The UEFA Champions League is back and there are over two billion euros to be split across all the clubs involved. Here's how it breaks down.
The UEFA Champions League is back.
The biggest teams in Europe competing for the greatest prize in club football. Who can dethrone current holders Liverpool? Will Real Madrid refind the Zidane UCL magic? Can Pep Guardiola finally take Manchester City to the promised land? Will Messi lift another before he hangs up his boots? Is there hope for the heavily invested PSG? So, many questions, all of which will be decided in the coming months.
One question that can be answered before the group stages kick off in earnest, however, is UEFA's prize money distribution. There are 2.04 billion euros up for grabs, split between the 32 participating teams, as well as those eliminated from the play-offs, and Super Cup qualifiers.
UEFA money breakdown (uefa.com)
Share for 12 clubs participating in UEFA Champions League play-offs
A total of €30m will be paid out to clubs involved in the UEFA Champions League play-offs: clubs that are eliminated will each receive a fixed payment of €5m. The winners of the play-offs will not receive any specific payment for this round but will get payments for participating in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Share for clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League (group stage onwards)
Forecast amounts (total €1.95bn)
The net revenue available to participating clubs will be divided into four different pillars:
Starting fees (€488m)
Each of the 32 clubs that qualify for the group stage can expect to receive a group stage allocation of €15.25m, split into a down payment of €14.5m and a balance payment of €0.75m.
Fixed amounts (€585m)
Group stage performance bonuses will be paid for each match: €2.7m per win and €900,000 per draw. Undistributed amounts (€900,000 per draw) will be pooled and redistributed among the clubs playing in the group stage in amounts proportionate to their number of wins.
Clubs that qualify for the knockout stage can expect to receive the following amounts:
The UEFA Champions League winners can expect to pick up an additional €4m.
The two clubs that qualify for the 2019 UEFA Super Cup can each expect to receive €3.5m, with the winners collecting an additional €1m.
Coefficient ranking (€585m)
A new ranking was introduced last season on the basis of performances over a ten-year period. In addition to coefficient points accumulated during this period, this ranking includes bonus points for winning the UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs' Cup, the UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup.
On the basis of these parameters, a ranking has been established and the total amount of €585.05m has been divided into 'coefficient shares', with each share worth €1.108m. The lowest-ranked team will receive one share (€1.108m). One share will be added to every rank and so the highest-ranked team will receive 32 shares (€35.46m).