England lifted the European Championship trophy for the second time in three years after overcoming Spain in Sunday’s final. But their players could have a large chunk of their prize money taken away from them due to the tax they have to pay on their earnings.
The Lionesses were forced to come behind in the Euro 2025 final after Mariona Caldentey headed in the opener for Spain in the first half. Alessia Russo struck an equaliser just before the hour mark as the match headed into extra time and then went to penalties. Lionesses goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved two spot kicks in the shootout, with Chloe Kelly dispatching the winning penalty to send the England fans into ecstasy.
Ahead of the tournament, UEFA confirmed that a record £34million in prize money was on offer to the 16 countries competing.
A staggering £4.4m was ring-fenced for the champions, including performance bonuses, with participating teams required to distribute between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of their prize money to the players.
The Lionesses reportedly reached an agreement with the FA about a bonus structure ahead of Euro 2025, with The Guardian reporting that England stars would receive a collective hand-out of £1.75m should they lift the trophy.
And following England’s triumph, leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg, have revealed that more than three quarters of a million pounds could be taken from the Lionesses’ prize pot and paid to HMRC.
Robert Salter, a director at the firm, said: “The Lionesses will be delighted with their win at Euro 2025 for what it represents and the hard work that went into it.
“But they will have a hefty tax bill to pay to HMRC on their prize money, at a combined total tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC) liability of roughly £788,900 for the whole squad.
“Although the Lionesses are not earning as much as their male counterparts, the average per player bonuses of £73,000 each will ensure that all of the squad’s players become liable to an effective marginal tax rate of 47 per cent – 45 per cent income tax and 2 per cent NIC on their income above the £125,140 per annum threshold, meaning they could be paying around £34,300 each in tax.”
He added: “In addition to the tax and NIC payable on the winning bonuses by the players personally, the FA should be liable to employers’ NIC on the prize bonuses, which will cost the FA c £255,000 more.
“Many players are also making significant amounts through marketing, appearance fees and image rights, which are also liable to tax.
“Their earnings from this are likely to increase significantly over the coming months given their success and the ongoing growth in the profile of the women’s game, meaning HMRC will be getting even more tax ‘wins’ in the future.”