Leeds United supporters will be watching Sunderland and Sheffield United in the play-off final nerve-free and as neutrals.
They put the pain of last year’s play-off defeat to Southampton behind them and won the league title with 100 points, meaning Leeds United can watch on gleefully this afternoon at not having to relive that day out.
Daniel Farke’s side securing promotion from the Championship is the big financial win for all investors and shareholders concerned given the jaw-dropping windfall Leeds have received for automatic promotion.
Of course, the play-off final winners will also get a huge slice of the promotion pie. It is dubbed the ‘richest game in football’ for a reason, but Leeds have reason to want a win for the Blades.
Sheffield United winning at Wembley could benefit Leeds
Finance is all the talk currently and Leeds have a £61 million financial problem which needs plugging when they go up but there has been significant Red Bull investment mooted to help plug that.
A £1 billion 49ers and Red Bull plan has been outlined recently. However, no matter what, Leeds know they need serious investment now in the Premier League which is instantly swallowed up by the huge investment in the transfer market needed to be competitive on the pitch.
They could get a helping hand of sorts today if Sheffield United are the winners at Wembley, with finance expert Kieran Maguire outlining why the other 19 Premier League clubs may be wanting the Blades to bounce back up at the first time of asking.
He states: “Under Premier League rules, clubs are entitled to three years of Parachute Payments when they are relegated to the Championship, although this is restricted to two years if they had previously been promoted and were immediately relegated.
“The parachute payments are calculated as being 55%, 45% and 20% respectively of the equal share elements of the Premier League distribution to its member clubs. This works out as £48 million, £39 million and £17 million for the relegated clubs over a three year period.
“If a relegated club is then immediately promoted, then the parachute payments it was due to receive are retained by the Premier League and given to its own clubs. Burnley and Leeds United have already been promoted to the Premier League which saves the Premier League £39 million and £17 million in 2025/26.
“If Sheffield United are promoted in the playoffs at the weekend this will be a further £39 million. This could result in a total of £95 million coming back to the Premier League.”
It’s not clear how that £95 million is distributed, but Leeds will get a slice of it if the Blades fail to gain promotion today at the expense of Sunderland.
The areas of Leeds United’s team which must be added to
Amid PSR rule changes impacting Leeds, there could still be PSR sales required for Farke and the 49ers. Leeds cannot just spend the recent £120 million investment by selling new shares on transfer targets alone but it helps in what they can afford to lose.
An extra chunk of cash would give even more wriggle room than they have already found. The reality is that Leeds are likely to need to spend in excess of £100 million to be competitive, and even that might not be enough with the need to add across all areas of the pitch.
The Whites need a new goalkeeper, at least one full-back, a centre-back, a midfielder, a playmaker, at least one winger, and at least one striker as a minimum. Therefore, they cannot sit still and signings shouldn’t be too far away now.
Especially so, given the extra time they have had to recruit over the play-off teams. They have had a head-start and need to have made good use of it. The proof will be in the pudding soon enough.
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