Man Utd bag biggest pay-day of all Europa League clubs with £20m despite third-placed finish but Spurs close behind

MANCHESTER United have bagged the biggest Europa League prize pot so far - despite finishing only third in the initial league phase.

United’s final match win at FCSB means they have landed £19.5million to date and also confirmed their place in the last 16.

And Spurs, fourth overall, stand second in the cash rankings at the end of the first phase.

The North Londoners have banked £18.4m after recording five wins and two draws out of eight games.

The two Prem sides are ahead of Germans Eintracht Frankfurt, who dropped from second to sixth in the final standings after their defeat at Roma and who have earned £18.3m for their efforts.

Both Prem sides can earn a further £16.5m if they go on to lift the trophy in Bilbao on May 21.

Although one of them is likely to have to beat the final hosts en route to that feat, with Athletic Club a serious contender and second seeds behind Italians Lazio.

But by finishing third and fourth, United and Spurs now cannot meet each other until the final.

While the windfall for the two Big Six under-achievers is welcome, even the potential maximum they can earn from this season’s competition is less than HALF the £83m Liverpool have already made from the Champions League.

Aston Villa are England’s lowest earners so far on £58.8m, with Arsenal on £75.9m and Manchester City, who will face Real Madrid in a play-off to reach the knock-out stage, have pocketed £62.7m.

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Chelsea won all six league phase matches to top the Conference League standings.

But the Blues still only banked £9.03m with the possibility of adding a further £9m if they win the competition.

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