£170m Promotion: Middlesbrough Secure Promotion To The Premier League

Middlesbrough have secured promotion to the Premier League after their 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.

Middlesbrough needed just one point to guarantee a second place finish in the table and secure automatic promotion to the top tier of English football, having been absent from the Premier League for seven years. Aitor Karanka’s side scored the first goal in their crucial decider against Brighton via Cristhian Stuani in the first half. Brighton leveled the game after half-time thanks to Dale Stephens, who got sent off four minutes after scoring for a high challenge on Gaston Ramirez. A 10-man Brighton side tried hard to find the winner, but the game ended 1-1, earning Boro a promotion alongside Championship winners Burnley.

Boro manager Aitor Karanka was ecstatic at the result, and speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I can’t be more proud of this group of players, this crowd and this chairman; it’s amazing.

“When I arrived here, some people said I was crazy when I said my aim was to take this club back to the Premier League. Two-and-a-half years later, we are in the Premier League.”

This promotion to the Premier League will see an increase worth £170m in Middlesbrough’s revenue, according to Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, and that figure could grow by about 41% if they survive their first season in the top flight.