The Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final winners could receive more than £160 million it has been confirmed by ESPN.
Aston Villa and Fulham are currently preparing to go head to head at Wembley this Saturday (May 26), with the winner taking their place in the Premier League.
The Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Final has often been billed as the most expensive game in football, and statistics that have been released today have all but confirmed that, with the winner set to receive a windfall payment of up to £160 million.
The figures were released by Deloitte, and state that the “winners will benefit from future additional revenue of at least £160 million across the next three seasons, which could potentially rise to as much as £280 million if they manage to survive their first campaign in the top flight.
ESPN were quick to compare the difference in earnings to that of the Champions League final which also takes place this Saturday. Real Madrid meet Premier League side Liverpool in Kiev, with Liverpool only gaining an extra £4 million if they win compared to if they suffer defeat.
Saturday’s Play-Off Final sees fourth take on third, with the Semi Finals going with the final Sky Bet Championship table.
Having missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the regular season, Fulham beat Derby County 2-0 in the second leg at Craven Cottage following a 1-0 defeat in the first leg, which saw them progress to the final.
Aston Villa were held to a 0-0 draw at Villa Park by Middlesbrough in the second leg, meaning that Mile Jedinak’s first leg header was enough to book their place at Wembley.
