Leicester must spend more or risk ruining excellent progress

Over a week has passed since Leicester City missed out on the Champions League place and rumors have already begun to surface. But how much money will the club have to spend?

Previously, Foxes of Leicester reported that the Foxes will only be handed a £20m budget this summer. A fairly appalling budget for a club who received £80m from Manchester United last summer and finished fifth in the Premier League.

However, how much the club will receive from the Premier League prize money has now been announced and the finances available to Brendan Rodgers may be more. But will he spend it?

Despite missing out on the Champions League, LeicestershireLive have reported that the club will earn a decent amount from TV rights and merit money for their finish.

With the £330m COVID-19 rebate, that was agreed with TV companies, the Foxes will still be receiving a high figure when the prize money breakdown is announced.

According to the football finance blog, Swiss Ramble, Leicester will earn £147.4m for the 2019/20 campaign, £24.1m more than the 2018/19. This means, despite losing out on their top-four finish, King Power will receive a huge amount of money that will be available to spend to bolster the squad.

Clubs have a rebate to settle, thought to be weighed on where each team finished the season. The higher the team finishes, the more it will payback. So Leicester will pay more than Tottenham, but less than Liverpool. It is thought that the East Midlanders will have to pay out £19.4m for their fifth-place finish.

Furthermore, the club could earn £16.5m in facility fees (for being involved in 15 matches shown on TV in the UK) and £28.4m in merit payments for their second-highest finish in the Premier League.

So, now all the figures have been explained, Leicester City’s total prize money could be round £128m. But will they spend wisely?