SOUTHAMPTON secured an immediate return to the Premier League today by beating Leeds 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in the Championship playoff final, the richest one-off match in world football.

An uplift of £140 million in future earnings from broadcast revenue and prize money is guaranteed for the south-coast club thanks to Adam Armstrong’s 24th-minute winner at England’s national stadium.

Southampton is heading back up to the lucrative Premier League alongside Leicester and Ipswich, which took the automatic promotion spots in the Championship.