9,107,206
Norwich City	£7,448,389
Sheffield United	£6,618,375
Hull City	£4,422,590
Huddersfield Town	£3,849,786
Cardiff City	£3,154,601
Luton Town	£3,100,000
Queens Park Rangers	£2,755,841
Ipswich Town	£2,651,429
Middlesbrough	£1,941,609
Wigan Athletic	£1,510,943
Reading	£755,881
Blackburn Rovers	£755,062
Bolton Wanderers	£755,062
TOTAL	£527,935,464

Man City’s potential £528m bill explained

Although this study details how much extra money these clubs would have earned if Man City had not been in the league, it is unclear what punishment will befall the eight-time Premier League champions if the reports that they have been found guilty of 114 charges are proven to be accurate.

The scale of the charges against Man City is unprecedented and the punishment against them could be, too. Relegation or a historic points deduction is being widely speculated upon, while the possibility of a severe financial penalty is also looming.

The study calculates that the combined difference in Merit Payments for the other clubs would be £527.9m if Man City were removed from the equation. Whether any compensation could actually be sought from City, however, would depend on the eventual outcome and sanctions in the case.