Euro 2016: Northern Ireland will pocket an astonishing £9m if they beat Germany and progress to knockout stages
But country would be sure to lose Michael O'Neill to high-profile club after manager was previously linked to Celtic job
NORTHERN IRELAND will pocket a whopping £8.8million windfall if they beat Germany and make the Euro 2016 knockout stages.
But the price could be losing highly-rated boss Michael O’Neill at the end of the tournament to a top English club.
Irish FA president Jim Shaw admitted his country’s 2-0 win over Ukraine and long-term progress under O’Neill has made the manager a wanted man.
Shaw said: “Michael is doing a fantastic job and taking us to new levels. The big decisions he took for the Ukraine game worked out spectacularly.
“We want Michael to stay but we appreciate the better he does, the more interest there will be in him.”
O’Neill, 46, has a £750,000 buyout clause in the four-year deal he signed with the IFA in March.
The Edinburgh-based coach was linked with the Celtic job before Brendan Rodgers was appointed last month.
Northern Ireland’s historic first win on their debut in the Euros and O’Neill’s touchline victory jig have boosted their profile.
They will get £6m for qualifying plus £1.6m if they follow up the win by beating Germany and £1.2m if they get to the last 16.
The plan is to use some of the money to build their own version of England’s St George’s Park to nurture future generations of talent.
Shaw said: “We will put a third of the total revenue into the future. We believe we can up our development of players so we get back to a major finals.”
