England lifted the European Championship trophy for the second time in three years after overcoming Spain in the final on Sunday. However, their players may have a large portion of their prize money taken from them due to the tax they have to pay for their income.
The Lioness was forced to fall behind in the Euro 2025 final after Mariona Caldente headed for the Spanish opening game in the first half. Alesia Russo hit the equalizer just before the time mark as the match headed towards the penalty towards the extra time. Lioness goalkeeper Hannah Hampton saved two spot kicks in the shootout, while Chloe Kelly sent England fans to ecstasy by sending a winning penalty.
Ahead of the tournament, UEFA confirmed a record £34 million prize of £34 million has been offered to 16 countries.
The incredible £4.4 million was surrounded by the ring for champions, including performance bonuses, with participating teams having to distribute between 30% and 40% of their prize money to players.
The Lioness reportedly reached an agreement with the FA on a bonus structure before Euro 2025, with the Guardian reporting that if the English star lifts the trophy, it will receive a collective handout of £1.75 million.
And following England’s victory, major audit, tax and business advisory firm Blick Rothenberg revealed that he has won over £1 million from the Lioness prize money and can pay HMRC.
“We’ve seen a lot of effort and we’ve seen you,” said Robert Salter, director of the company.
“But they will have a large tax bill to pay HMRC with prize money.
“Although Lioness doesn’t earn as much as his male counterparts, the average per player bonus of £73,000 each guarantees that players on all teams are responsible for a valid marginal tax rate of 47%.
He added: “In addition to the taxes and NICs paid on personal win bonuses by players, FA should be responsible for the NICs of the winning bonuses employers, and costs FA C pounds.
“Many players earn a significant amount of money through marketing, appearance fees and image rights, but this is also tax liable.
“Given their success and the continued growth of their women’s game profiles, their revenues in the coming months could increase significantly, meaning HMRC will win more ‘wins’ in the future. ”
