Fans are only just discovering how much prize money the Carabao Cup winners will receive and it's got people talking

Liverpool and Newcastle will go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday as the two Premier League sides battle it out for the competition's much-talked-about cash prize.

The first major domestic trophy of the 2024/25 season is up for grabs this weekend.

Newcastle will be hoping to end a 70-year wait for domestic silverware with a famous Carabao Cup win at Wembley, while defending champions Liverpool are aiming to lift their first trophy under Arne Slot.

As well as bragging rights, the winners of the Carabao Cup will earn a place in the Conference League if they haven't already qualified for the European competition.

So what about prize money? The winners will take home £100,000, while the runners-up receive £50,000 – a sum that will likely be considered insignificant to top-flight clubs given the large amounts involved in other competitions.

For example, the winners of this season's FA Cup take home a very respectable £2 million, while the runners-up pick up £1 million for their efforts.

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the prize money that's on offer this weekend.

One said: "Is that all?? Doesn’t even pay a players weekly wage," while another commented: "Literally pennies in the modern game."

A third wrote: "The Carabao Cup isn't worth the hassle or fixture congestion for £100,000."

A fourth said: "And they expect teams to take this cup seriously...losing a UCL game in group stage generates more money," and a fifth added: "What are they supposed to do with £100k - pay Salah for 2 days? Pathetic prize money."

Image credit: Getty

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Liverpool boss Arne Slot opened up on his team's desire to win the trophy.

"You play games like this to win it, and that's what we're going to try to do," he said.

"And we're really looking forward to it, to playing a final again, because you cannot take a final for granted, especially not in this country with so many good teams involved in every cup competition.

"So we're looking forward that we are part of it, and if you are part of it, of course you want and try to win it. But that's probably what Newcastle wants as well."

Eddie Howe, meanwhile, mentioned the club's hunt for silverware in his pre-match comments, with Newcastle's most recent trophy win being the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

"We want to break that wait for a trophy," said Howe. "It's not a negative. We're trying to look at it the other way round, it's the chance to make history and be remembered positively."