Plymouth’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Manchester City could be worth up to £1million to the club, according to chairman Simon Hallett.
The Pilgrims stunned Liverpool in the fourth round on Sunday, with Ryan Hardie’s penalty earning them a 1-0 victory, which Hallet has described as one of the best ever at Home Park.
They now travel to the Etihad to face the Premier League champions, the third top-flight opponent they have faced after also getting the better of Brentford in the third round.
“We’ve yet to work out the exact figures, but I am going to say it’s going to be somewhere between £600,000 and £1m to Argyle,” Hallett told BBC Radio Devon.
“When we played Liverpool eight years ago Anfield had a capacity of just over 50,000 – we made about £700,000.
“So I think we should do a little bit better this time. The Etihad I believe has a capacity of about 62,000, so we think it should be somewhere between £600,000 and £1m.
“It won’t mean as much as it did when we played Liverpool, though.
“When we played Liverpool eight years ago that £700,000 represented about a third of our football budget, but today our football budget is many multiples of what it was then, so it won’t be as significant.
“Much more important than the money – and the money will be nice – is that it’s going to be a great day out for at least 15,000 of our fans.”
Keeping out The Reds in stoppage time 🧤 pic.twitter.com/kf0ukKBGFL
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) February 10, 2025
Hallett revealed he may not be able to make the City tie, which will take place on the weekend of March 1 or 2, after booking to jet off to South America later this month.
“When it [the draw] did come out as Manchester City, which was the one I was hoping for, I yelled in anguish,” he said. “I’m actually booked to go on a fishing trip to Argentina leaving on 27 February, so we’ll see what is going to happen.
“I’ve already cancelled it once because of the manager hire in January, so I’m not quite sure – it’ll cost me a fortune to do so again.”
While the Pilgrims remain bottom of the Championship, Hallett says their cup run has put them in front of a worldwide audience.
“We’re looking to develop a global fanbase and if we can be in the spotlight against Liverpool and then against Manchester City, as well as let’s not forget against Brentford,” he said.
“One of the commentators doing the draw said that there was a chance for a second giant-killing – let’s not forget that we knocked out Brentford who are hardly minnows these days.”
