Thought Sunday's games were all for nothing? Think again.

A number of Premier League clubs had millions of pounds to play for on the final day, with some earning - and losing - staggering sums for their final finish.

As well as the bumper television rights, for each place higher up the table a club finishes, they earn around £750,000 extra on the merit of their place. Last season, first place was awarded £15.1m for their finish, with 20th getting £755,000.
THE PREMIER LEAGUE PRIZE MONEY TABLE (Based on 2011-12 figures)

Prize money awarded to each club depending on their Premier League place, based on the current standings. This money is added to other revenue such as funds from the league's TV deals. Exact figures are taken from last season's totals, but this year's prize money will be very similar.

Current Position Team Games Played Points Prize Money awarded

1st Manchester United 38 89 £15,101,240

2nd Manchester City 38 78 £14,246,178

3rd Chelsea 38 75 £13,591,116

4th Arsenal 38 73 £12,836,054

5th Tottenham 38 72 £12,080,992

6th Everton 38 63 £11,325,930

7th Liverpool 38 61 £10,570,868

8th West Brom 38 49 £9,815,806

9th Swansea 38 46 £9,060,744

10th West Ham 38 46 £8,305,682

11th Norwich 38 44 £7,550,620

12th Fulham 38 43 £6,795,558

13th Stoke City 38 42 £6,040,496

14th Southampton 38 41 £5,285,434

15th Aston Villa 38 41 £4,530,372

16th Newcastle 38 41 £3,775,310

17th Sunderland 38 39 £3,020,248

18th Wigan 38 36 £2,265,186

19th Reading 38 28 £1,510,124

20th QPR 38 25 £755,062


Fulham's mediocre season ended with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium, propelling them up the table from 15th to 12th, and earning the west London club an additional £2.25million for their final position on merit, based on last season's figures.

The losers of the final day were Alan Pardew's Newcastle, who dropped £2.26m as they slid from 13th to 16th. The Toon's end-of-season payout was set to total at just over £6m, but now stands at £3.75m after their defeat by Arsenal.

As Manchester United had the title wrapped up by the end of last month and the relegation places settled after Wigan were beaten by Arsenal at the start of last week, many claimed Sunday's games were nothing more than formalities.

But Norwich's surprise victory over Manchester City at the Etihad handed allowed Chris Hughton's men to climb above Stoke into 11th place, earning them an additional £700,000.

Stoke, who were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Southampton, dropped to 13th, meaning the Potters received £1.5m less than they would have done had they held onto the spot they occupied at the beginning of the day.

The mega-rich Manchester United, City and Chelsea did not move from first, second and third respectively, but the movers and shakers in the bottom half of the table will not be scoffing at the amounts of money.

The additional money Fulham received, for instance, could significantly alter their plans for strengthening in the summer.

Swansea spent a paltry £2m on Spain striker Michu last summer, and he pitched in with 18 League goals this campaign.

Michu is by no means an exception, as Newcastle proved when they landed Moussa Sissoko (£2m) in the January window, and Tottenham showed some similarly shrewd business when they landed Lewis Holtby (£1.8m) before the winter was out.

source: http://www.reuters.com