Nottingham Forest can double Crystal Palace windfall after Europa League dispute - finance expert
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
Credit: Hasan Karim - Breaking Media / Getty Images
Ben Palmer
Wed 27 August 2025 16:02, UK
Nottingham Forest could be in line to make more than double what Crystal Palace can net in their respective European competitions this season.
That is according to football finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the Tricky Trees would need to go deep into the competition to net a sizeable cash prize.
Forest qualified for the Conference League after finishing seventh last year, but were given Palace’s place in the Europa League that they earned after beating Man City in the FA Cup final.
UEFA took issue with John Textor’s majority shareholding in both Crystal Palace and French side Lyon, as both clubs were due to participate in the competition.
That violated the European governing body’s rules on multi-club ownership [UEFA], and Nottingham Forest have been the beneficiaries of the decision to demote the Eagles.
And having spent significantly this summer on the likes of Omari Hutchinson, James McAtee, and Dan Ndoye, the Tricky Trees will be eyeing a significant boost to their finances by winning UEFA’s second-tier club competition.
Credit: Imago
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
This article contains exclusive comment from Dan Plumley, a football finance expert and senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, Plumley outlined how Forest’s promotion to the Europa League would likely be worth double what Palace could make in the Conference League.
He said: “The overall starting fee between the Europa League and Conference League, we’re basing this on last year’s numbers, UEFA haven’t released the full ones yet, but you can assume it’ll be similar because of the way the competition’s structured nowadays.
Credit: Imago
“In terms of group stage participation in the Europa League, it’s about €4.3m (£3.7m) guaranteed.
Conference League is closer to €3m (£2.6m), so there’s not a huge shift in the participation fee for the group stage.
“But if you start to win games and go deep into the competition, then the Europa League can be worth double the Conference League.
“If you were to go and win everything, and win the Europa League, for an English club, you’d be looking at that being worth €40-45m (£34.5-£39m).
“The Conference League’s gonna get you €20m (£17.3m) for winning the whole thing, so it depends how deep you go, ultimately.”
Whilst the Europa League may bring a healthy cash flow to the City Ground, a significant portion of any winnings may go towards changing managers this season.
Nuno Espirito Santo has fallen out with Edu and been vocal about his disdain for the management of the club this summer.
Credit: Imago
As such, the Portuguese manager is one of the early favourites to be sacked this season, and sources have told Football Insider that Nottingham Forest have set their sights on Marco Silva as his replacement.
Fulham’s manager has also been frustrated about the lack of signings made by the West London club, and has just one year remaining on his contract at Craven Cottage.